Proud to be Colorado Sports Fan
To me, there will be no greater year in sports than watching my teams winning the crown.
In the ‘21-’22 NHL Season, the Colorado Avalanche went to the top of the west, they battled every step of the way, went up against the Lightning in the Finals, and they claimed the crown in 6 games with a 2-1 win in Tampa to hoist the trophy. In that moment, you think it can’t get any better. Deep down, I knew one team had a chance to finish the job and bring yet another title to Colorado, a title in a sport that hadn’t seen a Colorado team win it all seen since their days in the ABA.
That team was the Denver Nuggets. 47 years in the NBA, and only 4 trips to the Western Conference Finals to show for it. All season long, the Nuggets took on 82 games. In 82 games, they tore the West down with an impressive 53 W - 29 L season to take the top rank in the Western Conference. But the regular season means nothing. It’s the Playoffs where the true test for this team would begin.
Round 1 - Minnesota Timberwolves, a team that came in a wild card, Denver proceeded to steam roll to a 3-0 lead headed into game 4 with a chance to sweep. The Wolves won, and the Nuggets took it personally and put the series to bed in game 5 with a 112 - 109 win. The 2nd round is the next challenge Round 2 - Phoenix Suns, this team was 2 years removed from a trip to the NBA Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks where they fell in 6 games in that year’s finals series. Denver took game 1 by a score of 125 - 107, game 2 was a 97 - 87 win for the Nuggets, game 3 in Phoenix proceeded to hold Denver down to a 121 - 114 loss to make it a 2-1 series lead. Phoenix would tie the series in game 4 by handing Denver a 129 - 124 loss, but Denver would not go down as they blasted the Suns out of the water with a 118 102 win in game and then followed that up with a 125 - 100 win in game 6, the Western Conference Finals await. A 5th trip to the WCF awaits, and it’d be a 2020 rematch.
Western Conference Finals - Los Angles Lakers, or as I call them “one of the NBA cash cows.” The Lakers have won multiple titles, and last won it all in 2020, crushing the Nuggets in 5 games. A 4th WCF match against the Lakers, they won 3 of them. This is over right? Wrong, Denver would NOT go down the way they did in the past, they did NOT lie down. Game 1 - Denver holds off a late game surge to win 13, Game 2 - Denver barely edges the Lakers out to take a 2 - 0 series lead with a 108 - 103 win, Game 3 - out in L.A, the stars shining bright, and the Nuggets proceeded to bend but not break as they held the Lakers off again in a 119-108 win to take a 3 - 0 series lead. A sweep was seemingly inevitable, but game 4 was the closest battle yet. Back and forth late into the game and Denver was on the edge of defeat, but once again, the Nuggets made the moment magical and edged out the Lakers 113 - 111, taking a a 4-0 series sweep, Jokic getting the Western Conference Finals MVP, and a first ever NBA Finals trip NBA Finals - Miami Heat, 3 time Champions of the NBA. Last won in the 2012-2013 season, faced the Lakers in 2020 finals and came up short. They’ve been here before, and they got a team that’s never been here before in Denver. But once again, Denver would not go down. Game 1 - Denver ended the 1st quarter down 24 - 22, and proceeded to stay down 51 - 44 at the half time and Miami was feeling confident in winning this game. The 2nd half was a different story was Denver proceeded to find the net for 26 points to the Heat’s 20, and turned the ball game to a 71 - 70 lead for Miami headed headed into the final quarter of the game. In the 4th, Denver scored 24 more points to Miami’s 18, taking game 1 in a convincing 94 - 89 win. The historic first ever NBA Finals win for Denver, and making it three wins to go.
Game 2 - Miami wouldn’t go down quietly after the game 1 loss, ending Q1 on top 26 - 23, but Denver rallied off in Q2 to go up 57 - 51 at half time. 2 quarters left to the 2nd ever finals win. After the game’s 2nd half began, Denver picked up right where they left off and went up 83 - 75 with 1 quarter to go. But Q4 would not go my team’s way as Denver only put up 25 more points while Miami rattled off 36 points and gave the Heat a 111 - 108 win as Denver tried for a 3 point shot at the buzzer to tie the game, but it was just short. Game 3 - The NBA Finals would take a trip to Miami for the Games 3 and 4 and Denver would take game 3 by storm, after a 24 - 24 tie in Q1, Denver put up 29 points in both Q2 and Q3, and backed it up with a 27 in Q4 and scored the game 3 win with a 109 - 94 win. Win 2 of the NBA Finals, but the job isn’t done. There’s still 2 more wins to go. Game 4 - Friday night for game 4? Denver saw it as no challenge and they routed Miami all game long and aside from a DEN 55 - MIA 51 first half, it wasn’t even close as Denver won in a 108 - 95 take down. The series is now 3 - 1. Denver is now 1 game away from winning it all. Monday night would be the night where it all would be decided if we were headed to game 6, or it was all over in 5. Game 5 - This was it. This was clinch night, if you were gonna show up and win it all, THIS was the night. Monday night was prime time, and Denver proceed to go down 51 - 44 at the half time, and it looked like it was going to head to game 6 in Miami and possibly a game in Denver 7 where it’d be anyone’s guess who would win it all. But just like game 1, just like every other time it looked like it was over for the Nuggets, they rallied in the 2nd half and with a late game steal, Denver held on to win the game by a score of 94 - 89. There would be no game 6. Game 7 was no longer needed. It took 5 games. The series ends in 5 games. a 4 - 1 series win, and the end of a 47 year wait for my team’s first ever NBA crown.
I’m a much newer Nuggets fan, joined the Nuggets fan base before this magical run happened. And a much younger fan at 27 as I write this. I would keep up with this team and I never thought I’d see this team win. And I did. The Colorado teams are my teams. The Rapids, Avalanche, Nuggets, Rockies, Broncos, and Mammoths. Colorado is where I want to be, been that way since 2012, and even when I felt like I was at my lowest. I’ll keep dreaming, and maybe one day, my dream of living in Colorado will come true. Just like the Nuggets winning it all. Just the Avalanche winning it all. Just like me wanting to get NASCAR Cup Series and Indy Car Racing out there. The Broncos getting a 4th Lombardi. Like the Rockies *finally* winning the World Series. Like the Rapids winning a 2nd MLS title. My life belongs in Colorado, and I’ve known that for 11 years. I’m to the point where I more so believe that I live in Colorado more than I live in Maryland. My name is Alan Mooch. And I am proud to be a fan of all the Colorado teams. I long for the day where I can look out the window to a Colorado sunrise and I say “I’m finally home.” And these last 2 years were the best years in sports. The Avalanche and Nuggets winning it all put a smile on my face.













