The Mother's Day Game

My mother has been a Suns fan since the seventies. I think it started with the realization that athletic men were jumping about in short pants (and in the seventies, they were quite short indeed) and then developed into a sincere appreciation of the sport itself. Any doubts about her devotion to our Beloved Suns were wiped away when the 75-76 team, which finished the regular season 41-41, went all the way to the finals.

I remember distinctly pulling over the brown Nova one night to dash into a department store to see the end of Game Five. It took a while. There have been two triple overtime games in the NBA finals. The Suns were in both of them. They lost the one in 1976, and the series the next game. Well, what more can you ask from a .500 team?

We expected a little better against the Clippers this past Sunday. We didn't get it.

So my Mom, my sister, my wife and all of our young children, crowded into my Mom's townhouse to watch the thing go down. My brother in law fetched the pizza - he is not a televised sports fan - and then corralled the kids. Thanks, Mike!

So with pizza and iced tea (there's no booze in my mother's house), we watched the brick-laden debacle that was game four.

You learn things watching basketball with women. For example, Kris Kattan's hair is even worse than Steve Nash's - and that takes some doing. While that's pretty obvious when its' pointed out to you, its' not something I would have charted mentally on my own. And Steve Nash is very cute - except for when he brushes his hair back and then licks his hands right before a free throw. That, I have learned, is not attractive.

Another thing I should have known: partisanship scores you more points than accuracy. Even though I predicted earlier in the day that the Suns would lose, being right about that got me no love. It looked as if Steve Nash and the boys might prove me wrong there, for a few minutes late in the fourth, but, alas, I was right.

This was a virtual elimination game for the Clippers, and they will not be eliminated in LA. The Clippers are just that good. Phoenix will have to win another game seven. Which they will, the Clippers aren't that good.

Tomorrow night, I'll have The Shirt back on, I'll have my whisky and OJ in one hand, the remote in the other, and the Suns ought to win handily (they almost beat the Clippers in LA after shooting .278 from 3-point land - where they usually shoot above .400). But it won't be the same. In our grown up lives, we can't watch games as a family very often anymore. Whenever we can manage it - that's a good game - regardless of who wins.