I first discovered NBA JAM in early 1993, when my interest in professional basketball was at its peak. It was the rookie season for Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Christian Laettner, Horry and Sprewell from Alabama (both in the first two dozen picks!), and Oliver Miler, the Razorback who joined a team with Kevin Johnson, Dan Majerle, and…Charles Barkley, in his first year with the Suns. Who promptly became my team of record, after a sporadic flirtation with the Pistons and Trailblazers. And there was the machine, in the arcade at Brookwood Village, with its computer voice bellowing out one bombastic cliche after another. Naturally, I had to seize on it, after years of video-game football.
And I never played anything but the Suns, obviously. Between Barkley and Majerle, I had a well-rounded operation and could sink threes or break backboards with equal aplomb. Sure, it was a quarter per quarter, but hell, it was worth a dollar a throw to watch that ball catch fire and trail smoke on a 40-foot shot. Naturally, I grabbed it as soon as it was out for the Sega Genesis and worked it into the rotation with Bill Walsh College Football (even though the Sega version swapped Barkley for KJ). And I got plenty of action out of that, until my NBA interest started to wane with my grad school career….which was ironic, given that I finally moved to a place that had a team.
I never got back into the NBA again until the Warriors made their unlikely run in the “We Believe” year, and I tried to get stuck in – but once Baron Davis left, and the team sank back into the swamp, my attention drifted again. Every year, I kept saying “maybe this is the year I get back into it” but couldn’t decide between the Warriors or Kings (or even Wizards) and never really found a hook. And honestly, I was more inclined to think I should just wait and see where the Vanderbilt guys end up…and then, by some random happenstance, the wife got third-row seats at the Warriors earlier this winter, and we went, and they won, and they got on a bit of a streak…
And then, NBA JAM for the iPhone happened.
And as it happens, Stephen Curry and David Lee, at least in Rookie mode, are good for (checks phone) 19 consecutive wins (including 16-0 in campaign mode). Curry can shoot the lights out, Lee helps take care of stuff inside, and it’s worked out pretty well so far. And I’m not just saying that because I think Curry is the easiest way of playing John Jenkins until he actually gets drafted.
This may be the thing that gets me back into the league. Names of players, knowing who the stars are, taking an interest, keeping up with things…who knows, maybe if I have another sport to spread my interest around I won’t wind up as a mental case. Hell, it might be nice to find out what it’s like to casually follow a team for shits and giggles instead of trying to get my soul saved.
And besides, I think the wife will tolerate blue and gold. ;]