Musings from a Wizards fan hooked on the team since 2001.
The 2001 NBA Finals were the reason I became a Washington Wizards fan.
No, the Wizards weren’t playing in the series. Even the most casual Wizards fan would know that the team hasn’t sniffed a Finals appearance in nearly half a century.
But the memorable 76ers-Lakers clash was when I — then a 7-year-old boy from Manila — first became conscious of the Association. I walked into my parents’ room one June morning and saw my father watching one of the ‘01 Finals games on our grainy TV set.
“What’s that?” I asked my dad.
“NBA Finals, anak. Basketball in America,” he answered.
My dad replied to me without looking away from the screen. The gears in my young, impressionable brain started turning.
“Who’s the best player?” I asked.
“Michael Jordan,” he said with zero hesitation.
My dad’s answer cemented my fandom for life.
Three months later, the news broke that Jordan was coming out of retirement to play for the Wizards.
I didn’t know any other players on the Wizards or what the team’s jerseys even looked like. I didn’t even know MJ had previously been retired. All I knew was that I had my team.
I remember going through my dad’s newspapers daily just to get updates on the Wiz. Our local paper would include screenshots of every game’s box score from NBA.com in their sports section for some reason.
Never had I been more disappointed than when I saw the team had lost by 80 points to the Utah Jazz on Valentine’s Day 2003 (the actual score was 109-77, which I blamed on Jerry Stackhouse not playing).
“How are we supposed to make the playoffs now?” I remember worrying.
Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images
As someone who now works in sports full-time, I always get asked why I’m a Wizards fan and retell some variation of the ‘01 Finals story.
Nobody warns you that sports fandom at an early age lasts forever. Such a warning would have been extra beneficial to someone without regional ties to the city their team plays for. Being a DMV native at least makes Wizards fandom make more sense even when the going gets tough.
I’ll always and forever be a fan of the team. But I can’t help but feel like this current stretch of Wizards basketball has tested my fandom like never before.
I’m unsure if this is simply how fandom develops as you get older. As the rigors of navigating through life take your attention away from the basketball that once fully captivated you during adolescence.
Since the Jordan seasons, the team has had a handful of down periods. The team wasn’t exactly lighting the league on fire in the two decades that preceded the Jordan run either.
But there had always been some glimmer of hope even during the lowest of lows.
The Wizards lucked into John Wall just as the team was sinking to similar depths in the late aughts. History could repeat itself next year with Cooper Flagg. Or it could not and the franchise could enter an unprecedented playoff drought. Any scenario is on the table.
I write this not to push forth a sense of dread nor to simply publish my musings on personal fandom.
I’m hoping, during what feels like a nadir of Wizards basketball, other fans could share what has kept their light on over the years. What got you hooked on the team? What has it meant to you and how has your fandom evolved over time?
Have the older fans come to terms with the possibility that the team may not win another title in their lifetimes? Are younger fans starting to feel the same way? What moment has haunted you the most and why is it Kelly Olynyk turning into prime Dirk Nowitzki during Game 7 of the 2017 Eastern Conference semifinals?
I’ve long felt comfort in the community Bullets Forever has built. I’ve been here ever since I was a reader who idolized BF founder Mike Prada, up until I became a full-time sportswriter and part-time wordsmith for Albert Lee, the current site manager. Few others could possibly understand the trials and tribulations of Wizards fandom like the readers and writers on this site.
There will undoubtedly be better days for us Wizards fans. Until then, cheers to the moral victories that will pave the way toward the team’s future successes. And here’s to hoping those successes come sooner than we expect.