Kara, my nine year old daughter, has this cute little victory ’skip’ that she does when she plays sports. We first noticed it when she was quite young and playing Jr. Jazz. It didn’t matter who scored, but whenever her team scored, both hands would go up and she did this little skip thing. Cutie! Recently, while watching one of her soccer games, she did her little victory ’skip’ after stopping a goal when she was playing goalie. Later, in the same game, she did it again when her team scored.

What I love about this is that she does it for anyone on her team who does something good. She is genuinely and sincerely just as happy for them as she would be if she had done the good deed herself. That is something I hope she never lets go of.

The Jazz team does a similar thing. It is exhilarating to me when something awesome happens, and they show the Jazz bench (regardless of who is on it at the time) and they are all up, cheering with big smiles on their faces. This behavior reminds me of high school play . . . the good ol’ days, when playing sports was fun and watching someone on your team excel, was something to be proud of. When I see the Jazz players cheering on a fantastic play, it makes me feel like they are really having fun. Even in high stakes playoff games. It also reminds me just how talented the player is . . . because I think, ‘hey, if the teammates are cheering, it must be a fabulous play’.

Not many teams in the NBA do this. Every play is just another expectation. Nothing out of the ordinary. The bench just looks on like it’s just another day. Here is yet another reason why I love the Jazz. The personality of the team shines through. I really feel like they are trying hard to become the best. I feel like they support and cheer one another. I feel the team spirit . . . especially since the addition of Korver. They truly are “one team, one dream”. I don’t hear them bad mouth each other even when there may be reason to. They focus on the awesome skills that each has and compliment each other.

I love that they seem genuinely interested in the play of their teammates, as well as the team. They may not do a ‘victory skip’ but you can still feel it in their enthusiasm and see it in their faces. Boozer is one of my favorites with his wide mouth shouts. But each of them display some real personality in their own way. Some may argue this ’show of emotion’ is unprofessional. I disagree, I think it makes the team more likable and the fans more enthusiastic (if that is even possible in the ESA!).