The Big "E" leads the Bullets in 1978...
I want to know ...Who pissed off some Witch Doctor or some Voodoo High Priestess??? Maybe it was something we here in DC said to somebody, somewhere who has these kind of wicked connections to someone in the field of Sorcery!!Someone, done Put Roots on us!!! This is the only way I can explain the ongoing streak of bad-luck that the Washington Wizards/ Bullets have been experiencing the last 8 years.The Wizards have not made the playoffs since 1997 and last won a playoff game in 1988.......yes 1988!!! The last playoff series that they won,they beat the Nets in the opening round of 1982....DAMN!!!
Back in the day, when The Fat Lady Sang in 1978, disco was the music of choice for most folks in America. Here in DC,it was the sweet operatic sound of a championship for the Washington Bullets. Man, those were the days! My folks had season tickets to the old Capital Center, good seats too in the 100's! The atmosphere in that Arena was electric! On days that my Mom didn't go to the game, my Pops would take either me or my brother. I got to see my favorite players , Bobby Dandridge, Elvin Hayes, and Kevin Grevey , in person! I was in basketball heaven. The song still rings in my ear..."Bullet Fever..it happens to me every year!!" Sadly, here is where almost all good memories of my squad end!
The playoff futility, to me, started with the endless run of horrible draft picks. Mel "Dinner Bell Mel" Turpin in 1984, Kenny Green in 1985, John " Hot Plate " Williams in 1986...need I say more!! We did however, have some superstars make some pit stops at the Capital Center/MCI Center...Moses Malone('86), Bernard King('87), Ralph Sampson('91),Juwan Howard and Chris Webber('94), Rasheed Wallace('95) , Ben Wallace('96)and of course Michael Jordan('01). All of these players eventually moved on, and the Bullets/Wizards were left to wallow in the basement of the Eastern Conference for years to come!
This 2004-2005 season seemed like we were primed for a breakthrough! With GM Ernie Grunfeld making moves in the front office and Coach Eddie Jordan running the show on the bench, the Wizards had all the makings of a playoff-bound team.Unfortuanetly, Steve Blake , Kwame Brown , and Etan Thomas all started off the year on the injured list. They went 11-4 in the month of January, but Larry Hughes went down before the All Star break with a fractured thumb. Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison both made the All Star Team. Then the (stuff) hit the fan! Juan Dixon sprained his ankle, Jarvis Hayes fractured his right patella,Anthony Peeler got a sore right knee ,Peter Ramos started marinating on the bench with plantar fasciitis(yeah, right),Antawn Jamison got tendinitis in his right knee, and now Brendan Haywood fractured the tip of his thumb! Somebody is Hatin' on us something terrible!!
The season is not quite over , so I won't hit the panic button just yet! Right now, the Wizards are sitting pretty in the 4th spot in the East. With 15 games left in the regular season, 8 of them at home, this is a chance for the Wizards to finish up strong. My first hope for this year was for the team to just make the playoffs. Now, after looking at some of the teams we could face in the post season, I'm thinking second round here we come baby!!. Things are really looking on the up and up......untill we have to see Miami.....again I say DAMN!!!
...out!!
