Go Phoenix!

What Is This?
This is basketball god Steve Nash shaking hands with the Spurs after beating them with one eye.

Hate It Or Love It?
Don't you love it when your favorite team beats its hated archrival?

Sports are about pride. And I don't just mean playing sports. For fanatics like me, even watching sports is a nerve-wracking, heart-stopping and pride-crushing experience.

At least that's how it was after watching my beloved Phoenix Suns get brutally knocked out of the NBA playoffs year after year by the universally hated San Antonio Spurs. Imagine Voldemort defeating Harry Potter in each of the seven books.

It seemed like the Suns couldn't catch a break against these guys: there was Joe Johnson's eye injury one year, Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw's suspension another year and Tim Duncan's unlikely 3-pointer after that. In fact, the Spurs won 16 out of 22 playoff games against the Suns since '03. The Spurs and Suns were, once again, set to meet in the playoffs and I couldn't help but wonder if the result would be the same.

Not this year. The Suns swept the series 4-0 and thoroughly dominated the Spurs in almost every respect. No longer could my two friends/die-hard Spurs fans Andrew Shu and Ailin Zeng rub their victories in my face. It was my turn. As the weight of those past four playoff eliminations lifted of the Suns' shoulders, the weight of always cheering for the losing team lifted off mine. Victory was sweet.

And that steak dinner Andrew Shu owes me for a friendly wager on the series will be even sweeter.