We have seen it on hashtags, local fans see it on billboards and its all over the ESA.
I don't know if the Jazz planned it or if it is a mere coincidence but the slogan for the team this year fits perfectly for the identity of the team this year. Over the last ten games the Jazz have made most of us believers. We have read it many times throughout the last month, its not that we're winning it is HOW we are winning. It seems like playing as a team and not having a superstar is is how we're getting it done. The first games when we were struggling the talk was about who is going to be the star of the team, who is the leader, who will be our captains? Isn't it funny how winning takes care of all:
Once the Jazz learned to play as a team and stopped just standing around watching Al, we began to win. When the players decided that it takes all of them giving their best effort things began to change. David Locke on google + shared the top five moments that changed and defined the season according to the players :
I loved reading this list, not one of the items was about doing something for individual glory, it was all about taking sacrifices for the team.
Team talk continued at shoot around this morning with Paul Millsap
This tweet warmed my heart. If there was any player on our team that could claim to be a star, it would be Mr. Paul Millsap. Yet our favorite 2nd rounder doesn't claim the spotlight, that is the attitude this team needs to succeed.
TribJazz's tweet caused me to tweet this: 
my tweet prompted a discussion from other fans about their love for this team also :
The Jazz have the best record since the new year, they are sitting second in the Western Conference. I don't have numbers to support the change, I will leave that to our number guru, Amar. I do watch the games though and can see the changes. Our team has chemistry, something that was missing for most of last year and the first three games of this year. They actually like playing with each other, they trust each other on both ends of the court. They don't need to depend on one player to carry the load, like Bittermormon tweeted, they are playing like the Detroit team of 2004.
We don't know how long this will last, maybe the brutal February and March schedules will prove to much for our young superstar-less team but for now I am enjoying every moment. After last season we all deserve this wonderful month of Jazz basketball.
6 recs | 50 comments
Very nice writeup, @dianaallen
JazzHype - January 19, 2012
Thank you Diana
Times like these make me glad to be a member of this community.
Kfunk - January 19, 2012
BTW, I'm not on Twitter much, so I don't know if these kinds of things are the norm, but ...
missing transitive verb
[shudders]
JazzHype - January 19, 2012
it happens because of the 140 character limit
the kid that wrote are instead of our felt real bad about it but I liked the photo so thats what I shared it.
dianaallen - January 19, 2012
I am still my mistake...
kirkhambiz - January 19, 2012
I am still facepalming over my mistake...
geez..
kirkhambiz - January 19, 2012
Haha.
Great pic though.
hamfist - January 19, 2012
+1, Love it.
JazzHype - January 19, 2012
+1 more
awesome picture
MTN - January 19, 2012
Hahaha. Brain works faster than the fingers
prodigal punk - January 19, 2012
LOL
Not the fact that you made a mistake, but how you handled it put a smile on my face. I am going to go read your blog now. (this is a complement)
chicagorilla - January 19, 2012
ha
the blog I haven’t updated since the offseason..
kirkhambiz - January 19, 2012
That's a classic right there.
JazzHype - January 19, 2012
It happens to me all the time...
…luckily there’s not as many jerks to point it out.
Bittermormon - January 19, 2012
So you're calling me a jerk, huh? Grammatically sensitive I could see.
Hope you were intending it in a playful way. Because I sure was. Just seemed like an odd occurrence that both screenshotted tweets would have a fairly egregious grammatical issue. I found it quite humorous.
JazzHype - January 19, 2012
Thanks for your kind words.
I wanted to remember how we are all feeling at this point in this season, its something special.
dianaallen - January 19, 2012
As slogans go...
….nothing will ever top “Life Off, Game On” in terms of terribleness of slogans.
The comparison to Pistons is interesting because I always felt like we were similar to them a few years ago: Deron/Billups, AK/Tayshaun, Memo/Rasheed….. but we were better (offensively) with Boozer than Big Ben, and they were better with Rip than whoever was coming off curls to catch and shoot for us back then. I remember thinking Raja Bell was our missing piece that year. He has returned to us a few seasons too late.
MTN - January 19, 2012
i used to think that too
but looking back the Boozer/Williams teams never had the toughness that that Detroit team had. I think things changed also when Williams wanted to score more or maybe he was forced to score more, it kind of changed teh dynamics of the team.
dianaallen - January 19, 2012
I would rather have team cohesion than a superstar
I liked D.Will but I don’t know, something about his attitude bothered me. He seemed distant, off put, and had zero leadership skills. I believe his constant bickering wore down not only the head coach but hurt the team spirit as well. From there on, the Jazz completely fell apart. This season, I see everyone on the same page, working together seamlessly and I think Millsap is at the center of it, leading the team with the right mind set and attitude.
softdrinks - January 19, 2012
I felt exactly the same way about D Will.
Right before he got traded, I was working on a FanPost regarding why the Jazz needed to move D Will. And then they did… before I could get it finished and posted. Same basic concepts though, divisive rather than cohesive, pouty rather than positive, wanting to swap for better/different players rather than building up the ones on the team.
Lots, and probably most, of the SLCDunkers at the time were not of this opinion. I’m sure a large chunk are still not.
JazzHype - January 19, 2012
Millsap Quote: no superstars
That oughtta put to rest yesterday’s discussion about whether or not Millsap is a star (whether the super variety or the all variety). Surely Millsap knows better than any of us if he is superstar caliber.
I wonder if AJ thinks of himself as a superstar.
I imagine Gordon Hayward doesn’t think of himself that way, but I bet he lip-syncs rap songs in front of his mirror with his shirt off… SUPAH-STAHHH…
MTN - January 19, 2012
haha
i don’t think al thinks of himself as a superstar or at least he doesn’t say much to make me think he does.
dianaallen - January 19, 2012
Yes, because Millsap loves to talk about how good he is.
I’m sure Stockton wore a headband around the house that said “All Star Dad” on it.
JazzHype - January 19, 2012
All kidding aside
Do you think Stockton would ever have said, “We don’t have any superstars on our team”? I think Millsap is humble, like Stockton, but he’s also just being honest.
Anyhoo, I don’t want to split hairs. Millsap is a beast. Love him. He’s awesome. So glad we got ‘im. Whether or not he thinks or I think or you think he’s an all-star is pretty moot even if it is decent conversation fodder.
MTN - January 19, 2012
That last paragraph says it all.
Just sit back and enjoy what we have going on now, no matter what may or may not happen later on in the season.
flibbidy - January 19, 2012
Very nice article Diana
Right now IS a very good feeling for the Jazz and their fans. I remember that I told myself at the beginning of this season that it would be a work-in-progress year and not to expect too much. That’s a big part of what makes right now so special.
LP Jazz - January 19, 2012
thumbs up
Bryan Chang - January 19, 2012
actually, 2 thumbs up
Bryan Chang - January 19, 2012
Very Well Done!!
We Are Utah Jazz is fantastic!! Reminds me of the Real Salt Lake “The Team is the Star” mantra, and is definitely something that is making us successful and very fun to watch.
murderousmalone - January 19, 2012
+1
That was my first thought. Not too many local soccer fans here, I know, but the words “The Team Is The Star” are painted in the Real Salt Lake locker room, and that’s how they run the team. It’s great to see the Jazz playing that way, too.
Shums - January 19, 2012 via iPhone app
I also thought of RSL's mantra
And lots of things that my beloved Liverpool use – You’ll Never Walk Alone primarily.
TazzJazzFan - January 19, 2012
You're a Liverpool fan?
I’m living between Tottenham and Arsenal country right now and haven’t picked a side. Mostly, I don’t want to get stabbed for coming home from a game wearing the wrong team’s scarf.
Guybrush - January 19, 2012
I've been a Liverpool fan for longer than a Jazz fan.
Not by much, but it’s true.
TazzJazzFan - January 19, 2012
Go Spurs! You can be a Spurs and Jazz fan. Can't be too many of those in the world.
JazzHype - January 19, 2012
ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL
Shums - January 19, 2012
Thanks
I think it’s the way a small market team needs to be run in today’s NBA. We need players that want to be here, and want to buy into the Utah Jazz philosophy.
murderousmalone - January 19, 2012
And understand that we root for them because they play for the Jazz,
not because of who they are.
SurlyMae - January 19, 2012
exactly!
anytime the Jazz make changes I think whelp I guess I won’t enjoy them as much, especially when Sloan left but that is never the case. I continue to love this team because they are the Utah Jazz,.
dianaallen - January 19, 2012
It's nice to feel like part of a community
Suffice to say, there aren’t too many Jazz fans in Indiana. I love the camaraderie here on SLC Dunk and among Jazz fans in general.
BJInIndiana - January 19, 2012
Where in Indiana?
My dad is from Ft. Wayne, my brother lives in Evansville.
I think Jerry Sloan is a Jazz Fan. He’s from out that way. You’re in good company.
MTN - January 19, 2012
We are Utah Jazz
We our are mistake
MTN - January 19, 2012
Bravo, Diana
Great work, love the way your passion for the Jazz shines through in your words.
fistbump
TazzJazzFan - January 19, 2012
thanks!
dianaallen - January 19, 2012
Thanks for sharing...
I’m not on twitter, so I really like when writers pull in tweets and share them with the rest of us internet social rejects.
I almost bought NBA League Pass at the beginning of the season. But decided not too because I was bitter about the lockout. Then the first three games of the season “proved” that I had made a wise choice. Now, I have regrets. Might have to make the jump, watching games online isn’t as exciting.
chicagorilla - January 19, 2012
Does anybody else wish diannaallen was single?!?
chicagorilla - January 19, 2012
Haha I can picture her blushing at that one.
SurlyMae - January 19, 2012
blushing and very flattered ;)
dianaallen - January 19, 2012
That last picture with the guys is pretty badass
and to think we were lost at the beginning, now we have found our way.
KaBar6 - January 19, 2012
this
jazzed - January 19, 2012
WE ARE UTAH JAZZ!
The dust is being shaken off of our vintage jazz. The combo of old school and young bucks with the same defensive mindset has brought back that missing ingredient back to Utah!
UtonganKidInCali - January 19, 2012 via Android app
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