Kings fan waiting for the ‘razzle-dazzle’ to return

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I’ve never been crazy for sports with the exception of basketball, but even that has been fleeting.

I think like most boys in the 1990s my first exposure to the game was the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan, but what really hooked me was The Sacramento Kings during the early to mid 2000s.

It was partly because I was the pariah of a sports crazy family hoping to appear normal in their eyes, but mainly because I think everyone in the valley was insane for the Kings back then.

We had Jason Williams, Chris Webber, Mike Bibby, Vlade Divac, Peja Stojakovic and Doug Christie to watch olay.

The Kings were this All-Star team that was never really able to make the distance to be champions.

I was hooked and watched each game, even if it didn’t change the fact that I barely knew anything about basketball.

That was beside the point.

More than anything, watching the Kings in that era was fun.

The team displayed a style of play that was almost Harlem Globetrotters-esque with a heavy usage of trick shots and passes that would leave your head spinning with all the razzle-dazzle.

The last few years have been hard times for the local team with the loss of star players due to retirements and draft trades.

At the same time the team had to contend with the threat of relocation.

Thankfully, with the help of the community led by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, a former professional basketball player, alongside new management for the team, the Kings will now stay in Sacramento.

The opening game of this season was an emotional moment for fans of the team. It set the hope for a return to the greatness.

But I’m still waiting for the Kings I fell in love with to show up.

With 5-13 record so far, the Kings aren’t that hot this season.

Sure we have players like Demarcus Cousins who could, given time, become an exceptional player, but his attitude keeps holding him back.

Kings fans can only hope the team now firmly planted in Sacramento can start focusing again on being a force to be reckoned with.