Hey man, this guy is from Russia. Give him a break. Nice to have to back, clyde. Anyway, Clutchcity became our nickname after Mario Elie's three in game 7 vs the Suns in '95. I think.....
Yeah, the Rockets were being called chokers because they lost the 1st 2 games at home vs phoenix in 94 playoffs. They won 1 game then lost another before winning 3 straight. The headlines in the newspaper went from ChokeCity to Clutchcity for the comeback. For that 2 yrs stretch, unless you had the Rockets down by alot of points with hardly any time left, they could come and get you. The next season they beat Utah in Utah for game 5,beat Phoenix in 7 games again despite not having home court,beat the 60 win Spurs in 6 games and swept the 58 win Magic in the finals. Those were the glory days........
RocketKid you are incorrect. leebigez you are also wrong. the headline changed after the 2 games in phoenix i believe and the magic had 57 wins. everything else is right b/c we were indeed badasses.
Actually, alot of people think that the Chronicle coined the phrase "Clutch City". This is not accurate though. It was the Rockets players themselves that came up with it.
The reason we were called "Choke City" was not only did we lose the opening two games to the Suns, but we had HUGE leads and managed to let it slip away. It was the most painful thing to watch. Hence "Choke City" Ah, but soon forgotten!
Unfortunately, no one can tell you what Clutch City is... You have to see it for yourself. -Rent Clutch City and Double Clutch-
Also, some credit has to be given to the Oilers for the Chokecity label. The Oilers were coming off loses in the playoffs to Denver and then against the Bills in the biggest choke in playoff history in '92. After the Rockets seemed to be following in the Oilers footsteps by blowing huge leads against Phoenix the paper put the Rockets in the same group as the Oilers as chokers. The Rockets somehow miraculously turned it around and came back to win the series clinching Houston's first professional sports championship. Could you imagine if the Rockets never would have came back and beat Phoenix. The city of Houston would be labeled the biggest losers in all of professional sports.
I keep picturing the David Allan Grier episode of SNL where he played Maya Angelou doing various commericals. Hilarious.
"Toucan Sam, you leap on the back of the wind, load stone to assorted fruit flavors, Phoenix of the dawns, one smile. We gave you, Toucan Sam, life. You, Toucan Sam, give us loops of fruit. Fruity loops, Fruit Loopies, swimming in the churning, frothy mother sea of milk, Kellogg's appreciates consumer comments, P. O. Box 221, Battle Creek, Michigan, a prism of fruity color, a cornocopia of over forty fruity tastes. The orange, the apple, the grape, the pomegrante, the quince, the kumkwat, the kiwi, the planitain, the guava... "
That dirt bag Eddie Sefko coined "Choke City" after the two losses to PHX . The Rockets heroes coined "Clutch City" after we came back. The dirt bag eventually published a book called "Clutch City" about the championship run. The dirt bag now covers the Mavericks, but I am sure he is dreaming about a Charles Barkley comeback so he could have some nutz to ride.
Real Shady is right... you can't give a true account of the history of Choke City without proper "credit" to the Oilers. Their colossal choke jobs set the stage and then the Rockets appeared to be completing the Choke "City" scenario with the home losses to Phoenix. I'm not much of a baseball fan but, didn't the Astros contribute at the time to the whole Choke City perception with their playoff ineptitude?
