Big Crowd for Suns return to “Madhouse on McDowell”

I went to the Madhouse on McDowell Saturday afternoon for the Suns open scrimmage. Nostalgia hit me right between the eyes when I saw “The Hawk”, Connie Hawkins, signing autographs. Tom Ambrose tapped me on the shoulder, Jerry Colangelo said hello and I had a nice visit over dinner with Al McCoy.  It was like old-home week with the Suns.  Walking around the old building, there was interest and excitement from the crowd that came out to relive a time when the franchise owned the State. It can happen again.  I didn’t really care about the players in uniform. That’s not what this event was about. The Suns are the only team left in the Valley that goes by Phoenix. They are using the marketing slogan “we are PHX” this season. It’s cool.  The sense of family around the Suns has always been there, in good times or bad.

On the court the team should be better. Tyson Chandler is a welcome addition. Fans gave him a nice ovation when he stepped onto the court. His veteran leadership will be a necessity for a team that was devoid of anything in that department a year ago. I like the growth of Alex Len in the middle. He can be a double-double guy if he just stays healthy and gets minutes.

There will be more time to go through the X’s and O’s as preseason games get going. But on this night, it was all about a link to the past. A nice night!!