A rejuvenated Magic fan

Basketball gods smiled upon me Friday, as I was generously and luckily gifted two tickets to the Orlando Magic game vs. the New York Knicks.

Once upon a time I was part of a group of Magic season ticket holders – there were five of us, and we got eight home games each. This was during a turbulent time in the Magic’s history, post-Shaq and devolving into Penny Hardaway becoming full of himself and leading a coaching coup. I loved going to the games with my son, and there were real standup men and great players on the team then, including Darrell Armstrong, Bo Outlaw, Nick Anderson and Pat Garrity.

After the games, we would hang out behind the arena with other fans and offer our homemade signs up to the players for autographs, and enjoy some camaraderie. The above noted players always rose to this occasion, as did others.

Penny Hardaway was an exception. He acted like a spoiled brat on and off the court. He continually demanded “respect,” not understanding that respect is earned by how one conducts oneself as a sportsman and a human, not demanded. If it looked like the win was in hand, his efforts on the court ceased. Penny swore at my son once when he proffered a sign he had made for him.

Eventually, some of my other season ticket buddies and I let them go. This just wasn’t fun, or worth the cash. I even stopped watching the team on TV or reading about them in the paper, going from a totally devoted fan to an almost completely lapsed one.

Then I attended the game on April 9th, and saw an entirely different and utterly incredible and gorgeous team. I don’t think I’ve seen better basketball in person in my lifetime. Not necessarily the game – it was a blowout, with the Magic taking the lead at 1:33 in the first quarter and never losing it – but how well the Magic functioned as a team, and how they never stopped playing until the game was over, even though they had it won clearly early on.

Most notable was the near absence of trashy/dirty play, whining, pouting, or flopping on both sides. There were few trips to the free-throw line, especially in the first half. No one was a ball hog, and nobody choked the coach. Just smooth well-executed basketball for four whole quarters.


Dwight Howard truly deserves the nickname Superman




Vince Carter is like a dancer or a ghost – he uncannily inserts himself in spots where he just shouldn’t be and scores beautifully. The threes are gorgeous, too




Glad to see Jason Williams again – one of the best passers ever




Thank you, basketball gods and ticket gifter.

GO MAGIC!