Far-reaching Effect

A friend of mine just returned from Stockholm. He said he was in a sports apparel and equipment store and the clerk asked him where he was from.

When my friend replied Salt Lake, the man said, “You like John Stockton?”

Yes indeed, said my friend.

“You like Boozer?” the clerk said.

“I think he’s lazy,” said my friend.

What about Millsap. Do you like Paul Millsap?

He answered in the affirmative.

“What about Brewer? You like Ronnie Brewer?”

Yeah, he’s fine, said my friend.

What surprised him was that even in the post-Stockton/Malone era, fans would spring up in the far reaches of the earth.

Knowledgeable fans.

When I first started covering Jazz games in the early 1990s, there were arenas in America that didn’t have any Jazz fans in the audience. None. At least not anyone wearing Jazz shirts. Now they show up in every arena. And apparently teh Jazz are global, to some degree.

Are they hugely popular worldwide? Hardly. No Jazz player jersey is among the top 15 sellers in foreign countries. But there are pockets of Jazz fans. I’ve received e-mail from Jazz enthusiasts in Africa, China, Israel, Australia and other far-flung places.

Just out of curiosity, have any of you had an experience while visiting a foreign land in which Jazz (or Utah, USU or BYU) fans spoke with you?