Let's thicken this plot up by mentioning that the Warriors hadn't been to the playoffs since the last time Don "Nellie" Nelson coached them 13 years prior. Back then, current Mavs coach Avery Johnson was playing on that Warriors team. Nellie went on to not only coach the Mavs for a decade, but also to groom Johnson to become the Mavs coach who would take his team to the finals in 2006 and to the best winning record of the NBA regular season in 2007. This was going to be a battle for sure.

In what would come to be the last game of a nail-biting series, the Warriors' star player, Baron Davis, hurt his hamstring within the first seven minutes of the game. It looked like the Mavs might have the edge, even though the Warriors were playing on their home court. Determined, the rest of the Warriors team picked up and played where Davis fell short. By the third quarter the Mavs looked stunned, and soon-to-be-named MVP Dirk Nowitzki was facing his final minutes of what would ultimately be a disappointing season. The Warriors took the victory, thereby becoming the first No. 8 team in NBA history to dethrone the No. 1 team in a best-of-seven playoff series.

I was not a Warriors fan before this series. What struck me was the team's fans. In Miami, Heat fans wore white shirts to show their support at home games. Golden State fans, who'd been waiting 13 years for this moment, packed their stadium and wore Warriors colors: a yellow t-shirt that read "WE BELIEVE." Suddenly, the underdogs had a record-attending stadium of fans telling them that they believed the team could win this series. I think they aided the Warriors' success.

This story illustrates the power of being a fan - a sports fan, music fan, or otherwise. One person screaming, "We believe!" while wearing a yellow t-shirt displaying the same sentiment does not necessarily take a team to that level of winning, but 20,000+ fans so enthusiastically showing their support will help carry a team to victory. But it starts with one. That's often the difference. I'm glad I've gotten to be both that one crazy music fan screaming his head off as well as part of a nation of crazy music fans screaming their heads off. In the end it's the fans who make it all possible. The fans allow bands to hurdle obstacles for the sake of performing and presenting their material. Fans make bands believe in what they do. Fans make bands play their best sets live. Fans make bands sequester themselves in the studio to come out with the best possible product. Now, if the Lakers or Clippers had won their last games of the season, we would be reading about something else. Be a fan. Believe.

I still believe,

Gus
gus@chordmagazine.com

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