For a fanbase used to playing meaningful basketball games in April, Thursday’s home finale against Houston could have gone sideways for the Jazz. After all, Utah was already eliminated from the postseason for the second consecutive season, and they were missing over half of the regular rotation due to injury.
Behind the strength of a raucous and engaged home crowd, Utah took down Houston 124-121 Thursday night.
“I thought the team deserved this, I thought the fanbase deserved this,” Hardy said postgame. “There aren’t a lot of fanbases who would have had that presence tonight on a 13-game losing streak and already eliminated from the postseason. … I feel like everyone in Jazz Nation wanted this tonight.”
When Hardy took over as head coach of the Jazz two years ago, he knew what he was getting himself into. Jazz Nation has always been known as one of the most passionate fanbases in professional sports, a place where homecourt advantage matters and can significantly affect a game’s outcome.
Sitting in front of the media for his pregame press conference ahead of Thursday’s game, Hardy took the time to thank the fanbase he loves and appreciates.
“There’s nothing like the noise in this building. … It’s not something I take for granted, that’s for sure,” he said. “We are spoiled to have this fanbase. … Their loyalty is not lost on me, our organization, or our players. It ultimately is our goal to continue to build this thing in a way that we feel represents us and represents them.”
“Ultimately, our fanbase wants a team that’s successful, but they also want a team that plays really hard every night, competes, and plays as a group.”
Jazz Nation is a group whose fanbase is rooted in such deep tradition and passion that regardless of the team’s overall record, they’ll show out. That’s why Thursday’s matchup was the 292nd consecutive sellout in Salt Lake City — an impressive feat considering how the past two seasons have concluded. 
“It reaffirms to me the authenticity of our fanbase,” Hardy said when asked about Jazz Nation. “Pro sports, the NBA, is full of fair-weather fans. It’s full of arenas that you go to, and if the team isn’t great, the building can be not very full. … There are plenty of instances throughout the season where we go out on the road, and it just doesn’t feel the same. I think that our fans prove that every single night, they’re truly Jazz fans through and through.”
Leave a Reply