33 1976 was the year I started reading the sports page every day and following the Rockets, Astros, Cowboys and Oilers.
Started out as a Suns fan for geographic reasons, growing up in S. Arizona... my first fan memories are of Connie Hawkins, Mo Layton, Mel Counts, and Dick Van Arsdale. Was at a Hawks game in Phoenix and got to sit courtside- caught a ball during shootaround and threw it back to Walt Bellamy. Remember Pistol Pete and his greasy gray socks spot up for effortless jumpers that would easily be 3s in today's game. I was 11 years old when my heart was broken by what is still the greatest Finals game ever played- Suns at Celtics, triple-overtime. Last 10 seconds of second overtime; Westphal steals out-of-bounds pass, feeds Curtis Perry for jumper; misses first, gets own rebound, puts it in. Suns up by a point. Five seconds to go, time-out. Ball in at midcourt, give to Havlicek who drives left side and banks it in from 17. John McLeod calls time out, but none left, JoJo White hits technical shot. Celts up by two, 1 second to go. Half-court ball in, quick feed to Gar Heard who grabs and fires up turnaround moonball from 20... nothing but net. I remember JoJo White on the deck after that- completely exhausted, leaning back trying to catch his breath in a steamy Garden in June. Turns out the leprechaun got his ultimate due out of a guy, who picked green splinters out of his shorts for most of the year, in the third overtime- Glen McDonald. (great trivia question) As my dad put it- "you just can't beat a dynasty." Been a rocks fan pretty much exclusively since '90-'91 season- Akeem Olajuwon and a bunch of guys named Moe- (Dave Feitl, Buck Johnson, a rookie free agent Air Bullard, etc.) Quite a lot has happened since I first became a fan. I'm that old.
Man, you guys are making me feel old. I saw JFK give his "We're going to put a man on the Moon and return him safely to Earth..." speech at Rice Stadium. It made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. My Mom, with Dad's blessing, took me out of school to see it. I guess age can have some advantages. (not a whole lot, but some- )
I am a big JFK history buff. Im sure you remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when he was shot. One of those moments ya never forget eh? Youre not going to start telling us what a nickel use to by or calling us young "whippersnappers" are ya?
Yes, I do remember all that... I also saw Ruby shoot Oswald live on TV. Strange days. We were excited when the Rockets moved to Houston partly because Elvin Hayes was with them. It's a shame Elvin didn't stay long. We were and are big U. of H. fans. Guy V. Lewis should be in the Hall.
Hey Refman, or anyone else, who is older than me, I am 24 and I believe that I am currently at my prime. Does it get better or worse. Why do I feel like I am at the apex and it is downhill from here? By the way, I am talking about getting smashed and getting laid. I don't really care much about the other stuff.
26 Became a rockets fan when i moved to Houston in 91. Still a rockets fan when i moved to LA in 95. Started really hating the Lakers. Still a rockets fan when i moved to SF Bay Area in 2000. Still hate the Lakers. Still a rockets fan. Still hate the Lakers.
I'm a 37 year old lurker. I've been using CC.net for a very long time and find it the finest Rockets site on the web, bar none.
I am older than Yao Ming and Eddie Griffin..Hard to believe...they grow up to be really tall...and i am just a short short man
23 - been watching since 1990-1991 Season. I remember Sleepy Floyd/Buck Johnson, Matt Bullard as a rookie, Don Chaney getting fired, Robert Horry getting drafted, Akeem Olajuwon and the goggles
