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This is my response to Jesse/*jesse*'s “Fabby Fanatics” & Marlene/ScrappyGal8's “Go Monochromatic” challenges for Scrap Happenzz Critique Group. I think my lengthy journaling is testament of what a Houston Rockets/NBA fan I am, LOL! The title comes from lyrics from a song that was out when the Rockets won the '94 championship. The pic is from '06; I had outgrown the sweatshirt but took a pic before discarding! The tickets are reprinted scans (originals are in my old h.s. sb, which is chockfull of Scotch tape, gasp).

For the monochromatic challenge, we were to use variations of 1 color plus neutrals like black, white & tan. I went w/ yellow because using shades of team color red would've made my page pink! Plus I rarely use yellow so this was fun to do. The swirl of patterned cs on the top/bottom is handcut. The patterned stars are punched from greeting cards by Jay Palefsky. Some things hard to see in the scans - The cream/light yellow stars & title matte are shiny. I used gold ink for the mesh stamps & circle-inking. There are dark yellow swirl stamps along the top & bottom. The scan cuts off the left & top edges. I sorta bent the rules using red for the title (Marlene, I had to! Hope that's cool. I kept the embellies & everything yellow/regulation!); title is clear embossed. The swirl stamps were a bday gift from twinscrapbee/Brenda (thanks Bren).

Here's the journaling for interested parties:

"Growing up w/ a basketball hoop above our driveway, I loved shooting hoops & playing basketball in PE. In 1986, my family gathered to watch the NBA finals between our Houston Rockets & the Boston Celtics. Houston beat the LA Lakers & were Western Conf Champs, that was big news in Houston, & after watching the Celtics series – my Mom & I were HOOKED! Watching “Twin Towers” Hakeem Olajuwon & Ralph Sampson dominate from commanding heights, seeing the athletic contributions of (cute) Jim Petersen, Robert Reid, Rodney McCray, Mitchell Wiggins, Allen Leavell & Lewis Lloyd, w/ outspoken coach Bill Fitch – it was so exciting! Boston, w/ their champion history & incredible Larry Bird, were amazing (& beat us in the series 6-2). But by finals' end, 2 fanatics were born.

From '86-'88, my Mom & I shared season passes. It was an incredible event to watch the Rockets play in The Summit. We'd relish their victories – after wins, there were post-game interviews by a local reporter at mid-court, an insider secret –most of the stadium would be empty but those “in the know” got to watch these cool sit-downs. With every loss, came pain. Hakeem Olajuwon always played w/ an “Unbeatable” (his catch phrase) spirit, pulling triple doubles, being superman, have a support team fall short or be outplayed by the opponents, or just bad luck strike. Whether they won or lost by a few or by over 50 pts., Mom & I would stay until the last minute, bonding over nachos & cheering on our boys. We'd buy team clothing, accessories & game programs. We'd gravitate towards autograph signings, charity games & appearances. We were 2 of 50 contest winners who won a group dinner w/ Fitch & 2 players (Petersen & Dave Feitl!), we were psyched! I had a poster of Petersen (the “Ivory Tower”) in my bedroom! At home, Mom would laugh maniacally when the game was going well, & wail when bad; friends would call & say “what's that in the background?” Me: “Mom & I are watching a game.” My '89 high school graduation was in The Summit; it was so meaningful to have that in the building where I saw many shows & games!

I also had become an all-around NBA fan – watching every game I could. I was interested & amused seeing various matchups between teams. I appreciated the New York Knicks' impressive Patrick Ewing long before I moved to NYC. I admired the Utah Jazz's John Stockton & Karl Malone. Later, I was awed w/ the Phoenix Suns' Kevin Johnson & Charles Barkley – their performances were so amazing in their '93 finals against the Chicago Bulls' Michael Jordan-led championship dynasty (Jordan was beyond belief!) –I highly commended them despite a 6-2 series loss against the Bulls. Barkley later became a Rocket in the late 90s, admirably playing his heart out. Years later, I would cheer the Knicks on during their '98-'99 Eastern Conf Championship (Ewing, Allan Houston, Latrell Sprewell, Larry Johnson, Marcus Camby, rest of the team & coach Jeff Van Gundy were heroes that year!). The Knicks fell to the San Antonio Spurs (a fab team w/ the likes of Tim Duncan & Dave Robinson) in the Finals. I also became a NJ Nets fan in the late 90s, players included Jason Kidd, Keth Van Horn, Kenyon Martin... I LOVED the instrumental jingle for the NBA on NBC, “Roundball Rock” composed by John Tesh!; every time I heard it, I knew 4 quarters of exhilarating play would follow!

But the Rockets were always “My Team.” I moved to NYC in '89 & I loved the NY Knicks. Ewing & John Starks were excellent players. However, when it came down to the NBA finals in '93 -‘94 – my Houston Rockets vs. my NY Knicks, I had to root for Houston. If anyone deserved a win it was, after years of exceptional playing, Hakeem Olajuwon & the rest of his amazing team - Robert Horry, Kenny Smith, Vernon Maxwell, Otis Thorpe, Matt Bullard, rookie star Sam Cassell, coach Rudy Tomjanovich (longtime asst coach)... Even my NYC friends watching the series couldn't deny the skills of Hakeem “The Dream” & Cassell. When the Rockets won during a heated game 7 in Houston, the whole Summit erupted in cheers of victory. Hakeem looked dazed as he took in the crowd – all those years of giving a 110% finally got him a ring!!! The Houston Rockets got the esteem & credit they deserved. All of a sudden my EMI Records coworkers were asking me to get Rockets shirts from my family in TX. One boss & I dreamed up a scheme of suggesting a song by one of the label's bands The Dwellers w/ the chorus line “Love is A Rocket Ride” as an ad campaign song for the Rockets; the combo of the upbeat pop song w/ MY NBA champ team would've been PERFECT! The Rockets did it again in '95 – sweeping Shaq's Orlando Magic & getting a ring for Clyde Drexler (former college teammate of Hakeem's) & newer Rockets like Chucky Brown. I got a paper broom commemorating the sweep autographed by Horry that I kept for years until it was recently damaged.

I admit, these days I do not follow the Rockets, Knicks, Nets, or the NBA in general, as closely as I used to. Real Life gets in the way & frankly, it's tough to tune in regularly until the All Star Game & the Playoffs. My Mom also stopped keeping up at some point. But she & I will ALWAYS be true Rockets fanatics. Recently my Mom confessed to me – Yao Ming (7'6” tall Rocket from China, astonishing & charitable player) was her screen saver on her work computer! I can't help but smile over that – some things never change!!"

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Thanks to Jesse & Marlene for the wonderful challenges!

TFL :)


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