Proud of our boys (end of season standing "O")

[keynote]

I've grown up a Wizards/Bullets fan, but I was too young to truly understand (let alone enjoy) our team's success in the '70s.

I remember watching games and hearing the announcer yell "Big E" before I even realized who Elvin Hayes was.

I remember wondering why that white-haired old man (Tom McMillen) was playing with all those youngsters.

I remember Dan Roundfield's multi-layered knee brace and elbow braces. I remember identifying with Jeff Malone's widow's peak.

My dad used to take me to the Bullets' open practices at Ft. Meade. I saw John Williams before he bought a hot plate ("he's going to be a great player," my dad predicted), and Manute Bol up close.

I remember Steve Colter hanging on to that jheri curl about 5 years too long, then shifting to a high-top just as most other guys were starting to abandon them.

I remember meeting Muggsy Bogues at the Phil Chenier-Dave DuPree Baskeball Camp (which was held at Howard Community College, across the street from my house).

I remember Tracey Murray going off. I remember Darrell Walker's crab dribble (and his penchant for fighting).

When I was in college, my dad used to mail me the Washington Post sports section, and I felt a glimmer of hope when Webber and Howard joined the team. I remember Rod Strickland's uncanny ability to penetrate and finish at the rim.

I've been underwhelmed countless times. By Cheaney. Jarvis. Jeffries. Courtney "Hitch" Alexander.

I used to get laughed at for rooting for the Bullets when I was in high school -- despite the fact that I went to school in Takoma Park.

I've rooted for chubby 5s (Feitl, Duckworth), chubby 4s (Hot Plate), and chubby guards (Eackles). I've rooted for bony bigs (Pervis, Bol), bony swingmen (Porter), and bony guards (Dixon). I've rooted for over-the-hill stars (Moses, Bernard), unathletic-but-skilled guys (Alerie), and athletic-but-unskilled guys (Ben Wallace).

And, as many flaws as this team has, this year's edition is the most successful team in my experience as a fan. For all intents and purposes, this is my first experience rooting for a nationally relevant team.

I've even seen some of the guys who used to laugh at me for being a Bullets fan jump on the bandwagon on Facebook.

I'm sad the season's over, but I'm proud of the team. Go Wizards.

I figured this didn't belong in the "Woo! Wizards win" thread, so here's a place, separate from the game threads, to give a little tip of the cap to this year's squad before moving on to offseason speculation.

[JWizmentality]

[Mickstix]

Yea, it was fun getting back into B-Ball and seeing some success come to DC for the first time I can really remember.. I was a kid/fan back in the 70's, but also too young to really "get it".. It was just understood I was going to be "Big E" out back on the asphault, when I threw up a sky hook or backed in deep for a turn around fade away.. But this was fun! Actually watching them go from stinking the last years to respectable, to beating the odds and actually going further than most expected! Just hope they have the smarts to build on it and not let this be as high as they can go.. Already watched the Caps flounder the best years of Ovi, Backstrom, Green, etc.. I'd hate if the Wiz failed to put the pieces needed around Wall and Beal to make at least 1 or 2 serious runs..

Anyway, besides the ramble, congrats Wiz and Fans on a honorable season!! Proud to be a fan!!

[daSwami]

I've grown up a Wizards/Bullets fan, but I was too young to truly understand (let alone enjoy) our team's success in the '70s.

I remember watching games and hearing the announcer yell "Big E" before I even realized who Elvin Hayes was.

I remember wondering why that white-haired old man (Tom McMillen) was playing with all those youngsters.

I remember Dan Roundfield's multi-layered knee brace and elbow braces. I remember identifying with Jeff Malone's widow's peak.

My dad used to take me to the Bullets' open practices at Ft. Meade. I saw John Williams before he bought a hot plate ("he's going to be a great player," my dad predicted), and Manute Bol up close.

I remember Steve Colter hanging on to that jheri curl about 5 years too long, then shifting to a high-top just as most other guys were starting to abandon them.

I remember meeting Muggsy Bogues at the Phil Chenier-Dave DuPree Baskeball Camp (which was held at Howard Community College, across the street from my house).

I remember Tracey Murray going off. I remember Darrell Walker's crab dribble (and his penchant for fighting).

When I was in college, my dad used to mail me the Washington Post sports section, and I felt a glimmer of hope when Webber and Howard joined the team. I remember Rod Strickland's uncanny ability to penetrate and finish at the rim.

I've been underwhelmed countless times. By Cheaney. Jarvis. Jeffries. Courtney "Hitch" Alexander.

I used to get laughed at for rooting for the Bullets when I was in high school -- despite the fact that I went to school in Takoma Park.

I've rooted for chubby 5s (Feitl, Duckworth), chubby 4s (Hot Plate), and chubby guards (Eackles). I've rooted for bony bigs (Pervis, Bol), bony swingmen (Porter), and bony guards (Dixon). I've rooted for over-the-hill stars (Moses, Bernard), unathletic-but-skilled guys (Alerie), and athletic-but-unskilled guys (Ben Wallace).

And, as many flaws as this team has, this year's edition is the most successful team in my experience as a fan. For all intents and purposes, this is my first experience rooting for a nationally relevant team.

I've even seen some of the guys who used to laugh at me for being a Bullets fan jump on the bandwagon on Facebook.

I'm sad the season's over, but I'm proud of the team. Go Wizards.

I figured this didn't belong in the "Woo! Wizards win" thread, so here's a place, separate from the game threads, to give a little tip of the cap to this year's squad before moving on to offseason speculation.

Sounds like you and I are of the same generation. I remember as a kid wondering why our team had so many ugly old men on it - gray-haired (McMillian), bald-spots (Gus Williams, Dan Roundfield and John Lucas, Kevin Porter); widows peaks (Frank Johnson, Jeff Malone, Greg Ballard), beer bellies (Ruland and Mahorn) - broken down hunch-back Moses Malone and gimp-knee'd Bernard King. Gene Shue's helmet hair. Somehow those teams made the play-offs every year. Of course, they'd get bounced in the first round every year by the Sixers or Celtics. But then there'd be anomalies like Michael Adams making the All-Star team. It's just been an odd franchise for so long now. But I like the guys we have now.

[RustyMagoo]

Hell yeah! Great season and set up to challenge in the playoffs til the 2020s.

[Romsey31]

pacer fan here. Congrats to you guys and your team. You guys have absolutely nothing to feel bad about. Your team is SOLID and barring any major injuries or ridiculous trades will be a FORCE to reckon with. Congratulations on your season!

[verbal8]

pacer fan here. Congrats to you guys and your team. You guys have absolutely nothing to feel bad about. Your team is SOLID and barring any major injuries or ridiculous trades will be a FORCE to reckon with. Congratulations on your season!

Thanks. Good luck to your team against the Heat.

[verbal8]

It was great to see a decent regular season from the WIzards and a nice play-off run.

If Wall, Beal and Porter improve over the off-seasona and they can manage to get a young big or two this could be a long-term success.

[Hypnotizer]

[nate33]

I approve of this thread.

Good season. Our guys were very inconsistent most of the year but it was nice to see them put together and look like a respectable team that truly belonged in the playoffs.

[mhd]

Yup, the one thing you could never question about this team was the EFFORT. This team never quit. Great season guys!

[Earth2Ted]

II used to get laughed at for rooting for the Bullets when I was in high school -- despite the fact that I went to school in Takoma Park.

I've rooted for chubby 5s (Feitl, Duckworth), chubby 4s (Hot Plate), and chubby guards (Eackles). I've rooted for bony bigs (Pervis, Bol), bony swingmen (Porter), and bony guards (Dixon). I've rooted for over-the-hill stars (Moses, Bernard), unathletic-but-skilled guys (Alerie), and athletic-but-unskilled guys (Ben Wallace).

And, as many flaws as this team has, this year's edition is the most successful team in my experience as a fan. For all intents and purposes, this is my first experience rooting for a nationally relevant team.

keynote, I've been right there with you, through three plus decades of Washington basketball mediocrity. I would add the category of not-quite-big-enough bigs, like Terry "If only he were 3 inches taller" Catledge.

Mel Proctor must have used those exact words about 1000 times.

Aside from the guys that were here, I remember a quarter century of the guys that weren't- the Shaqs and Duncans that we were never quite bad enough or blessed enough to get in the lottery. The annual game changing franchise free agent that we never had a prayer of getting. That karma, I think, seems to be changing, and I think John Wall - as much as he needs to work on - deserves a lot of credit for making the Wizards a team that people would want to come to, in a way that, say, Gil Arenas and Alex Ovechkin were never able to do.

The vibe from the fan base reminds me of Boston in the mid 90s- traumatized and gunshy from years of choking from all of their pro teams. I'm hoping the Wizards will take off like the Sox did- lord knows, fans like us deserve it.

[Dat2U]

Maybe I'm a grouch, but I wasn't a fan of the standing O. Even Jalen Rose mentioned it in the ESPN post game, look at the franchise expectations, we cheer a double digit loss at home to end the postseason 1-4 at home while Indy was simply relived to have survived to their goal of getting back to the EC to face Miami.

Maybe because I felt it was a missed opportunity. Indy had self-imploded many times over throughout the last few weeks. They were basically begging to be put out of their misery but we blew chance after chance this series.

[mhd]

Maybe I'm a grouch, but I wasn't a fan of the standing O. Even Jalen Rose mentioned it in the ESPN post game, look at the franchise expectations, we cheer a double digit loss at home to end the postseason 1-4 at home while Indy was simply relived to have survived to their goal of getting back to the EC to face Miami.

Maybe because I felt it was a missed opportunity. Indy had self-imploded many times over throughout the last few weeks. They were basically begging to be put out of their misery but we blew chance after chance this series.

Jalen Rose might be the worst analyst on TV. He kept on trying to say the Pistons were a playoff caliber team like 3/4 into the season!

That said, our fanbase is probably one of the worst in the NBA.

[ptptpt]

I don't go nearly as far back as a Wizards/Bullets fan. My first brief memories were of Manute Bol and Muggsy Bogues and I started really paying attention during the Webber/Howard years. I remember being pretty sad when Webber was traded because he was my favorite player. I hated the Juwan Howard years although watching Rod Strickland was nice. I remember the Jordan years and actually felt sorry for Kwame Brown and Jordan. I got to play a little bit of b-ball with Richard Hamilton at the YMCA I was volunteering at in Bowie. He was cool. I will agree that this is the first time I have ever felt like this team could compete with anybody and they can. They really are close to being contenders. That was something I never felt during the Big Three era. I am more emotionally invested with this team than all the other teams I have watched. This is the first time that I feel like this team can go places. Still nervous about the future though. But yeah. Tip of the cap to this season. Even for its jekyll and hyde-ish ways it was enjoyable.

[jmrosenth]

Happy to be playing in mid-May, but count me in with the grouch camp, at least for the next few days....

I'm with Dennis Green right now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw5UWqpcsDs

[pineappleheadindc]

Dat, I know it feels like there's a bit of grading on the curve. But honestly, the Wizards were among the last 6 teams standing. When you think about that, it's a really good season.

Not at you, but in general.

We all are fans and want to see the Wizards win a championship. All of us. But honestly, what is your expectation for this year? We come off of a 29-win season. Did you expect this team, off of a 29-win season, to be hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy in a parade down Penn. Ave.? Really? If you did, please help me with some real-work background as to how many 29 or so win teams come back the next year to win the NBA championship. What's the raw number NBA teams in the last 20 years who have won 29 or so games over the season -- express that number as "x". What is the number of those teams, "x", who came back the next year and won the championship. In fact, what subset of "X" even came back the next year to advance into the second round?

Can we just, for a bit, enjoy and reflect on the run that these Wizards had. They haven't been this far since Ronald Reagan was President. It's been that long. So just for a few days, let's all kinda get out from behind the clouds and enjoy the sunshine that is your fave franchise having a successful season.

Go Wiz!

[pancakes3]

Standing O? That's what she said.

[Higga]

Proud of the team, and I was part of the standing ovation. Yeah we're cheering a 2nd round playoff loss. Guess what? We're not the Celtics or the Lakers. It's progress. One step at a time. Next year a 2nd round playoff loss would be a disappointment. For now lets enjoy the season that we had. It was a lot of fun. We saw Wall and Beal take steps to becoming stars and the team getting national recognition and credibility.

We'll be back next year and more ready to wreck havoc in the postseason.

[nate33]

I'm happy for the standing O. Yes, the team was lousy at home and it's justifiable for fans to be a bit salty about it, but the standing O wasn't for the performance of Game 6 alone, it was for the entire season, or at least for the entirety of their playoff run. Overall, I think the Wizards have earned a standing ovation for their playoff performance.