I was somewhere close to center court, cussing that mofo ref for not calling foul on that moving, beer hug pick. I was old then and am much older now. Thanks for the thread!! this makes the last not loss kind of easier to take.
Working at NASA, second son just born, living in a house in Friendswood. Now I'm divorced, living in an apartment, paying child support, working for the state government and living in Austin. But, hey, thanks for the reminder.
We had moved to Austin 17 years before and lamented the tremendous growth of the city, while contributing two young kids to the ledger. And much older than we should have been. Our friends had children graduating from college. I was as big a Rockets fan then as I am now. It was a good time. I miss being able to do some of the things I could do then that I can't do now, physically, but at least I can watch all the Rockets games on cable. It was hard being a Rockets fan outside of Houston in the eighties. Not as many games made it to TV here, not like we have now. League Pass has been a blessing for us out-of-towners.
I was 18 and working at blockbuster video my first gig!!! We had a TV setup for kids to be entertained while there parents looked for there videos(NO DVDs yet). We turned into a Rockets viewing party it was sweet but never actually saw the Stockton 3 just heard it and cursed out a customer by accident.
Let's see, 97 was my peak year of streetballing. I was unguardable over at the covered court on San Felipe near Bering. After a night of creating shots for myself - and my teammates - nothing was better than watching Hakeem and Clyde make another run at it.
College junior. Sicken tired of watching Jordan. He made the game less entertaining to watch. Also was it the year lady D died?
I mentioned that in earlier message, when the Houston Rockets last won a playoff series in April-May 1997, I was just about to finish my 5th grade year and the fact that it has been this long since the Houston Rockets won a playoff round is flat out sad! THIS TREND OF NO PLAYOFF SERIES FOR THE HOUSTON ROCKETS SINCE 1997 ENDS THIS YEAR BECAUSE I AND THE THOUSANDS OF THOUSANDS OF LOYAL AND PASSIONATE ROCKETS FANS ARE TIRED OF HAVING TO DEAL WITH THE STAT OF "No Playoff Series Wins since 1997!" PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS, YOU WILL NOT DENY THE ROCKETS A CHANCE TO BREAK THIS PLAYOFF JINX W/OUT A BATTLE AND OUR ROCKETS WILL FIGHT FOR EVERYTHING THEY HAVE IN THEM TO END THIS PLAYOFF JINX! OUR PLAYERS NOT SCARED OF YOUR YOUTH, OUR TEAM IS NOT INTIMIDATED BY YOUR ROSE GARDEN FANS, AND MOST OF ALL, ALL OF US ARE READY FOR WHATEVER CHALLENGE YOU POSE FOR US!" Are you with me, Houston Rockets fans! Captain of NBA Texas (neutral on the series winner of the Dallas/San Antonio series, but passionate to see the Rockets finally end 12 years of playoff futility!)
I was 7 years old, wanted to be a pro basketball player. Totally obsessed with the Rockets. I was at a Target store (don't know why) when the Stockton three happened. A lot of people were gathered around this TV and we all watched in sadness.
I was in fifth grade. the rockets game 6 loss was my last day of elementary school. now im in medical school. MAN ITS BEEN FOREVER. ugh.
I was half way through my doctoral work, about to take comps, and start my dissertation. I finished in 2000. Now I am a professor at a university.
let's see, i seem to remember being at my apartment in austin when we beat minnesota, but was at a friends house in houston when stockton hit the buzzer beater...
Pain is part of the deal, my friend. I was 26 in my millionth year of grad school in Houston. On the dreaded Stockton shot night I was at a Pavement concert at Fitzgeralds. They were showing the game on a projection screen in between sets. The Rockets were up. Just as the band came on it showed Clyde driving to the basket for what looked to be a game winner...didn't see the end of the play. The lead singer of Pavement made a few allusions without telling us the results of the game, so I had a sense of dread throughout the show. I look forward to having some better memories from these playoffs. We're due.
I was 25 and just moved back to Houston after living in San Antonio for a few years. I was pumped because I got Rocket season tickets, and they traded for Barkley the next day. I got to take my dad to Game 4 against the Jazz, which is the best basketball game he and I have ever seen live. I have a fuzzy spot in my long term memory, because I don't remember anything from that season else after Eddie's shot. I was a popular person that season. People I barely knew always tried to get invites to a game. I had some awesome dates with those season tickets. A few years later, I dated a super-cool chick, who picked me out of 2 blokes partly because I had season tickets. She was a mad basketball fiend, hot, and could cook so I basically had to marry her. I had started getting serious about writing and had just started work on The Ghost Hunters, which was my first novel. I worked at a really cool dotcom company called Interliant. We worked crazy hours, but that place was filled with crazy smart people. If we had people in management with half a brain, that company really could have made it. I had hair down to my ass, smoked a pack and a half a day, and closed down pool halls at least 3 nights a week. I have since cut the hair, quit smoking, and my pool game has atrophied. I am still just as big a Rockets fan, but I don't have the box of memorabilia any more. 7 moves later (including one across the country), and I couldn't justify holding onto it any more.
Well I was in High School and had season tickets on the second highest row of the summit (12 dollars a ticket). I made every game back in those days and lived and died with every game. I'm still as big of fan but I have expanded my horizons past sports but nothing gives me a better feeling than watching my Houston teams win.
I was 13. The Stockton shot was the first and last time I ever cried as a result of a sports game... ... In fact, I think it was the last time I ever cried, period.
