Getting to know the BF community
by Mike Prada on Jul 31, 2009 5:36 PM EDT
in Site News
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PrintFolks,
It's August, so we're at the point where news is starting to slow. Michael Lee has reported (unsurprisingly) that the Fabricio Oberto signing is probably the last thing the Wizards do until the beginning of the season. There's a lot of looking forward to do and a lot of looking back that'll be done as well until training camp, but there is still plenty of time and space to engage in group projects of sorts to pass the time.
One of those such things involves getting to know all of you a little better beyond the posting handle. I've met only a couple people in person and I only know about a couple people's outside lives. To a certain extent, that's how it should be -- you come here to talk Wizards, not about your job. At the same time, it's always cool to me the way sports brings people together in some sort of shared experience, even though that experience comes about in different ways for different people.
So please, over the weekend when you get a chance, I encourage you all to take some time and tell the community about yourself. What do you do? Where are you from? What interests you outside of sports? How did you become a Bullets/Wizards fan? What's a particularly fond memory you have of your fandom? Answer as little or as much as you like, but it's always cool to get to know people on a more personal level.
I'll say a bit about myself below the jump.
Name: Michael Prada (shortened for Mike because it sounds snappier).
Age: 22
Background: Born in Bethesda, went to private Jewish high school in Rockville, college at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, Class of 2009.
Occupation: Right now, I have a summer internship with a consensus-building start-up company that will try to engage diverse stakeholders both in politics and outside of politics in dialogue about key policy issues (e.g. the budget deficit, education, etc.). I mostly work on researching potential fundraisers, since we just started.
Eventually, I want to go into journalism or communications somewhere. I was the editor-in-chief of the Brandeis newspaper of record, The Justice, for my second semester last year and have been deputy editor and sports editor for them too. I wrote something like 100 news, features and sports stories for them during college. I also interned two summers ago for the now-defunct "Blog Show" for "Washington Post Live" at Comcast Sports Net, so if you have any questions about the CSN dynamic, I might be able to help you out there.
First Bullets/Wizards memory: I was at the first game after the big Chris Webber trade (forgot who they played). My dad and I had season tickets for many years starting in 1994 and it used to be a father-son bonding experience to go to games. Occasionally, my mom and my brother came too, but most of the time, it was just us. He was born in New England and his family were big Celtics fans, but he changed allegiances in order to find time to spend with me.
Favorite memory: I have two. The first is Game 3 of the 1997 first-round series against the Bulls. That was the final year of USAir Arena and my dad and I somehow managed to secure seats about 10 rows up behind the basket. I remember the atmosphere then was unlike any game I'd ever attended. There was lots made of the 2007 Warriors' home crowd, but it had nothing on the crowd at USAir that day. I remember how silent the place got when Scottie Pippen dunked on Harvey Grant (why was he in the game, goddammit!) to give Chicago the lead in the final seconds.
The other is from 2002, when Michael Jordan was here. I was at the game where MJ made this incredible block on Ron Mercer in the closing seconds to seal a Wizards win. I just remember the crowd being completely silent for about a second until they realize what they saw. It was an astonishingly athletic play for someone as old as MJ at the time. I've written before about how I got disillusioned by the MJ era (I saw it as a team without a plan, and that was reinforced by 800 readings of When Nothing Else Matters, which I've since given to the next editor-in-chief of my college paper --wanted her to study Doug Collins as how not to manage people).
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Hello Mr. Prada (insert Prada reference you've heard a ton here)
NameNate Pyatt
Age31
Background Grew up in Gettysburg PA for kids years and VA Beach for ages 11-25. Old Dominion University 2002
First Bullets/Wizards Memory I remember my dad and uncle talking about the Bullets way before I started watching. All of my family is from the DC area (Wheaton/Kensington area) so I reluctantly inherited their hometown teams in high school. My earliest memory is watching the Bullets on HTS and they had maybe Rex Chapman but probably Tom Gugliatta and I remember Lorenzo Williams sitting on the bench and of course I remember Gheorge.
Favorite Memory Buddies and I made the trip up to DC from VA Beach and saw the Wizards when Michael Jordan was playing. I know Jordan is a bad word for Wizards fans but it was cool to see him play live and just know you saw one of the greatest. Jordan was day-to-day this game and we were sitting in some bar before the game watching the ESPN Bottom-Line crawler like crazy that afternoon. I remember Juan Dixon was playing that game and when he got called off the bench everyone went apes*** and I got goosebumps.
My other favorite memory is just watching the hell out of the Wizards during college when pulling all-nighters writing stories for my creative writing workshop. I had CSN showing the live game and the 1am replay and it was great. I was staying up all night and I had guys like Chris Whitney, Terry Davis, Ben Wallace, Tracy Murray and Calbert Chaney. Needless to say, those teams and my stories were god-awful but I loved it. I had the triple headers of NBA on NBC on sunday to see the teams that were relevant but they didn’t hold a candle to my godawful Bullets and the characters I grew up with and loved.
President of the Chris Whitney fan-club
And I forgot
I work at the Federal Reserve in Pittsburgh but I’m getting read to move back to VA. One of the absolute best parts of that move will be watching the Wizards and Redskins on a normal basis. Living in Pittsburgh and not being able to get the NBA package due to the inability to get the dish and not having the NBA option for any cable package; I am super excited to watch my teams again (especially the Wiz and not having to deal with Barkley talking about how much he hates the team on TNT).
I was also on “To Catch a Predator” and Chris Hanson is super-sweet. That’s a joke.
President of the Chris Whitney fan-club
YellaFella
Real Name: Keith Ward
Age: 44
Location: Westminster, MD (I live about three miles from McDaniel College, where the Ravens hold training camp. I’m a die-hard ‘Skins fan though, having been born and raised in D.C.)
Occupation: Journalist. I’m currently editor in chief of Virtualization Review magazine, but I’m transitioning away from that to take over editing duties on TechNet Magazine, Microsoft’s magazine for system and network administrators. I’ve covered technology since 2000, and was a reporter for various daily newspapers for about a decade before that.
Been following Bullets/Wiz since: Early ‘70s. I remember listening to the epic series the Bullets had against the Bob McAdoo Buffalo Braves way back when.
Favorite Bullets/Wiz memory: Being at the Bulls game (’05?) with my son, the game that clinched a playoff berth for the Wiz.
Some favorite players from the past: Mike Riordan, Bobby Dandridge, the Big E, Wes, Ruland/Mahorn, Phil Chenier.
I don't mean to say this to make you feel old
My dad would tell me a story about Jordan in his early years coming down the lane and dunking on Ruland/Mahorn. And Jordan’s next time trying that got his ass put on the ground by Ruland. Jeff was not having that. Fool him once shame on him, fool him twice, shame on you.
President of the Chris Whitney fan-club
Ruland...
Was very underrated. If he didn’t start having knee injuries, he would have been a multiple all-star. Excellent positional rebounder, terrific passer, could score in a variety of ways inside, and with either hand. A shame how injuries dragged him down.
I remember Elvin Hayes. Ha!
My first wizards game was at the Washington Armory when they were the Capital Bullets. I was drunk then and I am drunk now. Back then you could count the number of tickets sold by hand just sitting in that slum the called an arena. I watched Hayes battle McAdoo when they scored 42 and 44 I believe. What a game that was.Hayes is still the best basketball player to play for the Washington franchises. And there is no one on this present team who will be as good as he was. Be that as it Hayes, this team is the deepest since the 70s. But this team lacks a dominant big man and until they get one they are not going anywhere.
by therunninghamster on Jul 31, 2009 7:38 PM EDT reply actions
Great idea Prada
BayAreaBullet
Real Name: Steve
Age: 27
Background: Born and raised in Northern VA. Matriculated from the Football factory known as the University of Delaware in 2004. Briefly returned to the DC area after college. January 2007 I filled up my car and drove out to San Francisco in search of adventure, fame and fortune(have only achieved one of those so far).
Occupation: I earn my paychecks and health insurance at a horrible law firm but also do a lot of promoting/street team for various concert promoters out here. I hope to turn the Promotional stuff into my career as seeing live music is my #1 passion in life.
First Bullets Memory: I vaguely remember going to a Bullets-Magic game Shaq’s rookie year. I don’t remember much other than that there was one of those horrible delays due to the condensation on the floor(remember when that would happen all the time?). I more clearly remember my father taking me to a couple games courtside when I was younger leaving me with memories of Muhresan palming kids heads while trying to ruffle their hair, Being stared down by Matt Geiger for heckling him before a inbounds play, and sitting next to David Falk(at the height of his power) and all the players having to come over and kiss his ugly daughter.
Favorite Bullets Moment: This may sound crazy but my pops couldn’t attend the game where Gilbert hit that shot right past the halfcourt line(and later choked but I chose not to remmeber that part). I gave the extra ticket to my friend and then we got pretty drunk on the Metro on the way over. I was wearing this ridiculous blue addidas velour track suit and an Arenas jersey and was getting evil looks from the Metro crowd. I was sitting in the aisle seat and everybody was so keyed up for that shot and on their feet. When it happened it knocked me over onto my back in the aisle like I had been shot. Everybody in the crowd was pulling me up and slapping me on the back and hugging me. I have managed to only remember that part and not the missed free throws after. I also enjoy(a little too much) heckling the sports writers at the games. My pops has a partial ticket plan in the section right behind the Wiz bench where the tunnel is. I had some serious beef with Mike Wise when he started so I would heckle him mercilessly before the games. Him and everyone in the section would just be looking at me wondering who/why I was heckling. I cheer for Wilbon and David Aldridge but will yell "HOWWWWEEVVVVAAAA!!!!" repeatedly anytime Stephen A. Smith shows his face cuz I hate that guy.
formula0
Name: What?!? You guys might be weirdos!
Age: 32
Background: Raised and spent 15 years in the Baltimore, Washington DC, Northern Virgina area. Lived in California for most of this decade. I’m a die-hard hoops junkie and NBA fan first and foremost, although obviously my favorite team is the Wizards.
Occupation: I own a technology company.
First Bullets/Wizards memory: I’m so old I don’t even remember what my first memory was. I don’t have a single first memory, but what comes to mind is images of Bernard King, Michael Adams, Manute Bol, and Muggsy in Bullets uniforms playing in Landover.
Favorite memory: One of my favorite memories is driving out to Landover to watch the Bullets taking on the Magic. I remember watching Big Gheorge being an absolute load for young Shaq to handle, and then on two consecutive possessions Big Gheorge blocked Shaq’s shot. You could sort of see a little bit of fear in Shaq’s eyes when he went against Gheorge.
Other favorite memories are: watching MJ on DirecTV going off for 51 and 45 on consecutive games, and of course when Gilbert hit the fall-away game winner in Chicago. I also remember I was 17 years old and at work (making $4.25 an hour!) on the first night we made the trade for Chris Webber. I remember jumping out of my chair not long into the game after what turned out to be the first of many (which turned out to be not nearly enough!) alley-oops from Juwan Howard to CWebb. As it happened, I remember thinking: “OMG, for the first time since I’ve been following the league, we are finally a team worth watching”
Some bad memories: I watched Jimmy Jackson of the Mavs torch us for like 44 points one year in person, and then Antonie Walker going off for 49 on us another time. Its funny how if you’re a casual fan and just attended those two games with me, you’d have thought that JJ and Toine were the best players ever.
Hey Mike Prada
can you post a photo of yourself also?? I mean every journalists usually have their photos, like what they look like etc.. (like in espn u know) I have been a fan of BF for a while now and I still dont know ur true appearance. It would be nice
Facebook friend me if you are curious
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Khrabb is
Ken Rabin
66 years old and a long-time Washingtonian who has been living in Gortat Nation (Warsaw, Poland) for the last six years… I am a widower who remarried a Polish nuclear physicist. My son is still in DC and the Wiz season tickets have stayed in the family since 1994 or so. My daughter fled to LA a few years back but I think has not yet been totally propagandized by the Lakers.
I am semi-retired from doing healthcare communications for an international PR firm (I still work in a local PR agency in Warsaw). I came to DC originally in 1966 as a junior foreign service officer but did not stay long, returned in 1974 as a professor of public relations at American University for six years before going over to the dark side.
I am a pro basketball junkie. I come from Rochester and went to my first Royals (now Sacto Kings) game in the early 50s. My Uncle played pro ball in the 1920s. My Mom took me to see George Mikan at a local department store in 1950 when the original Lakers were in town.
First Bullets game was back in the early 70s when George McGinnis played for the Sixers…. I still think of him as the prototype for LeBron James.
Three greatest thrills.
1- Watching Wes, Elvin and the Bullets beat the Iceman and the Spurs at Cap Centre in the Eastern Semifinals in 1978 (both my kids were born in those two glorious years, 1977-79). I was so hoarse from cheering I could not talk for three days, bad for a college lecturer!
2- Like you, Mike, watching the ancient MJ come from nowhere to pin Mercer’s shot to the backboard.
3- Coming home from Europe to go to a game in Gilbert’s first year with the team and being not particularly impressed until one play when he was holding the ball on the wing, head and shoulder faked his defender and then blew by him to the basket with the quickest first step I have ever seen. I looked at my son and said, “He is lightning in a bottle. You can teach the fake, but that first step is a gift from God.”
"My daughter fled to LA a few years back but I think has not yet been totally propagandized by the Lakers."
Yikes! Don’t be so sure. It’s incredibly difficult to resist the dark side. Most transplants I know here in LA, including me, are so called "forced Laker fans :(
True... and I did not help matters by taking her primarily
to see Bucks-Wizards games when we were all in DC… She never forgave me for not taking her to see the better teams!
I should also mention that she did have a serious crush on Darvin Ham...
when she was 16 or so…
CJHutch
Christian
36 years old and I’m a sports fanatic. The Redskins hold top billing for me, but I am a huge Wizards fan, and have been for as long as I can remember. I used to go to the Cap center for games, but I never watched basketball on TV as a (little) kid. Then came cable. WGN and TNT were nationwide, with WGN showing MJ’s Bulls and TNT showing Dominique’s Hawks. I begged my parents for a VCR, and I was hooked. I taped every Bulls and Hawks games that came on, and watched them over and over. As the NBA’s popularity expanded, so did my viewing of it, so I became an even bigger fan of the league, taking in as many games as possible. While always a Bullets fan, I loved watching all the teams.
While I didn’t start WATCHING basketball until my teens, I’ve played since age 8. I love playing basketball, and I’ve had plenty of “interesting” encounters while playing. The 1st NBA player ever met was Adrian Branch. His girlfriend (or someone he knew) lived near me, and he would occasionally come down to the courts with another skyscraper and play with us. He even handed out Timberwolves t shirts to us. I was friends with Jerome Williams in high school and after, and played with him a lot. One pickup game we played was against Alonzo Mourning. I played in a summer league game once against Lawrence Moten, and a couple of pickup games with Lonny Baxter. The courts I “grew up” on (Montgomery Village Jr High) have been frequented by plenty of good players. One summer two guys showed up out of nowhere and played with us every day. I later found out they were Rodney White (drafted by the Pistons) and Jamison Brewer (drafted by the Pacers.) Brewer was one of the best shooters I’ve ever played against. And I’m proud to say that I (sort of) held my own against White down low, as I was picked to guard him just about every day. I also played against a 14 year old sparkplug named Isaiah Swann, who later played for Florida State. But probably the most interesting games I played were while I was in the Navy. My ship pulled to port in Greece, and our ships team played a couple of games against the Greek National team. We had a couple of pre and post NCAA players, and fared pretty well. We won 1 of 3 games.
With a bad ankle, trick knee, and a flat tire around my waist now, I don’t play as much as I’d like anymore. I coached a few rec teams, but my schedule made it hard to keep up. Almost as much as the playing, I missed the pre-game NBA chatter. That’s where this site came to the rescue. I can get my fix on info and such, and I get a forum for another passion of mine. I’m not sure if anyone knows this, but I REALLY love to debate. Since I’m too old for bar room brawls, this site is perfect. I can say what I want on here without worrying about getting punched in the mouth. Seriously though, causing trouble isn’t the ONLY reason I like debates. Throughout my life, I’ve learned more from gathering the opinions, observations, and ideas of people I encounter than I’ve learned from any book.
So that’s the basketball part of my life. But the most important parts of my life are my 2 daughters. One 4 and one 3. As many experiences as I’ve had in my life, I can’t remember them not being a part of it. Even though they’ve only been around the last 3 and 4 years, it seems like they’ve been here forever. And to make sure they have everything they ever want and need, I work for Amtrak. I am an electrical technician on the Acela trains. I keep them from running.
joseroig is
Real Name: Jose
I live in Bel Air, Maryland, about 15 miles north of Baltimore and work as a Technology Consulting in DC, Baltimore and Northern Virginia. I was born in Baltimore and have spent my entire life living this area. The only exception was my freshman year of college, during which I learned the valuable lesson that skipping class for weeks at a time will, in fact, affect your grades. But Christ Jesus reached down and pulled me out of the muck. So now, at age 42, I am tremendously blessed with 1 grown son, a daughter-in-law, a grandchild on the way, 2 teenage daughters and the most amazing wife that has graced this planet.
My first Bullets game was so long ago that I can’t remember it, but now it’s real hard for me to get to games. I watch as often as I can on TV, keeping the phone lines open in case coach needs my advice. :-)
I’d have to say my favorite old memory was seeing Wes Unseld look on during the trophy presentation back in ‘78. More recently, it’d have to be Gilbert’s game winners … they kind of blur together, but they were all good. The bad memories would have to be the oh-so-close calls in the playoffs against the Lebron’s.
sierradave is
Real Name: Dave Karpf
Occupation: Actually, I’ve been meaning to write a fan post about this. Hanging out on BulletsForever sort of counts as “research” for me! I joined the community in January 2007, both as an outlet for my Wizards-obsession ( I was living in the enemy territories of Philly at the time, so it was sorely needed) and because my dissertation research was on the political blogosphere. Bulletsforever has taught me a lot about how community blogs differ from personal blogs. I just defended my dissertation last month and now could, I suppose, be called “Dr. Sierradave.” I’ve published two academic pieces on the political blogosphere, one of which mentions BF by name, and y’all get a nice shout-out in my dissertation acknowledgments as well.
The “sierra” part of my handle is because I’m also on the board of directors of the Sierra Club. I’ve been actively involved with that org since high school, so if we ever need a token dirty hippie for something, just let me know.
Location: just moved to Providence, RI for a research position at Brown. Grew up in the DC suburbs.
First Bullets memory: First memory had to be watching the game where Bernard King scored 55 points and the team still lost on television. That’s all pretty foggy though. I wasn’t much of a basketball fan growing up or in college, but my senior year was when Jordan joined the team and I sort of figured “well, if Michael Jordan is going to come out of retirement to play for your hometown team, I suppose you ought to at least watch some of the games.” From there I got hooked on the intricacies of the sport, the way that offense and defense flow and mesh together and teams develop strategies.
Favorite Bullets memory: Either the second Boston victory in that back-to-back set in 2007/8 or Arenas’s game winner against Chicago. My upstairs neighbors almost called that cops after that one; I was yelling that hard. Honorable mention to the game against the Lakers in 06/07 (I think) when Kobe passed the ball to Kwame and it bounced OFF HIS HEAD out of bounds. Schadenfreude, it’s what’s for dinner!
Morethesamewiz is...
Real name: Emmet O’Neal
Occupation: I’m finishing up college this year and the plan is to head off to law school next season with Washington being my ideal locale so I can get some Wizards season tickets, although of course I would not never let such considerations affect such an important decision.
I first came to the Wizards with the Michael Jordan signing, and when I left Birmingham for a boarding school outside of Charlottesville in ‘03, I was able to watch all the games on Comcast and since then I’ve only missed a handful of games.
First Bullets memory: Michael Jordan’s signing and the draft picks (as a Heels fan, I was really excited about Haywood). I’ve always liked that the Wizards have had at least a few Carolina guys on the team.
Favorite Bullets memory: Arenas’s ESPN Mag cover story after being signed, Arenas’s career games against the Lakers and Suns, or the famous gamewinner against Chicago. Discovering bulletsforever, a crackhouse of sorts for Wizards addicts.
Morethesamewiz comes from the Wizards mantra of consistency under the EJ/EG regime, frustrating fans from the piece-missing school of thought.
JakeTheSnake
Real Name: Jake Whitacre
Occupation: Right now, I’m a student at George Mason where I’m getting my degree in communication. I also have a job with a radio company, where I help out with promotional events and occasionally working the sound board for events. I’m also working at a car wash for the summer to pick up a little extra scratch.
Location: Winchester, VA
First memory: Getting a shirt with Chris Webber and Juwan Howard’s jerseys on it. It sounds like a really dorky shirt but it looked really nice. It became a little more memorable after they were both accused of sexual assault. Of course, the charges on both of them were dropped , but I got some funny looks for a little while.
Favorite memory: Gotta be Gilbert’s game-winner against Chicago, even though I didn’t get to see it until the next morning.
Bullets Forever: A blog dedicated to the Washington Wizards with analysis, commentary, and more YouTube videos than your eyes can handle.
ledellforlife
Real Name: Sean
Age: 30
Background: Small catholic private school in DC (and and Abbey!), College of William and Mary 2001. Lived through the Pierce/Walker years in Boston from 2001-05, moved back home last year in time for the Bullets to tank. Currently living in the TK PK.
Occupation: Historian, historic preservation – basically fixing old stuff whether it be buildings or landscapes.
First Bullets memory: http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/198801270BOS.html.
Thanks Larry Bird. You certainly know how to make a 10 yr old cry! My fatalism as a sports fan had already been cemented from MANY seasons as an O’s season ticket attendee, but watching Bird tear us apart was a scarring experience. Worse, my entire family are NE transplants. So it was fun times that night. Fun times, indeed.
Best Bullets memory: http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200601250BOS.html
A meaningless game in the middle of January, but GodWuzaWiz and I attended in full Wizards regalia at the new TD Banknorth. Harassed all game, it was extremely gratifying to see the Wizards beat a terrible C’s team, even if we almost got mauled on the T ride home.
My Wizard fandom is characterized by overvaluing role players like Michael Ruffin, while hating players like Brendan Haywood or Kwame Brown. This comes from no other analytical evidence other than the fact that I attend around 15 games a year, and each one starts with Brendan having a ball bounce off his hands. Its a tradition, so much so that I actually look forward to it happening.
Its always Roger Mason (Jr.) time!
I should correct that to read
the first feed that Brendan receives inside. I hear the sound BROINGGGGG every time in my head.
Its always Roger Mason (Jr.) time!
Ooba-
Real name – Vibha. Ooba comes from my name being mispronounced so many times. I’ve even been called Fajita by some people because they just can’t figure it out.
Age 37, lived in DC since 1990 when I came over here from Hong Kong for school. I work for a non-profit as Director of Operations.
I am a sports fanatic. It comes from playing a lot of sports growing up and watching a lot growing up as well. I might have grown up in what is now basketball mad Asia but at the time but because HK was a British colony and I was educated in British schools- I was soccer mad. Getting up at all hours of the night to watch Manchester United play and world cup soccer.
I became a basketball fan by one day turning on the tv and seeing Shaq running down the court. I don’t know what happened but I was just fascinated. Soon I was sneaking off by myself at parties to go and watch basketball. I guess that is when I was hooked. It took a long time for me to actually become a wizards fan as I follow certain players from team to team. So I was a Lakers fan for a long time because Shaq was there (part of the reason for why I want Kobe to be shot) , then became a Miami fan when he was there (why I like Wade so much from watching him play alot) , then Phoenix. I am really bummed he is now with Cleveland because no way I can root for him anymore. My wizards allegiances trump all else now. People think my baskeball fandom is very weird because bball and music are really my religions and for the life of me I really can’t explain to people why. It just is. They just keep me going when all else fail and I rely heavily on them both. Downside is that I have severe basketball mood swings. Unfortunately they don’t make medication for this.
I started paying attention to the wiz when Webber was here. I really can’t remember at all my first wiz moment. It was something at the old arena in Landover. My favorite current wizards moments that I can remember are when we beat the Bulls to advance to the second round. Everyone at the game was just so happy and I had never had the chance to experience success like that here. I remember high fiving and hugging complete strangers. My second is game 3 of the playoffs last year when we beat Cleveland. It was just such a perfect experience for me from start to finish and I remember I ended up staying up all night because I was so happy and too excited to sleep.
I go to as many games as I can as I’ve had season tickets for the past couple of years. I also go to the NCAA tournament a lot. I think I’ve gone 7 of the past 9 years. I’m extremely happy that I was at GMU v Connecticut. That trumps everything for favorite bball memory.
I forgot to mention-
I know I’m going to have extra tickets this season because i always have conflicts from travel and karate class. So it’s possible we may be able to have a meet up at one of the games if I can exchange a bunch of my tickets for a game. We’ll see….
George Templeton
Name: Same as my handle (What have I go to hide!)
Age: 31
Background: Born in Fairfax County Memorial, lived in Vienna, Va. Moved to Sarasota, Fla. saw the Magic and Heat born into existence. Moved back to Northern Virginia (Centreville) for my senior of high school. Went to VCU as a poli-sci major and became a mass com major after I started to cover sports for the Commonwealth Times. Ended up a staff writer, sports editor and then executive editor. Spent far too much time at the college newspaper and ended up not graduating. A complete sports fanatic (watch almost everything) and a poker fanatic too. Politics is my other main interest.
Occupation: Now work at the Richmond Times-Dispatch in the sports department as a grunt with occasional writing duties.
First Bullets/Wizards memory: My grandparents got front row tickets near the Bullets bench behind the basket. It was an early game in the 87-88 season against the Indiana Pacers. My grandfather got to shoot for something at halftime and missed. What was really cool was that I was at the end of the row and Moses Malone was subbed and went to the end of bench and he couldn’t have been more than a few feet from me. And I knew enough about basketball even then to know that was pretty cool. I also talked a lot of junk at what I believe was a rookie Reggie Miller at the time (my memory is fuzzy, I know whoever it was pointed at me after he made a shot). I think Manute Bol had a triple double and the Bullets won but we left early :(
Favorite memory: Gosh where do I start. Going to a Bullets game where they blasted the Rockets in 1996 (with tickets I won at a Fairfax County GOP convention if you can believe it). That is a favorite because it is the first game I went to with my Dad after I moved to live with him (he is a longtime Bullets fan who had tickets to Finals games in 1978 but couldn’t go because I was due at any minute, of course he went in 79 when they lost!).
The Wizards drafting Rip Hamilton (by far the best Wizards draft pick since I have been a fan).
Every home game in the series win over the Bulls (complete with hugging random strangers and calling my friend at work who was as big a Bullets/Redskin fan as I was so he could hear the crowd after Game 6). Ain’t No Stopping Us Now playing after that game was over. Gilbert’s bow after hitting the clinching shot against the Lakers. DeShawn Stevenson’s game-winner in New Orleans. Game 3’s blasting of the Cavs. Traveling on LeBron.
Favorite players: Darrell Walker, Scott Skiles, Don MacLean, Michael Adams, Bernard King (the mythical Bullets era since I lived in Fla. then)
Tim Legler, Gheorge Muresan, Rip Hamilton, Courtney Alexander, Tough Juice (since I’ve been home era).
"Would you like to shoot me now or wait till you get home." --- Daffy Duck
by George Templeton on Aug 1, 2009 1:21 PM EDT reply actions
Yes that draft (Rip Hamilton) was held at...
Cap Centre (by then US Airways Arena) and my late wife and I were there.
Glad to see some props for Darrell Walker too!
Little Stevie Colter
Name: Allen Scully
Age: 35
Background: Grew up in Falls Church VA (the Real F.C. – not Fairfax F.C.!) – have left and returned to the DC area a few times, but am currently living in Tucson, AZ while my better half goes to grad school here. This city is slightly insane, by the way – mostly in an entertaining way though.
Work: I work doing fund-raising data analysis for a large environmental non-profit based in NOVA, but has an office in Tucson that I get to work from so I did not have to change jobs when we moved. Still very tied to the DC area and its sports teams – although the Skins are really, really testing my patience.
Bullets history: Been a fan since I was really young – My dad got me a bumper-sticker with the classic logo celebrating their championship and i had it on the door of my room, even though at age 5 I didn’t really know anything about basketball. But I knew that that logo kicked ass, and began following the team closely in the early/mid 1980’s.
As indicated by the handle, I have always been fascinated by the obscure, not-so-great role players over the years. I think Mel Proctor on HTS getting so excited whenever The Secret Weapon scored is what got me hooked.
Best Memory – Freshman year of college in New York state (1991 or 1992), made the hour long trip south to MSG to see Bullets-Knicks. Ledell was on FIRE!!! scored a sick amount of points, and the Bullets slowly choked and gave the game away. Knicks fan sitting near me just laughed, and said ‘Man, the Bullets suck – they can’t even beat the Knicks, and the Knicks SUCK!’.
Also, seeing Jordan live vs. the Suns was pretty cool.
"a crab dribble is when you travel" - caron butler
by little stevie colter on Aug 1, 2009 2:09 PM EDT reply actions
PantlsessYoda1
Name: Thomas Pruitt
Age: 24
Background: Grew up in Maryland near BWI, then went to college in the mountains where I was kind of cut off from pretty much all culture except for sports, which led to me following the Wizards again after not really watching sports for almost ten years.
Work: I used to work for a polling company, designing, proofing, and analyzing surveys for political campaigns, then spent pretty much the entire 2008/2009 NBA season unemployed, which is how I found Bullets Forever. Now I work for a foreign exchange company, basically taking business’ dollars and using them to buy GBP, Euros, Yen, etc. when they need to make payments overseas.
Bullets history: I was a huge fan of the Fab Five at University of Michigan, and having two of the players on my home team really made me love the Bullets. My favorite memory of that era was the Bulls series where we got swept but did it in such a respectable way that I was actually unafraid to dream again. After Webber left, I stopped caring, but I got back into them during the 2007/2008 season.
Best memory: it’s not exactly a playoff win or something, but I guess my favorite memory from the Wizards era was the second victory over the Celtics that year where it felt like we were just the scrappiest, most overachieving team in the league (here’s a link to the game summary http://wizards.fandome.com/video/96427/Wizards-88-Celtics-83/ ). I remember changing my facebook picture to one of Caron Butler for a good two months after that game, and I really did believe we could go deep into the playoffs once Gil came back.
Sure, why not....
Name: Nate
Age: 34
Occupation: Former bartender, current Bitter IT Geek
Hometown: Good ole Woodbridge, VA. Cuz, ya know, I’m classy like that.
To be honest, I grew up a huge Showtime fan, but I was also the perfect age to be an even bigger Fab 5 fan. Once Webber came on board, I officially converted (plus, I thought I should be a fan of at least one of the local teams). I couldn’t really tell you what my first Bullets memory is, but I’m sure it’s centered around Manute Bol and probably came with a chuckle. I do have fond memories of them taking the Bulls to the mat in ‘97. That was a great series. I absolutely hated the Jordan era, for multiple reasons, and was perfectly happy to watch him drive out of town. I’ll just say this, as much of a joke as Kwame has become, it wasn’t all his fault.
I’m kind of a purist, so I’m giving Arenas one more chance to prove that he can actually be a point guard before I kidnap Flip’s kids to make him switch him to 2. My deep and pure hatred for UNC makes it hard for me to embrace guys like Haywood (I was cheering for Etan the whole way) and Jamison. At least I haven’t openly booed them like we used to do to Laettner, though. Those were good times. I actually miss Chrissy sometimes. He was always good for comedic value.
My all-time favorite Bullets memory (and yes, I flat out refuse to call them the Wizards) is actually a recent one. The back to back against the Celtics was f-ing incredible. I ran out and bought an HD TV after the second game because I felt like they actually deserved to be watched properly. And I hate the Celtics like hippies hate bathing. It’s a holdover from my Lakers fanboy days.
I was one of the guys who flipped !&#% when they gave Gilbert $111 and then followed it up by handing AJ 4 more years. Watching Songaila get PT over the kids used to give me migraines and upped my booze intake dramatically.
I know that everybody says they won a ring in ‘78 (there’s even, supposedly, video evidence of it) but I’m not sure that I really believe it. I was never really sure about how to handle the moderate success they had over the last few years. Last season definitely felt more like home. I mean, I love my Bullets, but it is the Bullets. The team that had Manute and Mugsy on the same roster. Georghe “My Giant” Muresan. Hot Plate. How can you not love this team? Hey, at least they’re not the Clippers. :)
Dan
I have been a Bullets fan since I was 12 or so. I am 30 now 31 in 6 days. My favorite player during those early years was Michael Adams. I went to a game at Cap Center when I was younger. My cousin was a Lakers fan. I was just happy to be there
I used to watch every game and pray we would start to win. I really believed we would win with Webber and Howard. I shook Howards hand at the million man march. Quite a thrill for me. Oh I also thought Calbert was great, even bought asics.
I just knew things were different when Jordan came. In retrospect, that was the beginning of us trying to win for real.
Favorite memory? Beating the bulls in playoffs. Too bad I was born in 78 after our championship.
by Danyon Rome on Aug 1, 2009 9:05 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Hotplate
Name: Dan Todd
Occupation: programmer at the Census Bureau
Age: 50 (ouch)
I moved to the Washington area in 1983. Being from an area where the NBA was practically invisible, I had no particular loyalties, so it wasn’t tough to become a Bullets fan (unlike that area football team).
I worked with someone who was a ticket seller at the Cap Center so often got free tickets from her. When the Bullets traded for Gus Williams, I joined a group of guys at work in picking up 10 game plans. Then I met a buddy who was also a 10 game plan holder and joined him and his brother in a ticket plan. Since then I’ve been a plan holder for most years (except the early years at the Verizon Center). I’ve been a full season ticket holder for the past 5. Upper Deck, center court and only $15 a game.
Best memories: 3 seasons stand out: the ’88-89 season in which Jeff Malone and my nickname inspiration John Williams led the undermanned Bullets to a surprising 40-42 season nearly making the playoffs, the ’95-96 season in which Juwann Howard led the undermanned Bullets almost to the playoffs and the 04-05 season when we actually made the playoffs.
Love heading into to Chinatown early and grabbing dinner at one of the area restaurants and then catching the game. Looking forward to a great year this season.
Hotplate was one of the all time woulda coulda shoulda players...
Before he turned into the Goodyear Blimp he was a seriously promising talent.
You have chosen an inspired screen name!
Hotplate again
I forgot to add that I LOVE Bullets Forever. Prada and Jake to a great job and the commenters/contributors are also outstanding.
Rook6980
Name: Mark Riggs (Nickname: Rook – – – short for “rookie” , after my friends in High School started calling me rookie when I had a knee injury playing football)
Age: 55 (in October)
Location: Luray, VA
Background: Lived in Virginia most of my life. I especially like the Western mountains, and the Shenandoah River.
Occupation: IBM Alliance Operations Manager for Capgemini (French Consulting firm)
Hobbies (besides Wizard’s Basketball): Fishing (Florida Peacock Bass…. Canada Pike & Walleye)
Favorite Bullets/Wizards memory – being 6 rows up, at the tunnel in the old Cap Center – and watching Gheorghe Muresan walk by at EYE LEVEL.
Second favorite – Same game as above – High fives with Calbert Cheaney and Juwan Howard as they left the floor after a Bullets win… ( I don’t even remember the team they played )…
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
Since We're All Bonding Here
Name: Corey
Age: 31
Location: Beltsville, MD
Occupation: I’m a manager at UMCP.
Non-Wizard Hobbies: Reading, writing, blogging, and watching too many movies
Favorite Bullets/Wizards memory: Courtney Alexander winning a game all by himself against the T-Mac-lead Magic while all the heavy hitters were either hurt or sick (extra special because I was there).
Second Favorite: Arenas. Chicago. Game 5.
Looks like I’m the youngest here,
Name: Jimmy
Age:18
Background: Moved from Arlington to Fairfax County, which is by far the better county at least facilities wise.
Occupation: Student, college starting this year, completely have no clue what I’ll major in. Not math, that’s for sure, still trying to figure out what all the metrics in 82games.com mean.
First Bullets/Wizards memory: The Michael Jordan signing and the subsequent failure. What a way to start a fandom.
Favorite memory: Pretty much all of the 2004-05 season when I first bought NBA 2k5 and played the entire season as the real team played. Great game, great season.
Not quite the youngest, Fundefined
Name: Lemont Johnson
Age:16
Location: Clinton, MD
Occupation: Student, entering my senior year in high school. Just got my driver’s liscense the day before yesterday btw.
First Bullets/Wizards Memory: I wasnt really a Wizards (or basketball) fan then but the first thing I remember is Michael Jordan coming to the Wizards, hearing my older brothers and my dad talk about it. I first started watching the Wizards sometime in early January 2007 when Gilbert was tearing the league up and from then on I just became more and more attached until I became a die hard Wizards fan. Now I probably know as much about the league as people that have been following it for many more years than I have.
Favorite Memories: My memories obviously do not go back as far as others but my favorite memories are being at the game where Steve Francis made the buzzer beater against the Wiz and then stood on the scorers table afterwards, being at the game against Golden State where Gilbert made 3 free throws with 0.1 on the clock to win the game, and being at the game this past season against Indiana where Caron hit the game winner.
Jon L
Real name: Jon Lewallen (shocking, huh)
Age: 27
Occupation: Unemployed! Previous jobs have mainly involved legislative analysis and political research; I used to live in Arlington but moved to Austin, TX at the beginning of this year. Other than basketball I read a lot, listen to music and attend shows pretty frequently, and am what some people call a “comedy nerd.”
First Bullets memory: I’m actually not sure. Growing up I went through periods of paying attention and not-paying attention to the team. I followed them in the paper, but I didn’t attend many games in person and they were never on TV. So my first memories are a hazy mix of Jeff Malone, Tom Gugliotta, Harvey Grant, Brent Price, Rex Chapman, LaBradford Smith, Pervis Ellison, Doug Overton and Michael Adams. Which is honestly probably for the best.
Favorite memories: Sadly, one of my favorite memories (or at least I enjoyed it at the time) was when the Bullets finally made the playoffs, lost to the Bulls and were called by Jordan a “team to watch.” Finally, after the Unseld years, rooting for the Bullets was a point of pride. You all know how that turned out.
A few other things: I love playing NBA Live 2000, unlocking…you know, putting him on the Wizards with Mitch Richmond, Rod Strickland and Juwan Howard and running every other team off the court. I’m sure in doing so I’m working something out that’s deep-rooted and troubling, but for some reason I never really wanted to play as Gugliotta and Weatherspoon in NBA Jam.
Also, I want to thank Prada, Jake and Truth (and Rook) for running such a great site. I’d started watching every Wizards game again right before I found this place, and I really think this is one of the best team-based sites around. Commenting and posting stuff here got me thinking and writing more about basketball, which sort-of lead to my current gig over at Ridiculous Upside. And even now, in a lot of ways I consider myself a BF commenter first.
Ridiculous Upside, where the D-League is better than your favorite team, as objectively determined by Summer League.
mamemimo
Real Name: Gabriel (what, mamemimo’s a dude??)
Age: 26
Occupation/Location: Systems Test Engineer for “smart” transit systems, which means I do a ton of travel, and I spent most of the last season in Austin, TX which meant I missed most of the season, but I currently live in Crofton, MD. I grew up on the Orange Line in Cheverly, MD.
First Bullets/Wizards memory: I always played basketball as a kid, but I didn’t really get into the NBA until after the Bullets became the Wizards. My real memory was going to my first game at MCI center (I know I saw them at the Caps center when I was real young, but I don’t remember it at all.) I spent most of the game cheering for Tyrone Nesby with a couple of kids in the same row who kept calling him “the Nesbian”.
Best Memory: I went to Game Six where we beat Chicago. One of the best days of my life. I ran outside screaming with the rest of the crowd, shouting “To get injured!” after every “We want Shaq!” chant.
The Washington Wizards: providing career scoring nights for unknown opposing bench players since 2004.
ReboundingLs
Patrick, 44, ISP Network Engineering
I hardly comment but love this friggen blog. You guys are amazing. My earliest memories are pretty vauge, but they certainly include polyester fat lady t-shirts, center court postgame interviews, and the PA announcer screaming “EEEEE!!!” after Elvin Hayes baskets. My favorite memory is sitting in row ZZ with my wife watching the Wizards win game 6 and the series in 2005. I never wanted to leave.
ccrun1800
Name: David
Age: 26 —→ 27 in eight days
Location: Hampton, VA
Background: born and raised in Silver Spring MD. graduated from a local catholic basketball power-house ( H.S. ) in 2000.
Occupation: Joined the Navy did six years, escaped w/ an HD and now do college by day and Particle ( Electron ) Accelerator Operator by night.
Hobbies: Soccer is my first love which may explain why abhor using stats to determine how a team will perform. I would rather just use my skills of observation. I really dont like stats. I’m a hometown Homer even being 200 miles away. Redskins, D.C. United, Terps Basketball.
Just a shoutout to BulletsForever. Its really hard to find a fan of any Washington team outside of the DC area. So its nice to come to a site and have intelligent discourse about one of my local teams. I’ll even take the stat heavy discourse as well.
My 1st ever Bullets Forever Post
Name: Diego
Age: 31
Background: Born and Raised in Washington DC and Oxon Hill MD (Glassmanor), I graduated from Oxon Hill HS in 1995 and finished only one year of college, now Im a working stiff with a 1 year old baby girl who is already a Bullets/Wiz fan
Occupation: Records Coordinator at a major downtown lawfirm…hopefully I can find a managerial job pretty soon
I am a Sports Junkie by trade. I have been watching basketball since the age of 4 and continue to love the game as much as my 1st born :-). You can also catch me @ the Goodman League/Barry Farms summer league games on a regular basis at my usual courtside seat.
First Bullets/Wizards memory: 1st memory….a Larry Bird dagger @ the Capital Center, I believe it was around 1987 and it was my 1st game I attended…I hated Larry Bird until that moment, then I realized how awesome a player he was
Favorite memory: The Gilbert Arenas “Dagger” vs Chicago….
Shout out to BulletsForever….I stumbled across this site just google searching SOMETHING about the Wizards offseason plans and since March, I check on this site everyday…I will post more and more from now on.
wizchamp (corny screen name but i couldn't think of anything so i combined wizards with champion
Real name: Jahir
Born in Peru
Age: 16
going into junior yr
First wizards memory: seeing jordan highlights on espn when he returned to play for D.C. i knew the wizards then but wasn’t to in to basketball
Favorite Memories: since i really started watching wizards only a few yrs back my moments are all in the gilbert era
1: gils game winner against chicago , likemost people on the site
and 2: gils game winner against the jazz. my dad is big fan of the jazz and i got to rub this in his face
this site is great. i hope that i can add a wizards championship to my favorite moments in the near future.
ok here goes
Name: Rashad Mobley.
Age: 34
Background: Born in Manhattan, moved around a ton until 1987, when I moved to Potomac, MD, attend Winston Churchill H.S. went to Hampton University (class of ’96)
Occupation: Trainer/Analyst for the Dept of Justice; writer for hoopsaddict.com
Eventually: I’ll be Tony kornheiser sans the tv show. I want to write, and do a semi sports radio show
First Bullets/Wizards memory: Bernard king’s first season coincided with my first year in this area, and since I had just moved from CT, I had seen countless games of him when he was the Knicks. But seeing him in person was priceless.
Favorite memory: The way the Capital Center would basically break into a standing ovation every time Charles “Secret Weapon” Jones got the ball. Once or twice a game, he’d break out some all star caliber move, and then go back to being a defensive wizard.
twitter.com/rashad20
T.Really
Name: Tony Larson
Age: 25
Background: Born in Seattle, moved to the DC area when I was 5, lived in Arlington ever since. I went to Washington-Lee H.S. (‘02) in Arlington and after spending my freshman year at McGill in Montreal, I transferred back to VA to go to William and Mary (’06). For the past couple of years I’ve been living in Arlington and managing online communications for a small children’s advocacy non-profit in the district.
I didn’t follow sports much growing up, and aside from a couple stints watching the playoffs and rooting against the Lakers—mainly just because I didn’t like the look on Rick Fox’s face—it took me until I was in college before I realized that I really liked watching basketball. I fell back into it watching the ’05/06 Suns and shortly thereafter I started following the Wizards pretty closely, and have since become completely obsessed with the team.
First Bullets/Wizards memory: I remember attending a game in middle school at the MCI center, probably not long after it was built. At the time, I still didn’t care much for sports, but a buddy had an extra ticket, and we were playing the bulls so I wanted to see MJ play. I don’t even recall who won the game, in fact I don’t really remember much of anything about it, aside from that it happened. Not really an inspiring first memory, oh well.
Favorite memories: The first game I attended after I started to really follow the team was the Bucks game in ’07 when Gilbert hit the game winner and turned his back to the basket. There had been some sort of mistake in the box office that night, and my buddy and I ended up only a few rows back behind the basket (would have been front row at a hockey game) for the $10 student price! It turned out we were on the side that he hit the shot from. For days I would turn on espn and see replays of that shot, my buddy and I in the background going nuts every time.
Another great memory was Game three of the ’08 Cavs series. The VC was nuts watching the wiz spank the traveliers. One thing I remember the most about that night was how hyped the crowd got every time Roger Mason did anything.
Thanks to the guys behind Bullets Forever, I’ve been reading this blog steadily for two years now and you guys all do awesome work, commentors as well. I really would like to comment more but I’m usually too busy reading what everybody else has to say, by the time I get around to writing anything I realize its probably time to get back to work.
Wow....i think i'm the first person to make a comment that's under the age of 30.......Fresh92
Name: Henry U.
Age:17
From: Lanham, md
ABOUT ME : Upcoming senior…….c/o 2010!!!
Defensive End for Bowie Bulldogs varsity team
WIZARDS:I started watching the wizards and and all other sports back in 2004-05 when they had first made their first of four consecutive playoffs.
I was watching and as good as they did, i felt more and more proud that this was our home team.
Then i was watching the end of game 5 of the WSH/CHI series in 2005, when Gilbert hit that shot over Kirk Hinrich to give the wizards a 3-2 series lead. After that shot i couldn’t stop talking about them……then i felt crushed when the Heat smacked us out of the playoffs the week after.
Then the following year when they played the cavs, i broke into tears when damon jones hit that shot that gave the cavs the series
Ever since then, i try to watch all the wizards games i can and maybe i’ll go to a couple of games soon……….
I can’t wait for the start of this season because i want to see the wizards pick up the trophy at least once………
GO WIZARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go Bowie Bulldogs!
My son’s in the special ed class at Bowie High and my daughter starts 9th grade there this year.
Guys
Thanks for all the praise for the site. Just remember, it’s you guys who make it enjoyable as much as it is Jake, Truth, Rook, bwoods and I.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
bwoodsxyz
Background: Born and raised in the Baltimore area and went to college at Maryland. I was a serious pickup bball addict in high school and college and in college averaged playing about 20 hrs a week. As a fan, I grew up following the Bullets in the box scores and standings, but pulled for the Miller-time Pacers (8 pts in 9 seconds is still my favorite non-Arenas nba memory) because I could actually see them on tv some and they weren’t the Knicks, Bulls, or Lakers. Thanks to growing up out of the DC area and without cable, I was basically a college hoops + xmas day + nba playoffs sort of fan until college.
My Wizards fan-dom was cemented by a combination of finally getting to watch them on a regular basis in college followed by their acquisition of one of my all-time favorite terps, Laron Profit.
I’m now 31 yrs old and am a lawyer living in Baltimore. I’ll have to stick with the handle.
Earliest Bullets Memory: Nothing stands out. Just generally Ledell Eackles.
Favorite Wizards Memory: Favorite moment: Gilbert’s shot vs the Bulls in the playoffs. Favorite game: Gilbert’s “quality shots” game.
Honorable/dishonorable mention: the “we just got swept by the Bulls but the games were close and we have hope for the future” 96-97 series—pretty much captures the essence of being a Bullets/Wizards fan over the last 20 years, I think.
Favorite players: Eackles, Arenas, Gheorghe, Rod Strickland, and a we hardly knew ye to Sheed.
MR
Matt here, sound engineer/producer, Brooklynite, and Wizards addict in my early 40’s
I grew up in DC and took the long drive out to the Cap Centre a few times a year as a kid. In high school I continued to see the Bullets once in a while along with the Hoyas. I went to college in northern California and followed the DC area teams as best I could from there, but it was hard at the time. There was no real internet to speak of but my kind father would sometimes send me WaPo sports sections in the mail, which I would treasure like written gold.
In 1992 I moved to NYC and found a bar that would show any NBA game I requested, so I essentially moved in, eating my Blimpie, drinking Guiness, and watching the Bullets lose night after night. I know bartenders see a lot of odd things, but I think seeing me in there so often was one of their oddest. I think before I arrived they had never heard of the Bullets. Despite the team’s performances, these were the halcyon days; when my fan-dom turned to fanaticism and my addiction was cemented.
NBA League Pass saved me a lot of beer money when it came around, coupling it with my VCR allowed me to watch at my leisure. I had Knicks season tickets, which I would split with friends, essentially so I could see the Bullets at MSG and go to playoff games. Once in a while we’d drive out to Jersey to see them play the Nets.
Now that I have 2 kids the only thing that allows me to watch 75+ games a year is Tivo and a very understanding wife. Finding this site is pushing her limit.
I am not a fan of any of the local NYC teams, nor will my kids be. This is not negotiable.
By the way if any of my posts have a lot of typos, that’s me trying to type with a baby in my arms. If they are short and harsh, that’s because my 3 year old just spilled something. If they are boring or stupid, well that’s just me.
mfish
Name: Marc
Age: 29
Grew up 10 minutes from the Capital Centre, so Les Boulez games were the biggest part of my early teen years, and have continued on as an obsession. Live in New York now, so the BF community has been great as you all are the only ones who can understand why we argue over who the 13th and 14th men on the bench should be this year.
Earliest memory: I’d say my earliest memory was the ‘88-’89 season in general, when I first started really following the team. Bernard King was healthy, Jeff Malone was steady as she goes, and a young player named John Williams had the city excited. Was the first year I started going to games.
Best memory: On TV – Arenas with the game winner in Chicago. In person – Jordan scoring 50 against the Nets on NYE.
blatche4mvp
Name: Ben
Age: 25
Grew up in Northern VA. Sports fanatic. Skins are number one for me, but I always loved hoops, and clearly am a die hard wiz fan
Number one memory, is actually 2 and both happened last year. My wife and I bought a 13 game pack to the wiz, sick seats right behind the hoop, 7 rows up. Lebron’s crab dribble was right is front of me, and while at that point our season was over, it felt so great to beat the cavs on a lebron travel. Also got to shake Obama’s hand at the Wiz Bulls game, that was pretty awesome
steadyhand - better late than never?
Name: I’m with formula0 on this one. It only takes one wacko…
Age: 34
Background: Early years in CT and NY, followed by higher education down south. I played basketball almost every day from 7th grade until the demands of grad school finally kept me away for longer periods, which is probably why I’ve been as much a fan of players as of teams most of my life. My personal experience playing taught me how important two-way play is. To this day, fans and analysts evaluate players too much based on one end of the court or the other — exploitable weakness on either end hurts the team. But I digress. I was dazzled by Jordan and rooted for the Bulls until his second retirement, when I had to go with Duncan, who I actually knew outside of basketball (the Spurs remain my second-favorite team). Then I moved to DC at the beginning of 2000, and made a concious decision to adopt the Wiz the next year. I’ve always been sucked in by sports teams’ struggles more than their successes, so I got behind the Wiz quickly (having my old protagonist MJ join the team didn’t hurt either, even if he was a shadow of his former self).
First Bullets/Wizards memory: Probably getting taken apart by Bird’s Celtics when I was a wee lad in CT. As a fan it was watching ‘my’ team for the first (19-win) season in 2000-01 and deciding Richard Hamilton was my favorite guy by a mile.
Favorite memory: Okay, it’s not a Wizards memory, but Jordan hitting that series-winner over Ehlo is still easily my favorite NBA memory. Oh yeah, and hanging out with players outside the locker rooms in the mid-90’s in Charlotte after a Hawks-Hornets game because I was with Matt Geiger’s cousin. (One of Glen Rice’s groupies kept giving me the eye, but with his arm draped over her I didn’t see a way to do anything about it.) For the Wiz, I suppose it was getting past the Bulls in ’05 — no single positive moment has really been etched on the old brain-pan yet (kinda sad, in 9 seasons).
love/hate relationship
name: rzawrecktah
age: 26
Background: Alexandria, VA my whole life. Started watching the bullets at age 10.
First Bullets Memory: Gugliotta days.
(one of) Favorite Memory: Bullets with C – Webb, howard, Calbert Chaney. When they moved the 3 point line to 22 feet. Wizards making the play offs with a 44-38 record, getting swept by the Bulls. ggood times.
Apparently I'm the only female Wizards fan.
Name: Mag
Age: 18
First Wizards Memory: The ‘05 playoffs. Not really my first first memory, but that’s when I became a fan.
Occupation: College student. Wooo.
Favorite moment: Don’t really have a favorite moment, just every moment I watch Gilbert play. I love the team as a whole, but I adore watching him. Yes, he has his issues, but there’s just something about the way he plays the game that makes it so much more fun to watch and you can tell he loves every minute of it.
"...at some point, when u r screaming for more minutes for Pecherov, you have to ask yourselves this question: 'If you keep adding more pineapple to a 'Papa Johns Pizza with Pineapple', when does it become a Papa Johns Pineapple with Pizza???'"
by Gilbert4SpaceJam2 on Aug 30, 2009 11:15 PM EDT reply actions
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