My team

My friend Marc, who writes for a newspaper up in Minnesota, wrote on his blog earlier in the week about how in the lifetime of every sports fan, there’s always one team that stands out. A team that meant a little more than a squad should, one that will always have a special place in that fan’s heart. It’s not necessarily the first team a fan remembers, or the best team. It’s one that had a combination of several different factors, but the highest of them being they were your team.

So I decided to sit back and think what my team would be? One of the criteria’s that Marc described is that for a team to qualify as your team is that there has to be random info about that team that just sticks out to you; info that most would have to look up, but because they are your team, you just know it. Another criteria, along the same line, is that there, has to be a defining moment when you knew that this team was for you. And finally, there has to be a real reason why this time stuck out more than the average squad.

So without further ado, here are my five teams, in order, with #1 being the supreme team of my life. (Sorry it’s so long, over 1,800 words. I got a bit carried away. You can just scroll down if you want to see my week 12 NFL winners.)

5- 2002-03 Evanston Wildkits

There’s always something special about seeing your school do well. I don’t care if its middle school, high school or college, it’s a sense of pride seeing the name you yourself wear across the chest succeeding. And that’s exactly what happened my sophomore year of high school. Though I felt a closer connection to the squad my junior and senior years, because I knew a majority of the players on the team, the 2003 team captivated me- and the entire school- like no other.

While the squad went all the way to the state semi-final, where they lost to eventual champion Peoria Central (led by future top-three NBA draft pick Shaun Livingston), my favorite moments came in the two games before the Final Four. First was the super-sectional contest. The highlights of the game, which if I remember correctly included some beautiful dunks, were not as memorable as actually seeing the name “Evanston” on the United Center scoreboard. (This is one of the many moments in my life where I wish I could go back, but with TiVo, digital cameras and Facebook, so I could properly preserve these memories.) Following that was the state quarterfinal game, played in Peoria. Now I could write 1,000-plus words on that day, because I remember nearly all of it still, but I’ll recap it like this: Our school filled nine school busses of students to drive four hours from Evanston to Peoria to see the team come from behind in the fourth quarter to advance. One of the greatest days of my life, no joke. The 2003 Wildkits were truly a special group, even though it didn’t end the way we all hoped.

4- 2001-02 Chicago Bears

I don’t exactly know how to interpret this, as either a cruel joke or a sign from God, but my first Bears memory in life involves Dave Wannstedt and Erik Kramer. Whatever way you look at it, it’s not good. The Bears were never great during my childhood, and though they were occasionally a decent squad, the team was usually regarded as either disappointing or dreadful. And that’s why 2001 was so much fun.

As the first really good Bears team of my lifetime, it was a joy watching them week in, week out. The offense, led by Jim Miller, Marty Booker and rookie Anthony Thomas, was average at best. But the D, with young stars Brian Urlacher, Mike Brown and Roosevelt Colvin, really was the reason for the 13-3 record. For many, the top memory was the back-to-back Mike Brown pick-six games, where the second-year safety ended consecutive overtime games with interception returns for scores. For others, the lasting legacy of that year was the trick field goal at Washington, where holder Brad Maynard rolled out and threw a TD to Urlacher to seal a win versus the Redskins. But for me, the best moment of 2001 occurred in the final game of the year, a 20-point home win over Jacksonville. The play of note didn’t result in a touchdown, but instead high comedy. Defensive tackle Keith Traylor, who was generously listed at 340 lbs., tipped and intercepted a Jaguars pass, and instead of going down, decided to try and return it. 67 looooooong yards later- I think the return lasted a good 15 seconds- Traylor just fell over and was down. The play was hilarious, and a great lasting memory for my favorite Bears team.


3- 1996-97 Chicago Bulls

Figuring out which Bulls team was mine was about as tough as stopping the triangle offense. My first memory in life is John Pakson’s three-pointer to beat the Suns in ’93. I clearly remember being upset at the Hugh Hollins phantom-foul in ’94 versus the Knicks. When MJ came back in March of ’95 ranks as one of the happiest days of my life (If you really want to know how scary my memory is, I clearly remember, without looking it up, that in Jordan’s first game back, at Indiana, MJ was 7-for-21 with 17 points in a Bulls overtime loss. I also clearly remember not being able to see most of it because I was at the Beth Emet Purim carnival.) And the first ever Bulls game I went to was during the 1996, 72-win team, a December beat-down of the Vancouver Grizzlies.

But I’d have to say the first Bulls team I was really in love with was the ’97 squad. Maybe it was because I was the perfect age, nine, to really be captivated by sports. Maybe it was because the team played with such grace and passion. Or maybe it’s because I just remember the most about that year for some reason. Whatever the cause, the results speak for themselves. Great years by Michael, Scottie and Dennis, clutch playoff performances by Toni and Steve Kerr, and the long-lasting legacy of Brian Williams/Bison Dele (I’m not sure what his name was at the time) led the Bulls to their fifth NBA Title. The ’97 Finals versus the Jazz is in my opinion the greatest Finals of all time, with four of the six game’s going down as instant classics, including three of the Bulls’ wins, giving my favorite Bulls squad a fitting ending.

2- 2003 Chicago Cubs

Many would wonder, how could this team, one that caused so much pain and heartache, be number two on the list? And while it is true that I do often wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, cursing at Alex Gonzalez and whispering “Take him out Dusty” the entire time, this team actually molded me into the sports fan that I am today. Yes, I can proudly say that without the ’03 Cubs, I would be a lot more optimistic and a lot more realistic than I actually am.

Truth be told, the Cubs of that year did a lot of good for me. Because it was my first year working at Wrigley, I followed the team more passionately than I had previously. Really being at the park everyday gives somebody a closeness that can’t be felt through the TV. When the team is struggling, a person there can really feel it through the tone of the crowd and see it in the mood of the players. And of course when the squad is winning, the crowd has that extra pep in their step and the players are always smiling, being there live has its extra benefits. I will always remember, for as long as I live, the bizarre shock and overjoyed awe the Wrigley faithful had when Sammy Sosa tied game one of the NLCS in the bottom of the ninth with a home run. I’ll remember what the crowd sounded like during the opening parts of game six of that series, when everything was going right and it looked as if the impossible could happen. And of course, I’ll remember inning number eight, which was like a huge multi-car pileup, when everything went wrong and nobody knew what to do other than sit their and cry. I’ve said before, and excuse the language, that the 2003 Cubs took my baseball virginity. Before that year, I knew all about the Cubs losing tradition, but had never felt it for myself. And after 2003, I’ll never treat a baseball team the same way again.

Finally, drum roll please, the my official team…

1- 2005 Illinois Fighting Illini basketball

My favorite team I ever watched is the only real choice for this honor. Of the Orange Krush’s 40 games that year, I estimate that I watched at least 25 of them, and I can clearly remember where I was for man of those contests. My favorites included the stomping of then-#1 ranked Wake Forest, the statement wins at Wisconsin and at Michigan State on consecutive Tuesdays in February and the impressive W at Michigan which featured the best collection of highlights of the season. But nothing, even the sad ending versus UNC, would overshadow the amazing finish of the Miracle at Rosemont.

I won’t recap it here, because all of you already know the story. Basic rundown: Down 15 with four minutes left in the season versus Arizona, the Illini came back behind great defense and shooting to tie the game before finally winning it in OT, 90-89. The strange thing about that game, and especially the comeback, was that it was so un-characteristic of that team. Now usually for great teams, last minute wins are a sign of authenticity. But Illinois that year was so good and so dominant that they almost never had to come from behind. Because they had such great guard play- I’ll never in my life see passing on a college team like what Dee, Deron and Lute did- and because they were so strong on D, it was so rare for them to be trailing at all in the second half. The Arizona game was amazing on many levels, but maybe the greatest of them was that for the first 37 games of the season, U of I played one way, and in the final four minutes of game 38, they were able to change their style and play a different way. Whatever way it was, it sure was fun to watch.

So now that you know mine, what are your teams? Leave a comment and let me know.

Week 12 winners: Cleveland, Dallas, Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Kansas City, Chicago, New England, Minnesota, Baltimore, Denver, Carolina, New York Giants, Washington, Indianapolis and Green Bay

Last Week: 9-7 (the tie counted as a loss for me)
Season to Date: 91-68