sometimes lonely hearts they just get lonelier

the calm before the storm

tonight, in phoenix, the jazz and suns played in a major debacle, and i had tickets. i got to witness the madness first hand. it was thrilling, it was fun, it was a heart breaker. it's funny how you can be in the same room as about a million people and still feel so lonely.

the best part of my evening, however, had to be the guy sitting next to me. he didn't realize i was a jazz fan (despite my jazz attire) until al jefferson scored the first basket and i cheered like a crazy. after that, he decided to see how serious i was about it. he started out slow, asking how i felt about jerry sloan quitting (i think you can all guess how that conversation went) and when i answered that satisfactorily, he was quiet for a bit.

in the second quarter, he decided he would try a little harder. the conversation went something like this:

him: "you know, the jazz didn't always used to be in utah."

me: "yeah..."

him: "they used to be in new orleans before they moved there."

me: (incredulous look - he had to be joking)

him: "yup, bet you didn't know that. that was before you were born."

me: "yeah, with pistol pete."

him: silence...

a while later, he tried to test me again.

him: "the jazz used to have a good big man, before al jefferson. did you know that? he was one of the best big men of his day."

me: "mark eaton?" (in my head: "really? mark eaton? but he can't mean greg ostertag.")

him: silence again. then "i guess you really are a jazz fan."

in my head again: "if he asks me if i know who john stockton is, i'll call security."

all in all, a pretty high quality way to spend a tuesday evening. thanks for the Christmas present staci!