{"id":101900,"date":"2023-02-13T11:17:59","date_gmt":"2023-02-13T17:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=101900"},"modified":"2023-02-13T13:27:13","modified_gmt":"2023-02-13T19:27:13","slug":"devoted-sports-town-or-prime-title-game-destination-super-bowl-week-durant-trade-provide-evidence-both-can-be-true-phoenix-sports-fans-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/devoted-sports-town-or-prime-title-game-destination-super-bowl-week-durant-trade-provide-evidence-both-can-be-true-phoenix-sports-fans-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Devoted sports town or prime title game destination? Super Bowl week, Durant trade provide evidence both can be true, Phoenix sports fans say"},"content":{"rendered":"

By John Riker<\/strong>
\nMedill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

PHOENIX \u2014 A couple of blocks from the masses swarming the NFL\u2019s central hub downtown, the Footprint Center, home of the NBA\u2019s Phoenix Suns, remained relatively quiet during the first half of Super Bowl week. That all changed for employees at the Suns team store when the most significant sports news to come out of the week \u2014 Phoenix\u2019s trade deadline acquisition of 13-time All Star forward Kevin Durant \u2014 broke late Wednesday night.<\/span><\/p>\n

In response to the news, the employees pulled from the team store\u2019s inventory of custom uniforms and rushed to print Durant\u2019s name and his\u00a0 No. 35 on the team\u2019s purple Icon Edition look, all while hiding jerseys of former Sun Mikal Bridges. Within a couple of hours of the Suns\u2019 blockbuster addition, replicas of Durant\u2019s new uniform \u2014 retailing for a pricey $149.99 \u2014 hung on one of the racks featured at the store\u2019s entrance on East Jefferson Street.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as we found out that Durant was active on our roster, we could make some with our blanks,\u201d employee Tim Marshall said. \u201cWe were able to get one style out the past two days since the trade, but that\u2019s all we\u2019ve got right at the moment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sports have been front and center in the greater Phoenix area this week. Among Sunday\u2019s Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, the NFL\u2019s extensive week of festivities in downtown Phoenix, the golf world descending on Scottsdale for the weekend\u2019s WM Phoenix Open and preparation for spring training later this month, the city is proving this month to be a prime location for big-time sporting events.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But Phoenix\u2019s Big Four teams have rarely fielded champions of their own, with just one championship across a combined 141 seasons from the Suns, Diamondbacks, Coyotes and Cardinals. With the championship buzz and Durant\u2019s surprise arrival in \u201cThe Valley,\u201d Phoenix fans believe their city\u2019s reputation as a sports town will be able to match its status as a winter getaway and go-to destination for major events.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey lift each other up,\u201d Wyatt Duncan, a Surprise, Arizona, native, said of the city\u2019s slate of home games and championship events. \u201cAll of the (events) attract more attention to each other.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Phoenix locals claim the Suns as the team they follow most closely, and their 2021 NBA Finals appearance re-energized the city\u2019s sports scene. Even with the Suns on a five-game road trip, the team has made its presence felt at Super Bowl events. The Gorilla, the Suns\u2019 distinctive mascot, made the rounds at Media Row on Friday and used hand gestures to react to the Durant trade in TV interviews, and Steve Nash and Devin Booker Suns uniforms were popular choices for those attending NFL Experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Albert Gonzalez, who also hails from Phoenix and is a devoted supporter of the city\u2019s teams, tested his speed in the NFL Experience\u2019s 40-yard dash while wearing a Booker 1990s-style Suns uniform. Gonzalez was planning on watching the Super Bowl with friends rather than attending the game, but enjoyed his first trip to NFL Experience and most appreciated the emphasis on Super Bowl history.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even with the buzz around the Super Bowl, Gonzalez said the Durant trade has been the highlight of his week. He already has plans to add a Durant uniform to his Suns collection and has raised his hopes Phoenix is nearing a title of its own.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been through a lot,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cGetting a championship would make it up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The leadup to the Super Bowl has made Phoenix\u2019s lack of titles all the more glaring.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In contrast to the city\u2019s 21-year run without a championship, the two cities with Super Bowl representatives, Philadelphia and Kansas City, have been regulars in championship games. In baseball, the Phillies and Royals have combined for three World Series appearances and one title in the past decade, and the Eagles and Chiefs each snapped lengthy Super Bowl droughts in the past five years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Suns\u2019 addition of Durant to a lineup already featuring guards Booker and Chris Paul and center DeAndre Ayton positions Phoenix as the favorite in the Western Conference, but even an acquisition as impactful as Durant doesn\u2019t guarantee series wins come playoff time. Despite teaming with Kyrie Irving and James Harden in Brooklyn, Durant never advanced past the second round of the playoffs in his three seasons playing for the Nets.<\/span><\/p>\n

Suns fan Austin Moyer grew up in Mesa and started following the team most closely in the past five years as Phoenix started to take off as a title contender behind Booker. Moyer likened Durant\u2019s addition to the Suns\u2019 title contention with Charles Barkley and Nash and said the move makes the Suns the NBA Finals favorites.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKD gives us a real chance to win the title the next three to four years,\u201d Moyer said. \u201cWe\u2019re really the first super team since KD was on the Warriors, in my opinion. The sky’s the limit for us.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From NBA superstars to NFL officials and owners to visiting fans, Phoenix has established itself as a premier host city with its balmy weather and top-notch facilities. Now, Phoenix sports enthusiasts like Gonzalez are hoping their franchises can parlay the appeal that has lured title games and superstar talents to their city into championship parades.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a hot spot, man,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cEveryone wants to be here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

John Riker is a sports media graduate student at Medill. You can follow him on <\/span><\/i>Twitter<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By John Riker Medill Reports PHOENIX \u2014 A couple of blocks from the masses swarming the NFL\u2019s central hub downtown, the Footprint Center, home of the NBA\u2019s Phoenix Suns, remained relatively quiet during the first half of Super Bowl week. That all changed for employees at the Suns team store when the most significant sports […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":885,"featured_media":101905,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5348,31,5349,5339],"tags":[1113,1114],"class_list":["post-101900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-medill-explores-2023","category-sports","category-super-bowl-lvii","category-winter-2023","tag-nfl","tag-super-bowl"],"yoast_head":"\nDevoted sports town or prime title game destination? 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Super Bowl week, Durant trade provide evidence both can be true, Phoenix sports fans say - Medill Reports Chicago","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/devoted-sports-town-or-prime-title-game-destination-super-bowl-week-durant-trade-provide-evidence-both-can-be-true-phoenix-sports-fans-say\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/devoted-sports-town-or-prime-title-game-destination-super-bowl-week-durant-trade-provide-evidence-both-can-be-true-phoenix-sports-fans-say\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/02\/Slide1-3.jpeg","datePublished":"2023-02-13T17:17:59+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-13T19:27:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/34e62cbe3240444f311e8d55777196cb"},"description":"With the championship buzz and Durant\u2019s surprise arrival in \u201cThe Valley,\u201d Phoenix fans believe their city\u2019s reputation as a sports town will be able to match its status as a winter getaway and go-to destination for major events.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/devoted-sports-town-or-prime-title-game-destination-super-bowl-week-durant-trade-provide-evidence-both-can-be-true-phoenix-sports-fans-say\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/devoted-sports-town-or-prime-title-game-destination-super-bowl-week-durant-trade-provide-evidence-both-can-be-true-phoenix-sports-fans-say\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/devoted-sports-town-or-prime-title-game-destination-super-bowl-week-durant-trade-provide-evidence-both-can-be-true-phoenix-sports-fans-say\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/02\/Slide1-3.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/02\/Slide1-3.jpeg","width":2249,"height":1497,"caption":"Gorilla, the Phoenix Suns mascot, crashes NFL Media Row on Friday. 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