I've been a Rockets fan since 86. I've seen 2 out of 15 seasons end with the Championships. The first one was the best, but the sweep on Orlando as 6th seed underdogs was also sensational. All of the other season endings were very depressing losses on what I thought were all possible wins. I was in the Compaq sky box at the Compaq center last season on that Saturday loss to the Lakers, and I wanted to die! In my opinion the only ones trying like hell to win that last game were Charles Barkley and Sam Mack! It was so depressing to see Charlie announce his retirement that night on TV when I got home. This year (in my third straight of having a bunch of good season seats) , I got to go to 10 home Wins(most of them very recently), and 3 losses. The losses were all good ones- when Bark attacked Shaq and the last Vancouver game were two of them. But the end of this season didn't seem bad at all, even without the trophy. Unlike the MAGIC , who had a good year but are breaking up the team over the summer, the Rockets are probably keeping the "KEY NUCLEUS" and adding a couple of winners. Houston will be the BIG suprise next season, and I am all but promising that they will have a good seed in the playoffs! I wish I could have found the CC.net crew at or after the game last night, but I didn't see any of you all wearing name tags. I'll catch yall at the season opener. I just hope the Lakers and the Jazz don't get passed the East this year! ROCKS ------------------
