by Dana Greene

I wasn't here in 1997. I wasn't here in 1998. But I can't imagine Jazz fans of those teams were as excited as they are now. Back then, fans expected the Jazz to reach the NBA Finals. And after 1997, they expected an NBA Title. But it would be harder to find someone hiding in Carlos Boozer's eyebrows, than to find a Jazz fan that expected their team to reach the Western Conference Finals. This has to be more exciting for the fans...to root for a team that when the playoffs started, nobody outside of Larry Miller's wildest dreams thought would do what the Jazz are doing.

Remember when the Jazz blew a 22-point 4th quarter lead at home to the hapless Sonics? Or remember when the Jazz lost six in a row in early April when they were trying to secure home court advantage? Me neither. To see EnergySolutions Arena, no, feel EnergySolutions Arena these days, you could make a case that the Jazz have the best homecourt advantage in the entire league right now. Even Don Nelson, who has been an NBA head coach for the better part of 8 decades, said he has never coached in an arena that was as loud as it was in Game 5.

I think it's because this Jazz team flew so far under the national radar this year, that even Jazz fans stopped believing in them. When the playoffs started, even the the most passionate Jazz fan couldn't have imagined Utah would be sitting at home, waiting for their Western Conference Finals opponent. The sitting at home part, yes.

What a ride it's been so far. And to witness the different styles the Jazz have been able to win in the playoffs -- physical, run and gun, ugly, you name it -- even the so-called experts who have all but ignored the Jazz all year long are starting to believe they have chance in the next round. I'm telling you...NBA Finals...it's not so unbelievable anymore.