FanNation - The Republic of Sport

It's tough, being a passionate fan (for whatever reason) of a lousy NBA team. Because although you know that cumulatively, your team will lose more games than it wins, you still get your hopes up for each game. Because in the NBA, even great teams can have an off game, right?

As an inexplicably devoted Timberwolves fan, I spend most of days when the Wolves play looking forward to settling in on the couch and watching the game at night. And a little voice inside my head always thinks that maybe things will click for the Wolves tonight, maybe I'll go to bed satisfied with a win. But so often, I walk upstairs to my room frustrated, bitter, and disappointed. This is the life of a Minnesota fan.

This has never been more true than after last night's loss (the word "loss" doesn't do it justice) to Golden State. The Warriors were 2-5, lost twice in a week to the Grizzlies, and were missing three starters. It's safe to say that on paper, the Wolves were the better team Tuesday night. Which doesn't happen often.

A little after halftime, the Wolves trailed by 13. It was about eleven o'clock, and I was getting ready to call it a night. That's when Randy Foye checked into the game and, in my eyes, earned back his starting job. Foye caused turnovers, created -and nailed- shots for himself, and orchestrated a 21-6 third quarter run that put the Wolves ahead. With four minutes left in the game, the Wolves led 106-97. It was about 11:35 now. If the Wolves were any other team, I would have been able to confidently go to bed and read about their second-half storm in the newspaper tomorrow morning. But they're not. And I knew that. I knew that no victory is ever secure with this team, because they have a harder time closing out games than I have picking up chicks. Or than Andres Biedrins has shooting free throws. (Poor guy, Andres. I'd hate to be an NBA player if I had a seizure every time I shot from the line.)

Anyways. To make a long story short, the Wolves didn't score a point during the rest of regulation. A Stephen Jackson 3-pointer (I really like Jackson as a player, by the way. I've never really seen him play, but he's a do-it-all offensive guy and his team seems to rally around him), a Brandan Wright layup, a Kelenna Azubuike drive and a Jackson breakaway, and the game's going to overtime, as I go into convulsions. Needless to say, they lost in overtime.

The most frustrating thing about this Wolves season is that they never get blown out. They're a couple of possessions per game away from being 6-1 right now. This team has more talent than 1-6. Something, whether it's poor coaching, the lack of a fourth-quarter killer-instinct guy, or poor conditioning, is keeping them from scoring one or two more buckets down the stretch, or getting one or two more stops. I don't know. I don't know.