<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Call me by my new name: Jerry Pollyanna. I believe for every drop of rains that falls, a flower grows. But that's not important here. What I also believe is that in less than a year's time, Orlando Magic fans will look back upon last week and hail it as a wonderful moment in the franchise's undernourished history -- as important as the time they fired the hockey guy. Oh, the Florida Gators will be fine, too, but that's not important here, either. Their only problem will be keeping their football coach happy at a predominantly basketball school. Stan Van Gundy is The Man for the Magic. How do I know this? Not sure, but it seems smart to hire a coach with proven expertise at the NBA level. Besides, he looks like a man who enjoys a bowl of pasta, so what's not to like? But there's one more thing -- and it's the real reason for my bubbling optimism. The betrayal by Billy Donovan and subsequent cheap shots at the Magic by many cynics had a hidden benefit -- it made "Magic Nation" mad. Hey, who knew there was a Magic Nation? But it came out of hiding last week to post literally thousands of comments at OrlandoSentinel.com. Righteous anger -- which can be cleansing for the soul. In other words, Magic Nation got to play the Disrespect Card. Big time. Granted, GM Otis Smith must take advantage of the opportunity by giving Van Gundy more talent to use. And Van Gundy must use that talent. When that happens I believe there's a legitimate fan base eagerly awaiting an excuse to break out the pompoms. Hey, I'm so optimistic I even think funding for an arena gets approved as Orlando looks back upon last week and says: "Thank goodness Billy backed out."</div> Read The Rest
I agree that both sides seemed to end up alright. SVG will probably be a better coach then Billy would have been and Florida got their legend back. I just wish the Billy thing didn't happen, but like he said "Magic Nation" rose up. Hopefully people will actually continue to care about the Magic and hopefully we improve big time by resigning Darko and starting him next to Dwight.
