The Utah Jazz won their 10th straight game last night in a overtime thriller on the road against division rival Denver. After a disappointing start to the season they have completely turned things around, and now lead their division by a comfortable margin. They have been hottest team in the NBA by far, lead by the unbelievable play of Deron Williams. You might think that the sports media would devote much coverage to the hottest team in the league.Sorry Jazz. Today's national headlines were all about Shaquille O'Neal. During this remarkable streak for the Jazz they have received no media attention whatsoever, all the headlines being gobbled up by trades by Miami and L.A. Deron Williams missed out on the all-star team due to media darling Chris Paul, but when Williams and Paul played head to head on Monday Williams utterly DESTROYED Paul. Blasted him off the face of the planet. I thought there might have been a story or two written about that game, but alas, no. I haven't had the chance to watch any of the games during this streak because the Jazz have fewer nationally televised games than just about any team out there (Miami has the worst record in the NBA, but they're have played on national television more than any other team this season - if Miami plays another crappy team like Chicago on TNT again this season I'm going to yank my hair out).
Basically, the Utah Jazz are ignored because they are the Utah Jazz. Utah. It's that one place that's not L.A. or Miami or New York. It's pretty simple: big market = lots of coverage, small market = no coverage, except if you're a team like Cleveland, a relatively small market, and you've got a marketable superduperstar like LeBron James.
Fine, ignore us now if you like. When June and July roll around and the Jazz are still around in the playoffs and all the more glamorous teams drop away, then we'll get the coverage we deserve by default. That may sound pessimistic, but it's like Homer Simpson said, default can be "the two sweetest words in the English language - De fault! De fault! De fault!"
(P.S. - I never wanted to be one of those guys who uses the word 'we' to talk about his favorite sports team, since I personally do not play for the team. But I find myself doing it all the time now that I'm up in Michigan, under siege in Pistons country.)
2 comments:
Yeah, Brian! We have watched most of those incredible games where the Jazz were "shooting the lights out" with 3 pointers, totally awesome plays, and such great teamwork. They are so fun to watch! Last night's thriller was awesome- Deron and Korver made the final difference and they handled the after-game interviews with class and focused on total picture, not them. You've got a great team- keep cheering! Mom
I challenge you to use a Simpson quote in 3 of your next five posts. If anyone can do it, and do it well, it would have to be you. (Bonus points for the quote with the giant container of nutmeg.)
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