Forgive and Forget- 3/7/2017

           Since the Infamous deal that sent the beloved Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups to New York, Denver has actually done far better than expected record wise, but now however face an entirely different monster. Since the Nuggets big deal they’ve continuously lost fans and are now facing somewhat of a drought. Even with the rising stardom of current Nuggets Nikola Jokic, and Jamal Murray, the nuggets still can’t seem to get fans into the Pepsi Center. This is a big problem that the nuggets front office just doesn’t know how to fix. They’ve done everything from increasing the amount of Promo games, selling tickets for as cheap as $15, and multiple Commercials, but it just doesn’t seem to help. This has really made me question the Nuggets fan base, what happened to them, and why don’t they go to the games like they used to?

            It turns out the Fans from yesterday’s past, where the same as the ones following the Warriors now, Bandwagoners! Back when we had a more then popular team developed around the Superstar Carmelo Anthony, who was selected 3^rd overall in 2003, we also had a more then supportive fan base which made it difficult for any team to come outplay the nuggets on their home turf. But unfortunately Denver was too much of a “cow town” and our superstar betrayed us for better media outlets. Yes Betrayed! That’s how I felt after that deal. But its Nuggets fans who get the Last Laugh as we have all seen Carmelo’s career go from greatest scorer in history, to a truly disappointing offensive threat. I say this simply because if Melo stayed in Denver he most likely would have multiple titles under his belt, and the love of an entire city. Instead he is now on his 6^th season away and has nothing to show for it but a ton of rumor drama and a really bad reality TV show (La la’s full court life). But he can take more credit for what he did in Denver, and that was ruin the nuggets fan base for years to come.

            At this time the Nuggets and their fans should be able to forget Carmelo. Even with the greatness he possessed, we now possess even greater. Nikola Jokic is far better than Carmelo Anthony ever wished he was, but for some reason that still has yet to sink in for Nuggets fans, as they still aren’t going to the games. This is a conundrum that must be figured out if the Nuggets ever want to pick up where they were before the Melo trade. Of course an ever impending matchup against the Infamous Golden State Warriors during the First round of the playoff will eventually bring people to come watch a few games. But that won’t supplement the ever waning nuggets fans, unless they pull a magic trick out the hat and shock the world by beating 1^st overall seed, which seems nearly impossible. So what else can this team do to get back its former glory stolen away from it?

            So far the answer to that problem has solely rested on the Shoulders of Nikola Jokic and his success as one the League’s elite foreign players. He’s already taken his Native country Serbia over with his popularity, as Serbians all over the United States flock to his games, to catch a glimpse at the Future Star. Now it’s time for it to invade Colorado, and hopefully fill out the Pepsi Center. In order to show the League, who has numerously rebuked Denver as a “fly-by” city, most recently when Paul George declined being traded to the Nuggets, saying he would simply leave for L.A as soon as he could. This type of narrative would have never occurred under Melo, when we had world class free agents flock to Denver including Allen Iverson, Chauncey Billups and Kenyon Martin. For some reason they were able to look past Denver’s supposed Cow town title, and come play ball. I hope one day Nikola can do that, tempt other great players to com play with him, and maybe one day the negative narrative placed upon Denver will forever be supplemented by the greatness of the game.

I know the title of this post says forgive and forget, but that is just too hard to do as a nuggets fan. But from here on out, I challenge myself to forgive Carmelo Anthony, even though he totally ruined the Nuggets and ultimately his Career. Also to forget all the negative stereotypes placed upon Denver and hope someone can realize the greatness that basks in that city!