Jazzhoops   End of the Season, End of an Era. by Stef Siepel All the signs were there this season. He didn’t want to say anything about his decision to retire. He played his heart out on defense, and he fought for every basket on offense. As a matter of fact, he played like his life depended on it. So could we have seen this coming? No, simply because he always played that way. I’m going to refrain from descriptions of all those memorable shots he made. I refuse to tell everyone how great those Stockton-to-Malone assists of his were. I won’t say anything about how he grew up in Spokane, and how his career went from there on. And you won’t find any quotes from Stockton about his retirement, as I’m not going to put them in here. I won’t, simply because I don’t want to. I might write this article, but I’m far from a journalist. I don’t have to write an article about Stockton’s career for some newspaper, an article that probably appears in every sports magazine anyway. When I’m writing about moments like this, I just simply forget that I’m a wannabe journalist for a Jazz site. I’m only one thing at that moment: a fan. A very sad Jazz fan. Almost the entire sports world hates to see him leave. That small guy from Spokane, who paved his way to the Hall of Fame simply by working hard. His crisp passes and killer shots were admired for 19 years. And of course, all those fans say they hate to see him leave. He was a good player, who made his way to the top based solely on fundamentals. He was an example for every player without the exceptional athleticism and hops of a Michael Jordan, and without the height of a David Robinson. For a Jazz fan, however, he was far more than that. He was the face of the team, the power that kept the engine running. When he smiled, the fans smiled. Simply because his smile meant something to them. He was a Utah fan favorite. Why? Nobody exactly knows why, he just was. Will I miss his passes, his shots, his steals? Of course I will. Will I miss John Stockton? A hundred times more. His passes were brilliant, and his shots were excellent. With them he delivered my favorite team wins, and NBA fans will always remember him for them. But I, however, will miss his smile, his game face, his footsteps, his voice, the pumping of his fist in the air after a win, his high fives with his teammates after a successful play, his haircut, and all those other little things. Someone might play Stock’s position and give all those passes he gave, but that doesn’t matter. Although I might miss his excellent game, I’ll miss him, John Stockton, most of all. In the beginning I used to marvel about another successful bounce pass, and I marveled after another successful mid-range jump shot. After a while, those things didn’t matter anymore. What mattered were the look in his eyes, and the smile on his face. Those passes made me cheer, but that smile made me smile. His tears, they made me cry. NBA fans see the greatest pure point guard of all-time leave the game, and some of them might have a hard time dealing with that. But Jazz fans don’t only see the greatest point guard, their greatest point guard, leave, but they also see John Stockton leave. And the latter is far worse. I’m not writing this because I got an assignment from a newspaper. I don’t care about the grammar and spelling mistakes in this article, and I don’t care if there isn’t a proper structure in it. And you know what, everyone who reads this shouldn’t care about that. And they shouldn’t, and probably don’t, care about the upcoming free agency period and the upcoming NBA draft. The only thing they should/do care about, is that John Stockton, not the best point guard ever but John Stockton, leaves the game, and that priceless smile and look in his eyes after a win as well. Thanks for everything John! And I hope that your life is filled with as much joy as you have given me during your career. Bye bye, so long, farewell. A fan’s article, right from the heart.