The Nuggets are back at Pepsi Center hosting the Orlando Magic on Martin Luther King Jr Day after a week in London and a big win over the Indiana Pacers, who had won five games in row. It’s a big day in the NBA – check that – a big day worldwide, which the NBA celebrates in a great way.
Denver not only ended the Pacers’ winning streak, they also ended a steak of their own as they had lost five in a row going into the London game. The team looked great at O2 Arena playing in front of a sold out crowd – more on that in a moment. Danilo Gallinari really set the tone early and then the rest of team followed suit playing one of their best games all season.
After the game the big news was Kenneth Faried and his comments about how well they played. Stating that the team was fueled by the energy in the arena and that he had not played in front of a crowd like that since he played in the FIBA World Championships with Team USA. He is not wrong; it is no secret that Pepsi Center crowds have not been ideal for the Denver Nuggets, but does that give Faried and others an excuse to play below their ability level?
As a fan you fall in either one of two camps: 1) You believe they are professional athletes and should play to their full ability every night because it is their job and they are compensated very well for it. 2) You believe Faried has a point. We love sports because of the passion and the energy it gives us. The unity and hatred that comes with sports is something we have all been a part of. You believe in loyalty, you’re a just as much of a fan when the team is bad as you are when they are good.
If you are the latter, then you my friends are a unique individual in today’s society. You may be a dying a breed. Not a lot of people have the patience for a young team to develop; not in today’s world. We want it all, and we want it right now.
I fall somewhere between both sides of this argument, which I know, is not really acceptable in today’s world either. How dare I see both sides of an argument and think both parties involved make good points??
However, I, like many of you, claim to be the weekend-warrior-type. Hell, I pay to compete in recreation leagues while I watch professional athletes who get paid handsomely to play the game I have loved since I could walk complain about fans not coming to watch them. If two of my rec league teams’ wives come watch us play, we consider it a big night! So on that front I get it; playing the game is your job so you should perform no matter what else is happening.
I also know that fans can fuel players. I have been a part of it; I have watched, and throughout the 2013 Denver Nuggets season I covered it. Kenneth Faried was also a part of that team, so he has experienced as a player. He wants it back and I cannot blame him for that; neither should you.
The Nuggets are approaching the halfway mark of their season. After Monday’s game against the Magic they will have played 39 of their 82 games. The good news is they are in a playoff race, the bad news is if they make the playoffs they will likely have a date with the Golden State Warriors.
Ironically enough it was the team that knocked them out of the playoffs in that 2013 season. Could the Nuggets shock the world again as they did in 1994 with Dikembe Mutombo? No, probably not. But a postseason appearance would give fans and the team alike another taste of what it’s like to play in a charged atmosphere. Maybe after that the fans and Faried can both get what they want.
