I remember sitting in my Dad's bedroom, talking sports for hours on end. While I had been a baseball fan for a long time, or as long as would be practical for a 12 year old, I was just starting to play basketball and football. While the latter would eventually lead me to my best personal sports accomplishments, along with track, the former never lead to anything beyond starting at the point for a couple of years in high school, and that more due to athletic ability than any particular basketball acumen. However, that day my Dad and I were talking basketball did lead to one long standing effect which remains buried in my sub-conscience and glaringly on the surface of my conscience; becoming a Rockets fan... I honestly don't remember exactly why I chose the Rockets, because at the time I had never been anywhere near Texas. I do remember reading some copies of my Dad's Sporting News lying around, and I remember resolving to chose a favorite team, college and pro. Why the Rockets? I still wonder, because at the time they were a young and upcoming team, with the recently formed Twin Towers looming large and imposing over the basketball landscape, but were not, that I recall, viewed as any threat to the on-going Celtics-Lakers-sometime Sixers revolving championship pool. I know that as the Celtics were my Dad's team, that was automatically out...Even in my embriotic b-ball fan stage, I had already grown weary of listening to him yammer on incessantly about the various virtues of Larry Bird, or Kevin McHale's post moves, ad blah blah cetera...And the Lakers were too prevelant, I was never one to go for the front runners...Sixers also just didn't grab me...If I had to pick one reason my pre-teen mind looked over the options available and came to rest, with surprising finality, upon the Houston Rockets, it would probably be that they represented something new, exciting, and possibly revolutionary. While the Twin Towers would never become what I originally hoped, and their one appearance in the Finals was especially painful for me as it ultimately lead to hours upon hours of my Dad's smug I-Told-You-So's, and his explanations for why the mighty Celtics were able to demonstrate their roundball godliness in this particular fashion against this particular heathen ( For the record, if I were to reduce all his various arguments to one thing, it would be that when push came to shove, Sampson came up wanting in the intestinal fortitude department) without any mention of what I saw, at the time, and to this day, as the preferential treatment Bird and Co. got from the refs, an eventuality which has lead to my current animosity towards such NBA darlings as Jordan. But the fact is, from that moment, I was hooked, and remain a Rockets fan to this day, even up here in the currently very wintery climes of Toronto, Canada. The genesis of the Raptors has lead me to share my loyalty, a comfortable moral dilema; I root for the Rockets out West, and the Raptors in the East, and on those 2 occasions a year when they meet, the fact that my Dad has now become a Raptors fan might just be the deciding factor in why I root for the Rockets...well, that and the fact that I see virtually every game the Raps play, but precious few of the Rockets. I am still a Kansas Jayhawk fan too, another repercussion of that day, long ago, up in my father's room, talking roundball, although my reasons for choosing Kansas were a little less ethereal: their name, Jayhawk, was too strong a temptation for a 12 year old who had just begun to create his own identity by escewing my parents name of choice for me, Jamie, and at the time declaring myself to be a Jay from that point on ( or at least until I was around 18, when I further evolved into my current appelation, James). Both my loyalties, after years of frustration, eventually lead to euphoric bliss with Championships, and the oportunity to explain to my father why and how Hakeem Olajuwon and Danny Manning were able to conquer the world, while such teams as the Celtics and Blue Devils ( his team, to my current discomfort) spun their wheels or watched them fall off. Those were great times, and the recent development of Stevie Franchise, in the face of my Dad's early proclamation that he was a "bust", have been sweet indeed. And it is still strange to think that this emotional roller coaster of Rocket fan-dom, the highs of Clutch City, and the lows of losing to Bird, or Stockton's last second shot, were all decided one day, almost at random,up in my Dad's room, surrounded by newspaper-style Sprting News editions...Oh, and while my obvious rivalry, with regards to our respective teams, with my father might make you think that that is prevelant in our relationship, it confines itself to just that. In fact, shortly after that day he bought me a subscription to the Sporting News so that I could get more information on the Rockets which wasn't available to a non-Texan at the time.He was also the one to take me to my first live Rockets game, which was an exhibition game vs. the Pistons in the city of Hamilton, which is about a 2-3 hour drive from where we lived, back around 1990. The discovery of this particular site has been amongst my best Rocket-fan experiences, and the ability to talk Rockets amidst a sea of Bulls, Lakers, Knicks, and now Raptors fans has been like water to a desert wanderer. I greatly appreciate the opportunity Clutch et al have afforded me, and I value the daily discussions with all of you probably more than most of you who live in Houston realize. What you get around the office water coolers and at the park, I get only here. I am afraid that my friends have long grown weary of my Rockets rants, and they get this apprehensive look in their eyes when the city of Houston is even mentioned. Anyways, I just wanted to share my experience as a Rockets fan, especially a non-local one, and I would be very interested to hear about others experiences with the team, similar or different, local or from a distance like mine own...It is, I think, a great way to get to know more about the people I look forward to reading/debating with every day... JAG
Good post. Like you, I'm more attached to the Astros. I remember my dad letting me stay up late as we listened to the radio on a rainy evening when I was 4 or 5. My first Rockets memory is actually of the title run in 1986. I don't remember the season, but everyone was so excited about the finals that I got caught up in that. That was the year that I lived in Houston, so my entire kindergarten class was obsessed with the Rockets. My grandfather got us tickets through his company (his company had invited some Really Important People, but they had to cancel, so we got tickets at 5pm before the game started). They were really good seats, too - very close, but I don't remember exactly where. I didn't really follow the Rockets again closely until the early 90's when we got cable. By then, I lived in Lufkin... so I didn't have access to 20-vision. HSE and ESPN brought the Rockets back to me, and I watched almost every game until I 1998, when I went to college. Favorite all-time player: Robert Horry Favorite game ever: Either the first game in which Hakeem completely schooled David Robinson in the '96 WCF. Or the game against the Mavericks earlier that year when Hakeem scored 50+, including hitting the winning shot with like 1 second left. Catch and shoot from the free throw line, baby!
Watching the Rox and the Celtics battle in 1986 while drinking Pappadelicious at Pappadeaux on Westheimer! That was when their frozen hurricanes were killer Majic 102 2 fer 1 passes in the late 80s early 90s! Barkley sucks Chants while banging the walls on the last row of the summit and Joe Security climbing up there to stop us The love on Richmond Avenue in 1994 and 1995! The first downtown parade! The night Clyde rolled into the Summit after the half after his trade with Tracy Murray strolling in on his coattails. Eddie Johnson's 3!
The year, I forget. I borrowed a betamax tape of a Rockets-Jazz game. They played at Utah. The players were Ralph Sampson, Mitchell Wiggins, Lewis Lloyd and John Lucas. The Jazz had Mark Eaton. I think it was a playoff game. Since then, I've been a Rockets' fan.
My earliest memory of the Rockets is attending a game at Hofheinz Pavilion in the early 1970s before the Summit was built. I saw the Rudy T./Calvin M. Rockets take on the Walt Frazier-led Knicks. Another early memory was being on Calvin's "pickup team" when he and Rudy paid a surprise visit to a summer sports camp I went to.
Earliest memory is during the Rockets 86 run to the NBA finals. Before or after that I remember listening to my ancient looking radio in our living room and playing along with a nerf ball with the basket being a bucket on the top of our mantle on the fireplace. Been a fan ever since.
I guess that my earliest memory as a Rocket fan is the playoff run in the 1980/81 season, when I was 11. While I had been watching the rockets for a couple of years, no one particular memory sticks out for me. During one of the championship games against Boston, Mike Dunleavy had this layup where he brought the ball around his back while in the air and scored. It was really tremendous. I remember going out the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that, and practicing that move until I finally got it right. That season was particularly disappointing to me as well as to probably all Houston fans because the championship loss followed so closely to the Astros loss to the Phillies. It was both a great year and a really crappy year. And things in Houston didn't get better for many years after that.
I used to listen to all their games on the radio in the 70's and chart the score. I remember being devestated when they were in the Eastern Confernce finals against Philadelphia and John Lucas was called for a charge and our announcer was going"he was moving..he wasn't set..." Cost the team the game. Yep, been a Rockets fan for around 30 years. DaDakota
i remember going to a rockets game at an early age and seeing derrick chevious shoot freethrows with is mouth antics and after that all i know is 2 things. 1. i love the rockets 2. the jazz suck
Eventhough I was about six in 1986, I have no recollection of them getting to the finals. My earliest memory would have to be about the dude with the drug problem? Who was that anyway? Lloyd? My favorite player when I was younger was Sleepy, but I probably just liked his name.
First season I really started paying attention was the 90-91 (11 yrs old) season when we got swept out by LA in the playoffs. Early memories: Don Chaney getting fired after gigantic comeback by Tpups in the 4th quarter(24pts I think) - led by Scottie Brooks. Rudy T takes over. First Draft - Robert Horry 92 First Playoffs - 92-93 eeking out the win vs LAC in 5 and losing in 7 to Seattle 20 Vision in the wee hours of the night when we played on the West Coast. Mom letting me stay up and she got hooked on the Rockets too watching them with me. Didn't get too see home game until the late 90's when we got cable... My 90-91 Skybox Basketball Cards - Buck Johnson and the Houston Rockets Logo Card. I think I had a Mitchell Wiggins and Dave Jamerson too. Kenny Smith in the Slam Dunk Contest. (He was in it in 90,91,93) OT with his huge hands and long touchdown passes on fast breaks. Sleep Floyd hitting a miracle half-court shot vs SanAntonio Team being sold by Charlie Thomas to Les Alexander
I remember back in '89 or '90, right before the Bulls started their domination, Hakeem rejected Jordan a couple times...Everyone at school the next day was like, "Dude, did you see Hakeem block Jordan?!?!" I had to find out who this Hakeem fella was...
My earliest memories of Houston sports was at age 11 in 1979. My dad had just gotten a job with Conoco and we were moving to Houston. We didn't move here for another 6 months but I do remember Earl Campbell and the Houston Oilers goin against the Miami on MNF. I just loved the blue outfits and fell in love with anything from Houston from that day on. We finally moved to the Woodlands in 1980. Those were great days to be a Houston fan and to grow up in the great expansion of Houston. Houston was the king of cities and their sports was also great. The Astros had Nolan Ryan, the Rockets had Moses Malone, and the Oilers had Earl Campbell. I have the fondest memorys of playing in the streets during the season each sport. Before a Rockets game we were playing basketball. After a football game we were playing "smeer the queer" or "street ball with sideline bust". And started our game of baseball after watchn the cubs on WGN. (I love the stros but my best friend was a Cubs junkie) My Dad hated football but he was a basketball player in college so he took me to the Rockets game against the Kings in the 1981 regular season. It was my first sporting event I ever went to and it was great since we did win. From that moment I loved the Rockets. I was crushed when we traded away Moses Malone or we split the twin towers. I was elated when we beat the Lakers or the Spurs in the playoffs and the climax of course came when we didn't question the heart of a champion and went back to back in 94,95.
"...Early memories: Don Chaney getting fired after gigantic comeback by Tpups in the 4th quarter(24pts I think) - led by Scottie Brooks. Rudy T takes over. First Draft - Robert Horry 92 First Playoffs - 92-93 eeking out the win vs LAC in 5 and losing in 7 to Seattle 20 Vision in the wee hours of the night when we played on the West Coast. Mom letting me stay up and she got hooked on the Rockets too watching them with me. Didn't get too see home game until the late 90's when we got cable... " Was that me posting those memories? I don't remember doing it, but those are exactly my first memories with the rockets myself. Weird. I guess it's gotta start somewhere for all of us, so coincidence led a couple of potential basketball fans to the rockets at the same time. Neat.
No lie. I swear to God those are my earliest Rockets memories as well. I won't ever forget finding out Rudy was hired by my math teacher in elementary school, game 7 of the Sonics series, or wondering who the hell Robert Horry was when we drafted him. . . this is starting to get eerie. Michael
Charles Barkley holding up his shiny new (and butt ugly) Rockets pinstripe pajamas. Not that that was my first basketball memory, just the day I became a Rockets fan.
I have been following the rockets since they played in San Diego. They really ran and shot the lights out back then, statistically at the top in offense and the bottom in defense. I recall being elated when they drafted Elvin Hayes and two years later not knowing how to pronounce Tomjanovich. I remember feeling helpless as Kermit Washington blindsided Rudy. What I really don't recall is how the Rockets evolved into being a kind of distant family relative. After many years of frustration, I feel quite proud of this organization and just can't help but believe.
Man this kind of stuff can really date a person. Glad to see I'm not the only "geezer" in here. My first "Rocket fan" memories are also my first basketball memories(learning the game,rules,etc). It would cover the few years before and after Moses was winning those MVP's. Players like Billy "the whopper" Paultz going back and forth between SA and Houston. Listening to alot of games on the radio. My first time at a Rockets(and NBA)game....a bunch of guys from work going to the Summit to see them play the CELTICS-----wow what a first time that was! One of my best buds explaining to me the tradition of the Celts,the calls,the action on the floor. I was hooked for sure then! I'm glad I've been with the Rocks long enough to see them through all their Finals trips(which helps appreciate the titles),some really great players, and,most of all,one Mr. Olajuwon from raw beginning to polished legend. Awesome thread.....you guys are really bringing back alot of good memories shared with good friends that seem like just yesterday. Just one more......watching the 86 WCF against the Lakers on CBS..... AFTER THE LATE NIGHT NEWS!!!!!! Remember when the league didn't rate prime time broadcasts? SAMPSON'S CLINCHING SHOT BABY....WHAT A MOMENT!!!!!
Michael19p and dtown333 that is pretty cool. The way the Rockets were playing with all the nail biting, heart-attack inducing, buzzer beating games it no wonder so many of us got hooked then.
Actually went to see the Rockets often in the late '60's when they were the San Diego Rockets before the move to Houston. Had no money but my wife worked for KGB radio station (where the "Chicken" was hatched) and they got all sorts of free tickets to Rockets, Padres, Chargers games...and NOBODY wanted them but us. It was an expansion team and not very good, but got to see some damn good teams and players like Baylor, Russell, Robertson. Believe it or not, Pat Riley was the Rocket's first round draft choice out of Kentucky one year. Big E was the go to guy, and they had another gutty guard named Stu Lantz (maybe from Nebraska), who now does color for the Laker games. I have been a raving fan ever since I may be the Geezer in the group but I'm still standing!! Dallas Rocket
