A Happy Memphite Columnist

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This guy wouldn't last a week in Boston.....

Grizzlies-Celtics: We're in sports clover 
By Geoff Calkins
Memphis Commercial-Appeal
October 31, 2003 


The Grizzlies tip off their NBA season tonight at The Pyramid against the Boston Celtics. 
Go ahead, read that sentence again. 
The Grizzlies tip off their NBA season tonight at The Pyramid against the Boston Celtics. 
After three years, isn't it still a kick? 
The Boston Celtics. 
The team of Cousy, Bird and Russell. 
Playing in a town the Memphis Chicks once abandoned for Jackson, Tenn. 
It's easy to take the presence of the Grizzlies - and Jerry West and John Calipari and AutoZone Park - for granted. 
So it's useful from time to time to remember where we once were as a sports city. 
To remember the Arena League team that celebrated touchdowns by sending camels on a long walk around the field. 
To remember David Hersh packing up his cigars and baseballs and heading for the border. 
To remember the Mad Dogs and the Houn'Dawgs and the Rockers and the Pharaohs and the Fire and the Put Your Own Favorite Failed Rinky-Dink Franchise Here. 
But now we're set to embark on an NBA season that could involve - be still, my heart - actual wins! 
Unlike Nashville, see, Memphis hasn't been spoiled by early triumphs. 
The Titans drew miserably their first season in Nashville. The next year, they moved into a new stadium and went to the Super Bowl. The bandwagon hasn't yet stopped rolling. 
In Memphis, it's been a longer and more character-building process. 
The Grizzlies lost 13 straight to open their second season. 
The arena is taking three fractious years to build. 
Some people are still so bitter about the entire enterprise - Walter Bailey should really consider counseling - they're trying to sabotage the building even as the lid is going on. 
That's why this season is so important, so vital for the future. 
The Grizzlies have sold roughly 8,000 season-ticket equivalents. Plenty of tickets are available for tonight's opener. 
The team needs to create some momentum, some sense that it's building toward something. 
"Having the big trampoline is important," said Andy Dolich, the Grizzlies president of business operations. "If you look at some of the most successful stories over the last 10 years, it's organizations that have a convergence of a new building, young stars and a great performance." 
Think of the Cleveland Indians moving into Jacobs Field. 
Think of the San Francisco Giants moving into Pac Bell Park. 
Think of the Detroit Tigers moving into . . . geez, see how losing can mess up everything? 
"It's about the product," Dolich said. "An 0-13 start is crushing for everyone." 
Which brings us to the preseason predictions, and let's start with the easy ones. 
There won't be a second tattoo night at The Pyramid. 
Nobody is going to play Christmas carols on the tuba. 
If Pau Gasol can stay upright, the Grizzlies will win 37 games and give Dolich at least a medium-sized trampoline into the new building. 
No, 37 wins wouldn't be enough in Sacramento. Or in Dallas. Or in Memphis three years from now. 
But this year it's progress. It's hope for the future. It's enough to keep Memphis fans talking about the playoffs well into February. 
Which beats talking about Maniax, right? Or the HotShots? Or how many points you get for a rouge, anyway? 
The Grizzlies tip off their NBA season tonight at The Pyramid against the Boston Celtics. 
Look, Memphis. 
No camels! 
Contact columnist Geoff Calkins at 529-2364; E-mail: calkins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx