February 24, 2011

The Outsider

I was a Nugget’s fan first. A Syracuse Orange man second. I remain a Carmelo Anthony fan.

Watching Carmelo guide my lowly Orange to Championship Land was as good as basketball gets for a 5’4” whiteboy who can’t dunk a Nerf.

And Carmelo almost did the same thing for the Nugs two years ago. It was the most relevant the Nuggets have been since the 80’s.

And even though the Nugs were terribly disappointing last season, I was still proud of Melo’s efforts. In the playoffs, as we were getting unceremoniously trounced by a lesser team, the only player who didn’t suck was Melo.

It’s hard for me to bag on the guy, since he’s always been so fun to watch, and since he remains the ultimate Orangeman. Unfortunately, now I won’t be watching him as a fan. He jumped ship. He’s playing for the other team now. I’ll be forced to admire him from afar.

As a nearly-native son, I wish Melo liked Denver better. But I get it. It’s Denver. It’s a cow town. At heart, it always will be. And cow towns can be unsettling places for outsiders. Unfortunately, that’s what Melo is to me now