A Call To Arms

Rockets ready themselves for wild weekend

Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer

Houston - These are the moments you live for as a sports fan. You wait, you suffer, you endure - all for a chance to experience a weekend just like this. Two games, at home; becoming part of a frothing, frenzied crowd craving nothing more than a chance to taste triumph.

The first two games drew the lines: Good versus evil, David versus Goliath, style versus substance - the eternal battles which always resonate and always stir the soul because those same wars are waged everyday within the heart of every fan. It matters not whether you chose your side or it chose you; at this point the only relevant issue is this: Are you with us or against us?

This is no longer Rockets-Lakers, it is all of Houston against all of Los Angeles. Two cities putting not just their pride on the line but their values as well, so perfectly do these players reflect their respective fan bases. It’s not just compelling theater, it’s how sports are meant to be.

The subplots are sublime, rivaling anything yet seen on the silver screen. Game 1 featured Yao’s ‘Rocky’ moment; a heroic return sparking a stunning upset. Then Shane Battier summoned the serene of Qui-Gon Jinn in Game 2, enduring an all-out assault from the perfect villain; a pacing, prodding, spectacularly-skilled anti-hero whose ample gifts demand your respect, your fear and your dread but not, as Battier reminded us, your surrender. Call him Darth Maul, call him Black Mamba or call him Kobe Bryant; by any name, he is now destined to spend his weekend in Houston as Public Enemy No. 1. He’ll relish this. But so will you.

The old and experienced love to recall the memories of packed, over-heated arenas filled with fans spewing nothing but passion, venom and vitriol for two and a half hours in a desperate dance designed to carry the home team to victory. They summon these recollections as an ode to days gone by, back when fans actually had an effect on the game. They say those days are gone for good. Don’t believe it for even a second. Toyota Center can and will resurrect that dormant spirit this weekend. The séance begins tonight.

For these are the days you yearn for and desire. This is why no amount of pain and frustration is too much. Everything else has simply been a prelude to this moment. There are times in life when you’re forced to take a stand and, once standing, you never want to take your seat again. This is one such a moment. Your team needs you and you need them. It is the symbiotic life force pumping blood into the heart of a city which has answered the call.

The build-up almost over, the anticipation is now ready to give way to a spectacular release. Something truly special is in the air. Can you feel it? It is opportunity. It is hope. It is belief.

It is every color dissolving into a wild, frantic, storming sea of red, because this is not just Rockets versus Lakers, it is us against them. So seize the moment, stand up and let them know precisely where your loyalty lies.

This is what you’ve been waiting for. The lines have been drawn. Are you with us or against us? Your team awaits your answer. Make it loud.

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