The Fan Voice: "Satisfaction"

By Live or Die Magic | April 30th, 2008


Satisfaction at least begins to describe the feeling I had Monday night while watching the closing seconds of Game 5 between the Orlando Magic and the Toronto Raptors. It took me a few moments to fully comprehend the meaning of the victory. I kept hearing the announcers say that it had been 12 years since we had advanced past the first round. Even though I know that to be true and I was there the last time it happened, all I could think was “twelve years, is that all?”

Hope and despair have been the two consistent, conflicting emotions the Magic fans have felt since the end of Game 4 against the Chicago Bulls in the 1996 East Conference Semi-Finals. The actions that led to the hope oftentimes also led to the despair. This is evident in moves such as a desperate trade for Rony Seikaly, the signing of coaches and staff like Chuck Daly, Julius Erving, and Doc Rivers, and the entire revamping of a roster to make room for saviors like Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill. These moves were all made while trying to recover from the blow we took when Shaq skipped town. At least twice we have tried to reinvent ourselves since then, each time thinking that this was the move that would get us back to that “magical” place. It speaks to the fortitude and loyalty of the long-suffering Magic fan that for all that hope and despair, we are still here to enjoy this wonderful, magical moment.

“Satisfied” describes how I felt on Friday when I wore my white “Blue and White Ignite” playoff t-shirt to work and had 4 different co-workers stop me and ask me about the shirt and ask if I was excited about the Magic. These are co-workers who have never once discussed the Magic with me until that day. Satisfied is how I felt when my mother watched Game 3 with me, her first Magic game in a couple of years – and started yelling at the TV when the Magic quickly got behind in their one loss in the series with the Raptors. The highlight of the night had to be when the camera focused on Stan Van Gundy and my mom exclaimed “who is that!?” I said “that’s our coach.” To which she replied: “That guy? He’s our coach!?” Satisfied is how I felt when my mother called me up Monday night after game 5, telling me how she had watched all of it and that Keith Bogans shoots the 3 as well as Dennis Scott. Considering that my mother’s Magic “fandom” is stuck in 1995 where Nick Anderson is perpetually stealing the ball, I have to call this progress.

Satisfied describes how I felt yesterday morning when I was again wearing a Magic t-shirt as I ran errands. Three different strangers stopped me and asked me if I had watched the game last night and exclaimed how awesome it was that the Magic are playing so well. One of them was an older lady who referred to Jameer Nelson as “Jammer.” I could be cynical and say that the playoff success is bringing out the casual or “fair-weathered” fan, but that would mean I am failing to give credit to the power that sports can have on a community. We are nowhere near approaching the levels of the 1995 Finals run, but the progression is the same. Anytime that something positive occurs, even if it only involves a sports team, the impact and influence are amplified when the community recognizes it and chooses to embrace it as if it is something that happened to them. And in fact, it IS happening to us!

Playoff success, is still a new and alien experience for us. It all happened too fast in 1995, in only our 6th season of existence. Perhaps we took it for granted. It showed when we chose to believe that we could still win without Shaq. We thought a team that had gone to the Finals, even if it no longer had Shaq, could at least make it out of the first round! Unfortunately, that core of Horace Grant, Penny Hardaway, Dennis Scott, Darrell Armstrong, and Nick Anderson would only get two more cracks at the playoffs before being busted up in 1999. That led to a long-stretch of time in which the Magic making the playoffs at all, much less advancing, seemed to be an effort. In fact, that seeming sense of uncertainty about just how good a team we would be didn’t end until February of this year, when we finally survived our January swoon and pushed forward.

So, now we are 19 seasons old and I’d venture to say that the Orlando Magic have a solid core of veteran NBA fans now. But this core of fans still can only fondly remember what it was like to watch as our favorite tall people marched through the rest of the league. So, in many respects, our community at large, be they Magic fans or not, is still very much new to all this NBA playoff success (yes, a 2nd round berth qualifies as success around here!). The good news is that regardless of how far we go next year, we can once again begin to take for granted that we will be here again soon!


An Exile’s Lament
I can be seen regularly on the official Orlando Magic Message Boards, but this past week has seen me take a much longer hiatus than I’m used to. Since even Magic fans must work regular jobs in order to afford all of those tickets, OCTB’s, t-shirts, OCTB’s, DirecTV satellite dishes, and therapy, I regrettably found my work life trumping my sports life. Business travel had me in Atlanta from late last week until late Monday night. My flight arrived back home just in time to catch the end of Game 5. Thankfully, I was able to watch the majority of Game 4 on Saturday from my hotel in Atlanta. But watching the game there just wasn’t the same as watching the game with a gathering of my fellow Magic fans. Having no other Magic fans around to share my joy after the Game 4 victory made me feel all the more lonely.

I was staying on the 16th floor of the Omni Hotel in downtown Atlanta. This hotel is 28 stories and it is immediately adjacent to Phillips Arena, where the Hawks play. Having my Saturday evening free, I briefly toyed with the idea of going downstairs and trying to get a cheap ticket to Game 3 of the Hawks/Celtics series. I chose to watch the game in my hotel room. I got a kick out of watching (and hearing) all the rowdy Hawks fans streaming out of the arena after the victory. Hundreds of them whooped and hollered for a good half-hour up and down the street below my hotel.

My traveling calendar is blank for the month of May but kicks in again in June. Let me just say this: I would absolutely love to have a scheduling conflict between my travel and the Magic games in the month of June.


Speaking of “Satisfaction...”
“Satisfied” also describes my feelings after watching the end of the Spurs/Suns series. I know that Shaquille O’Neal and Grant Hill are good people at heart. I know that they did a lot for this organization while they were here and that many of the long-term members of the Magic organization choose to remember them fondly. But for us fans who weren’t in the position to know either of them personally, we can only judge them by how their tenures (and departures) affected the Magic on the basketball court. Because both O’Neal and Hill left this team under circumstances that could be described as acrimonious at worst and “not-gregarious” at best, I would venture to say that I was not the only one to get a slightly bent, slightly sadistic kick out of watching O’Neal and Hill go out in the first round of the playoffs.

For O’Neal’s part, we have to share our satisfaction with Lakers fans and Heat fans. O’Neal may be the first superstar in NBA history to have poor relationships with the fans, owners, or management of every team he played for.

As for Grant Hill, I couldn’t help noticing the delicious irony in the fact that Grant Hill joined the Phoenix Suns because now that he was finally healthy, he wanted a chance to advance in the playoffs and try to win a championship. Well, guess what, when the Suns needed him most, Grant Hill suited up for them, unfortunately, it was the three-piece variety. Sound familiar Magic fans?


At the Buzzer
Just thought I’d let you guys know that the Philadelphia 76ers and the Atlanta Hawks are officially my second and third favorite teams, at least for the next week.



This message was not subject of approval by the NBA or the Orlando Magic. The views expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect the views of the Orlando Magic or the NBA, but solely the writer.

good stuff.....Go Hawks!!! Go Sixers!!!

You know you had a chance to Nancy Kerigan KG and you missed it right?

Should have been there Monday! The Amp was flowing freely!

I've actually enjoyed both the Atlanta and Philly series. Just imagine if both of those teams advanced. ESPN would be dumbfounded.

quote:

Originally posted by Marc Acres 3:16:
You know you had a chance to Nancy Kerigan KG and you missed it right?

Well, I had a chat with Pachulia before game time when I saw him walking around the CNN Center. He did his best.


Hey guys! Is no one else gonna read this stuff!! Come ON!

quote:

Originally posted by Jareth Cutestory:
I've actually enjoyed both the Atlanta and Philly series. Just imagine if both of those teams advanced. ESPN would be dumbfounded.

they wouldn't know what to talk about....but imagine Washington also advanced....ESPN would have to shut down operations.....

quote:

Originally posted by Marc Acres 3:16:
Should have been there Monday! The Amp was flowing freely!

and it was even better when mixed with cold medicine!!!!

*kids don't do this at home!!!

I'm thinking I will need to see what Amp and Jameson taste like. I'm thinking I will like it.

I would give Jareth's left nut to see Orlando/Philadelphia and Washington/Atlanta semi-final series.

quote:

Originally posted by Marc Acres 3:16:
Should have been there Monday! The Amp was flowing freely!

My brother is still talking about Marc's AMP mixture, I think you have hooked him.

quote:

Originally posted by bhnole:

quote:

Originally posted by Marc Acres 3:16:
Should have been there Monday! The Amp was flowing freely!

My brother is still talking about Marc's AMP mixture, I think you have hooked him.

The first one is always free, make sure he tells all his friends where he got it.

My first experience with Marc's Amp mixture certainly contributed to my enjoyment of the Magic's victory in Game 2. In fact, the heady affect also served to take the edge off the Bubba Burgers.

If Red Bull and vodka gives you wings, then Amp and vodka must give you a big, gleeming set of brass...

Satisfaction, excited, and a huge amount of relief is what I felt. It felt like a boulder came off my shoulders when we finally closed out the Raptors. My sister-in-law, who knows almost nothing about the Magic, called to talk about them. When I was in town, I had at least 3 people stop me and talk about how great the team was playing. Like you said LOD, its not like it was in 96 but its getting there. A competitive series against the Pistons might push it up into that realm.

quote:

Originally posted by emory889:
Satisfaction, excited, and a huge amount of relief is what I felt. It felt like a boulder came off my shoulders when we finally closed out the Raptors. My sister-in-law, who knows almost nothing about the Magic, called to talk about them. When I was in town, I had at least 3 people stop me and talk about how great the team was playing. Like you said LOD, its not like it was in 96 but its getting there. A competitive series against the Pistons might push it up into that realm.

Exactly!
I think this sums it up:
"Anytime that something positive occurs, even if it only involves a sports team, the impact and influence are amplified when the community recognizes it and chooses to embrace it as if it is something that happened to them. And in fact, it IS happening to us!"