Pitch Imperfect

So this one time I was forced to watch a movie called Pitch Perfect... Don't worry, as you will soon notice I kept my mind focused on what is really important, our Jazz! Pitch Perfect is about an epic journey of an all girl a cappella group trying to win the big competition thingy. (I'm pretty sure that is its official name)

It begins as a rebuilding year, there are only two veterans remaining from the previous team. They have a certain way that they do things, and a very important tradition. They fill their remaining slots with a lot of young players, who will be their core for years to come. Each brings something special and has something different to offer. The majority of them are not complete players, but they all bring something special to the table. Together as a team they compliment each other beautifully. In different songs, several people are always able to step up depending on what is needed in the song.

With their vets leading them into the competitions, their predictable play gets them second place in regionals. It was safe, they knew what to do, and it had been proven over centuries of competitions. They don't take any chances, or try anything new. It does get above-average results, but nobody enjoys watching them. There just doesn't seem to be a lot of excitement or urgency in their performance to really take that next step.

One of the new recruits has some great ideas, but she's a little different. (I assume she grew up playing tennis and Starcraft) She tries to add some spice and improve upon what was tried and true. It doesn't work at first, and they end up finishing one spot below where they needed to advance, say 9th place.

I don't want to spoil this amazing movie, but things were not pretty for a while after that. Things may look pretty bad for our Jazz, but at least we aren't making snow angels in vomit yet. In the end the team is turned over to the rising stars, and the result is pure magic, magic, magic. (Erving not Orlando)

It's been hard being a Jazz fan this year. Many of our local sports teams are great at getting us excited for the coming year and doing what needs to be done to sell season tickets. They get many of our hopes up with their talk about how we will be better by subtraction, (Bell, Howard) as well as from within. Surely all of our young players will have only improved!

We have had a system that is tried and true. We had some vets who were given the reigns this year and were going to lead the way. We also had some great new talent, and were told we were going to have a season full of beautiful Jazz harmony.

We are lucky as Jazz fans to have been blessed with so many years where we were very successful, and often over-achieved.  Even with our 26-56 year, or when we were predicted to have the worst team in history, we stood by our team. One thing I have always felt defined our team was that we outworked everyone else, and played with a lot of heart.

However the pitch pipe was never passed on to the young stars. We continued riding our vets into some very predictable basketball that was often underwhelming.  We caught glimpses of what was coming, yet it never did.

I feel that for possibly the first time we are under-achieving. I think that hurts me more than the losing. Maybe it's my own fault for thinking we were going to have improved. Shame on me for thinking maybe we could get a 7th spot, or win a playoff game or two this year.

Sometimes I believe the Jazz organization believes that we as fans care so much about winning, and winning now, that we wouldn't have understood taking a step back this year. You can't have one foot in rebuilding, and one in the playoffs. I believe that Jazz fans can be some of the most intelligent out there, and we all understand that sometimes you have to take a step back to take a few forward. This will most likely be the case next year, and I know I for one am fine with that.

My only questions have been that if this is the case, why not start the process this year? Why play all of these players who are going to graduate our choir next year and move on with their lives? If the players don't act like they care about winning must win games in New York, Houston, or Dallas, why should I care about them? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

I am, and will always be, a huge Jazz fan. This season is what it is, but maybe it's time to pass that pitch-pipe and start preparing for next years regionals. Our Pitch Perfect season may not be too far away. I just hope we get to end this season watching a team that has that heart and pride that I've always loved. You do that, and we will always love you, just the way you are.

Fanatical

1984 was a great year, we drafted John Stockton, BYU won the National Championship, and I was born. As I continued to grow, my love of the Jazz grew as well. If you look at my journals as a child they are filled with statistics from Jazz games. (Who would have known the internet would have kept track of all of that for me...)

I remember joining Jr. Jazz and the excitement I had when I would get to go to that one Jazz game a year! Just as exciting was when a member of the team would come locally and we could meet them and they would talk to all of us. It was such a simple thing for them to do, to take an hour or two here and there, but it meant a lot to us.

The Jazz made it cool to pass, they valued hard work and dedication. Players would come here and have the best years of their career. It was team basketball. We weren't always the most talented, but you knew we were going to give our all.

I was able to meet every Jazz player during the finals runs. My dad even won tickets to the game that John Stockton broke the steals record. Later I was even able to get John to autograph my certificate from the game.

There are moments that you will never forget. John Stockton making the shot to send the Utah Jazz into the NBA Finals will always be one of mine.

My fond memories do not conclude with Stockton and Malone, but continue to grow today. I am as big a fan as ever. Technology has brought us together in ways I could never have imagined. I may be doing a Google+ Hangout with David Locke in the morning, tweeting during the game, and then listening to the @utahjazzpodcast after.

Not only do we have more access to other fans, but to the players as well! They might even wish us a happy birthday! (Although the RSL team had the edge on that one)

I love this team as much as ever. I love that when it would have been easy to follow the Warriors model and tank, our team would rather develop a winning culture and play in meaningful games. While many teams are unbearable for me to watch, we still play team basketball. Even with injuries, we haven't gone down without a fight. All of our players have weaknesses, but I feel like they are truly trying to work on them, and to use the strengths that they do have. Our end of games have been a little scary, but we have come through almost every time.

Those values that I loved as a child, hard work and dedication, are still just as important. It's team basketball, it has to be we don't have a star. We aren't the most talented, but you know we are going to give our all.

Is out team perfect? NO! However, I am still proud to call the Jazz my team. Our team is full of great guys, guys that play the game right. We have a coach that has been able to keep everyone together, even with contracts expiring, and playing time not always being where players would like it. We have an organization that scouts as well as anyone, and has put ourselves in a great situation this upcoming summer.

We should always want the best, we have the right to voice our opinions, but maybe we can enjoy the ride a little bit more and remember how lucky we are to be a part of such a great team. #WeAreUtahJazz

Dave Week 2

I may add some more to this later, but I wanted to post a few pictures from Monday's Jazz game.

Positive Thinking

You know that person that always seems to be happy? How do they always stay so positive? How is it that they can make you feel a little better, just by being around them? I don't have all of the answers to these questions, but I am very glad these people exist. I try to surround myself with as many of them as possible, because their enthusiasm  for life is infectious.

It is so easy to look for the bad in things, but why do so many of us spend the majority of our time doing just that? After a Jazz/BYU loss, people overreact like crazy. Even when we win, so many people find something to be unhappy about. In some of our jobs the only time our boss talks to us is if there is a complaint, or you need to improve at something. If you are doing your job, then you are doing what you are supposed to. Why  would you take the time to compliment, say thank you, or recognize the things others are doing?

I often wonder if I compliment my students enough. We work so hard at making sure what we are doing looks like, and sounds like it should. Then when they meet our expectations, we just say in our heads, finally, and move on without a second thought. Sometimes I think we are scared that if we interrupt it, we will ruin the moment.

I know the times I receive a sincere compliment it does much more to motivate me than when someone tries to tear me down. There is a time and a place for constructive criticism. If I'm doing something wrong I want to know so I can fix it, but how often we err on that side, and not on the positive. Last week I got a short e-mail from a parent thanking me for making this a good year for her son, and it brightened my whole day. It only took her a moment, and was a little thing, but for me, it meant a whole lot.

I was going to do two examples of how I could think about my life, and how it was going. One paragraph that was positive, and one that was negative. I wanted to show how your attitude can make the same exact thing very different. I had to stop though, because even after allowing myself to think negatively for just a moment, it got dark and depressing really fast. I can't let myself even think like that for a minute.

There is so much bad in the world, the news is full of awful things. Today was an especially hard day with the news of the shooting. However, there are SO many more great things going on out there. We can focus on the bad, and let it take over and paralyze our lives. Or we can make the best with what we've got, be grateful, and focus on the good. I can promise you that the positive one is a lot more enjoyable.

I hope that each of us will try to be that person whose infectious happiness brings joy to all of those around us. Life is never as bad as we may think. The sun will rise tomorrow, and if we learn from all of our yesterdays, we will have a lot of wonderful tomorrows.

I would like to challenge each of you to think positively today, compliment someone, and find a way you can serve and make the world a better place, even if it's just for one person. If all of us did these small simple things everyday, think of all the good we could do.