If you were granted the fore-knowledge that the Utah Jazz would never win a title...

[vj_74]

I think this boils down to what you look for in a franchise.

Is winning the (real) point? Sure. Is it the be-all end-all of life as a sports fan? Not to me.

I follow my university's basketball squad. I know that their chances of winning in March are so minuscule that they might as well not even try. But I'm still a fan of the squad because the players are out there having fun, enjoying the camaraderie, and working hard. Fine for me.

Another example: the point of going to, say, a classical piano concert is to hear great piano playing, right? But what if the person you are watching isn't the best player in the world, and has no chance of becoming the best? Does that diminish their skills or your enjoyment of the music? Not in my book.

Music is not sports. Winning is a big part of sports. Otherwise why do you even root for a team? You WANT them to win right? Like Sean said, on paper we could remain Jazz fans even in this hypothetical scenario. But in the back of the mind there would be this constant reminder that this team is not going to win it all anytime and that will be gnawing away at your excitement or passion. Even as you root for your team that belief that they COULD win will be gone. Say the Jazz do reach the Finals in 2015. You would know before hand that they are going to lose the Finals, so it would kill all the excitement and make it pointless and almost hypocritical to hold up placards and posters for chewrring up the team. It will be like as if you are trying hard to delude yourself.

 

[chemdude1232]

Look, it's my opinion, and I'm giving it. I'm done with the thread. Have the last word if you need it.

 

[prodigy]

during the 95 playoffs when i felt like we had all the pieces to win it all and jordan came back but clearly wasn't himself, we win 60 games, but lose the first round i said to myself i would never watch a jazz game again. i kept it up until months into the next season and the hype starting building up and i couldn't resist. if you tell me than that there is no hope i would have tuned the jazz out for a long time, i don't want to say forever because u never know.

 

[memo is money]

I thought the Jazz had a chance to win it in 06-07 and 07-08 seasons, and also last year before the loss to PHX in last regular season game. I am serious about this. Nobody could be as angry and disappointed as me after that stupid Gasol trade. I am an optimistic, hopeful, passionate and ambitious person and fan. Back in those years, I sincerely liked the Jazz' chances and thought at least another WCF or Finals would be convincing for me. This year, I feel like the Jazz not only need everybody to get and stay healthy, but also need the offense start clicking in addition to the building a consistent defensive approach. Those are attainable. I just cannot agree with anybody who thinks the chances have always been slim. Maybe I'm too optimistic.

Back to the original question, my answer still would be "Yes", I love watching basketball and a group of guys coming together and try to implement a system, play in a cohesive, sharing way to succeed. THat's exactly one of the reasons why IMO watching Jazz basketball is a privilige for basketball fans around the world.

 

[One Brow]

Think of this way - let's say you're able to somehow peer into the future (not in a Back to the Future way where you can alter what hasn't happened yet, rather just a preview of what is to come) and you find out that, 90 years from now, the Jazz still haven't won a title, the whole way you come at a game changes.

That describes you, perhaps. I'd still watch your hypothetical Miami series, and revel in my misery.

 

[LogGrad98]

Look for all intents and purposes we are not going to get there any time soon. This team is not championship caliber. It won't happen when CJ is supposed to be our scoring punch off the bench. It won't happen when Millsap and AK seem to out of touch and are expected to be our starting 3 and 4 (both are better suited to bench play). It won't happen with only one all-star caliber player on the team - which is why we are a little concerned that D Will will bolt when his contract is up. It won't happen when Al Jefferson is expected to go up against the premier 7-footers in this league (he would be far better as power forward along-side a 7-footer true center). It won't happen with Raja Bell as our starting 2 - he is just too far on the downward side of his career. With our current players we are not a championship team, regardless of the time they play together, regardless of the system.

Don't get me wrong, second-rate players will earn second-rate accomplishments. Second is not bad. Another trip to the WCF is entirely possible. Advancing in the playoffs is always a possibility. I am not saying that with our current players we are the crappiest team in the league and they should all be shot. We have some very good role players. But a team full of nothing but role players will not win it all. Even the Bulls, who had pretty much a team of one-trick-ponies, put them alongside 2 HOF'ers.

I am just saying that we need to face reality, that we are not a championship team, and enjoy what we will get for the next year or 2. But I hope to all that is holy that they prove me wrog.

And as has been said over and over in this thread. Hope. That is what keeps fans going. At least, that is what keeps me going, and many others I know. Hope that we can enjoy the wonder and magic of winning it all. That is not over-rated. If this guy can get this excited about this thing imagine how it will be when we win the NBA championship:

[video]https://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/index/?cid=62370

That sums it all up. For us, the fans, the championship would be just as meaningless, but it would mean just as much.

 

[Scorpjazz]

Funny how jaded Jazz fanz have become. So many of you try to temper your hope by saying you already know we wont win, we arent 'championship' material, blah blah.
I call BS. B motha ****ing S! You wouldnt still be here and wouldnt still be a fan if you had NO hope at all that we could win. You are just weak and scared to be hurt so you fool yourself into thinking you already know what will happen. That way, when the Jazz (as they probably will, granted) lose, you can say you knew it would happen, and protect yourself from getting hurt. Sorry to say, that isnt being a truefan, IMO. Live and die with the team. If you cant do that, go find a team you KNOW will win.

 

[Fishsticks]

Another idiotic thread. No basis on anything. Forf the record Spurs have a smaller market than the Jazz. Link for the lazy dopes trolling here. https://nbahoopsonline.com/generalinfo/Smallestmarkets.html

 

[jimmy eat jazz]

While hypotheticals are interesting, I've learned that what one thinks in the abstract is often quite different from how one behaves when actually confronted by the hypothetical. Do I think the Jazz have a chance to win it all? Sure, maybe someday. Do I think they will? I doubt it, frankly. But the journey is fun even if the destination is never actually reached. I enjoy rooting for a team and investing emotional energy in it. It would be harder if the Jazz stunk year in and year out, but the way I see it, that's what being a fan is about.

In the end, while I'd like the Jazz to win it all, my attachment to the team is not predicated on it. Nor, to be frank, is it really all that critical to me in the grand scheme of things. Nice frosting on the cake, but the cake is pretty damed delicious even without it.

 

[LogGrad98]

Funny how jaded Jazz fanz have become. So many of you try to temper your hope by saying you already know we wont win, we arent 'championship' material, blah blah.
I call BS. B motha ****ing S! You wouldnt still be here and wouldnt still be a fan if you had NO hope at all that we could win. You are just weak and scared to be hurt so you fool yourself into thinking you already know what will happen. That way, when the Jazz (as they probably will, granted) lose, you can say you knew it would happen, and protect yourself from getting hurt. Sorry to say, that isnt being a truefan, IMO. Live and die with the team. If you cant do that, go find a team you KNOW will win.

You obviously haven't been actually reading, you apparently just wanted to spout off. OF COURSE we have hope of the Jazz being a championship team some year. OF COURSE we live and die with the team, it is our team and we root for them day in and day out. But being a fan is different for everyone. OK so you think that "fans" are only fans when they scream themselves hoars at every game, mourn in sack-cloth and ashes after a loss, and bet $25,000 each year on the Jazz to win it all. Ok we get it. That is your version of a fan. Some of us live in reality, and can recognize when things aren't going perfectly and don't expect them to win it all every single year, yet we still enjoy the games, enjoy the team and watching them play, root for them to do well, all while accepting we ain't getting there this year. And probably not next year either.

Just because we can accept reality and recognize that the team isn't championship caliber and we do not buy into your BS retoric that it is always all or nothing, does not mean we are any less fans than you are.

By the way you tempered your own hope (in bold above). Pot, meet kettle.

 

[retroevo]

I'll just start rootings for the Clippers or OKC.

 

[default]

if you were granted fore-knowledge that the girl you were dating would never have sex with you would you keep dating her?

Honestly . . . I wouldn't date her exclusively, but if she is cool and does other stuff, then I wouldn't dump her