Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. - Dylan Thomas
I believe. This is a difficult position to justify at the moment, but I'll say it again. I believe.
Have the recent games given me much reason for optimism? Not really. Unless you count the short bursts of world beating play that are followed up by the exact opposite. Still, even though the cast has changed a bit and the scenery is slightly different, I've seen this movie before. I worried and worried last year down the stretch. I talked about the end of an era and went into the playoffs hoping more than believing. Then last year happened and I learned a lesson.
Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once. - Julius Caesar (William Shakespeare) - [though to be fair, I first heard it paraphrased by 2Pac]
I believe. I don't consider this to be "blind faith" because of that run last year. This team purchased my faith with that Finals appearance. They bought me a tall glass of green Kool Aid by flipping a switch. They did it last year and shut my worrying mouth up. So I'm nonplussed by this year's March madness. I'm not giving up one inch. I believe.
With all that said, let me make one thing very clear. This is how I feel. I am not telling anyone how they should feel. Everyone handles things differently and no fan is wired exactly the same way. To wit...
"The coward dies a thousand deaths, the brave but one'.... (The man who first said that) was probably a coward.... He knew a great deal about cowards but nothing about the brave. The brave dies perhaps two thousand deaths if he's intelligent. He simply doesn't mention them." - A Farewell To Arms (Ernest Hemingway)
There's a lot of bickering going on in the forums, in the comments, and all over this blog and it is tiresome. Debate is fine, that's part of the fun. But snapping at each other and attacking each other is not. I've even seen posters go so far as to call out others and question their fan-hood. That has no place here. I have but one golden rule that drives this community and that is to respect each other (yes, even if you don't understand or even like everyone).
Times are trying right now, but that's no excuse to take it out on each other. We all bleed green here and we bleed together. We have the same goal and the same passion but an infinite spectrum of personalities and that is what makes this community so much fun.
If anything we are blessed with this team. The taste of that 2008 title is still fresh on our tongues. I don't have to remind you how recently we were looking at 18 game losing streaks and lottery tanking losses. We're spoiled to a certain extent and we've come to expect greatness. Which is a good thing actually. I'll take being spoiled over the alternative (see Sacramento).
The bottom line here is that this is supposed to be fun. This is a game that we enjoy watching. If you find yourself having trouble separating your frustration with how you treat other people, then you might need to push back from the keyboard, take a few deep breaths, and take a quick break. Don't worry, the blog will still be here when you come back.
And as always, remember one more quote from those great philosophers Bill and Ted. "Be excellent to each other."