Becoming a Denverite-Part Two

It’s a great time to be a Denverite if you love the snow, the mountains, and the sports teams. Wouldn’t you know it…as the Thunder have plummeted to being the only winless team in the Western Conference, the trending Nuggets are 4-0 and one of only two undefeated teams in the West. And in my second circled North American city to escape to get away from the Trump crazies–the Toronto Raptors are 5-0 with Kawhi Leonard. I honestly don’t know if I can live in Oklahoma more than three more years.

I knew Oklahoma was regressed, but I never realized how regressed until this whole Trump thing came about. I thought there was an inherit goodness in the people here. A quiet decency in people, but I’m not as sure right now. It’s very unnerving that people can still support this Trump person as each day passes. I’m not even going to mention the bombs. It’s too much for me right now.

Sports in Denver…it would be like heaven for me. The Rockies are contenders. The Nuggets are on the upswing. The Avalanche are young, hungry and should for the second year in a row make the playoffs. I don’t need the Broncos. I’ll always be an OU football fan first and there’s the downtown Denver bar called Shoney’s which hosts the OU Denver Alumni Association for every OU game. Plus, on the NFL front…I have my Cleveland Browns. I don’t need the Denver Broncos. I have Baker Mayfield, John Elway has Case Keenum. He can deal with that as he may.

And then there’s the skiing, the trout fishing, the biking along Cherry Hill Creek, the walks in Washington Park with the diva lab Pauli at my side asking, “Why did we wait so long to make the move, Mike? Oklahoma was stifling me culturally.”

And the restaurants, the coffee shops, the sports bars, and of course cheap uber everywhere so you don’t drink and drive.

I totally get what Kevin Durant was feeling right before he left. I get it. He should have told Russell and Nick though straight up on that Thursday night dinner. In hindsight, that’s the only thing Kevin did which was wrong. I think he owed Russell and Nick that as friends. He didn’t owe these white Trump dumbasses anything—as in nothing.

Go I guess we play the Celtics tonight. I just read a very poignant piece Jenni Carlson wrote about the passing of Marcus Smart’s mother. It was beautiful. Jenni’s writing has gotten better. She has more nuance and depth in what she’s now writing probably because she’s a mom herself and better understands what life is really all about. Good for Jenni Carlson.

I’m still a Thunder fan. There’s no way I could see myself ever being a fan of the Nuggets over the Thunder, but as a Denverite, other than family and friends, it’s not like I would see myself missing Oklahoma.