FanPost

Why I'm a fan of the Utah Jazz: There is a God! And He is a Jazz Fan!

Those were the words shouted by a man at the back of my LDS chapel building one specific Sunday in 1997. The Utah Jazz were in the heated Western Conference Finals against the Houston Rockets. We all know and remember what would happen just a few years later when John Stockton knocked down "the Shot", but this story comes before that.

The Shot

We all remember it well...

I was almost 3 that day, but I must have known that the Jazz had a special place in my heart, and I needed to be at home watching the game, which had an early afternoon tip-off, rather than be at church. I must have known the game was about to tip, because I started acting out and being noisy in the pew where my family and I were sitting. To try and calm me down, my dad decided to take me out into the halls to try and calm me down and let out some of the energy which I had. My dad had sat down and was taking a break from the noise I was making, then there was silence. However, not a few seconds later, the fire alarm was sounding. I had decided enough was enough and I wanted to go home and watch the Jazz game then and there, so I somehow slipped away and pulled that fire alarm. My dad, panicking, tried to flip the switch back up in hopes of stopping the alarm before anybody could notice, but alas, the damage had been done.

My dad and the leader of our congregation decided to try and call the local fire department in hopes of being able to get them over as soon as possible to switch the alarm off so church could continue as planned. But, as soon as they learned there was no real fire, and no danger to anybody involved, they decided to wait and turn it off later (it was obvious, they too wanted to watch the Jazz game, that could be heard softly on the other end of the phone line). It was then that it was decided to cancel church and send everybody home. A deep sigh of sadness broke out of the congregation when they learned this because they all wanted to stay for the whole meeting block......Just kidding! Everybody was ecstatic to be able to go home and watch their Jazz in their quest to reach the NBA Finals. It was at this moment that the man in the very back of the meeting room stood up and yelled loudly for everybody to hear "There is a God!!! And He is a Jazz fan!!!".

This story has become a classic in my family, and to those who were there that day and still live in our congregation. I guess you can say this is where my Jazz fandom has become. Though I don't remember completely the glory days of Stockton and Malone, I remember going to a game with my family near the end of his career and being in awe of all they could do. There sure has been some ups and downs as a Jazz fan, especially now that I have grown into a bigger and bigger fan, watching every game I can and attending multiple games each season these last few years. This year was one of my favorite years as a fan, watching the young team grown right before our eyes and turn into the team we knew they could for years. Hopefully we can keep the boys together for a few more years so we can have a new run of glory years in the years to come.

I love the Jazz and the have become part of who I am, and it all started with one simple pull of the fire alarm. So now you know, if there is ever a Sunday Jazz game, and you are stuck in church, just give a 2 year old $5 to go and pull the fire alarm for you so you can go home and watch the game. Trust me, I'm speaking from experience.

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