Feb. 20, 2003, was one of the worst days of my life. I never saw it coming, but it was a day I will never forget.For those of you reading this who know me, you are probably laughing right now.
It was a Thursday, school was nothing special and, after it, I wasn't looking forward to teaching little kids how to swim for a meager two hours. I made it through the lessons and, as I was walking to my car, I pulled out my cell phone and noticed I had six new messages.
I started to get really confused. I would usually get excited if I got one missed call from an unknown number while I was at work, but six new voicemails? It felt like my birthday. Not quite.
So I checked the first one-it was from my Dad.
\Hey, Betsy, I hate to tell you this but I wanted to be the first to let you know ... Ray Allen was traded today to Seattle for Gary Payton. Please don't do anything stupid while you're driving home from work.""
OK, great joke, I thought to myself. I knew it was the NBA trading deadline that day and every year someone would call me up as a prank to tell me that my favorite Buck was going to be dealt away to some far-off land.
Next message: ""Betsy, it's Jen, I just wanted to make sure you're OK. I heard Ray Allen was traded today and I'm really sorry. If you need to talk, please call.""
The next three or four messages-same thing. Ray Allen was traded. My life was over.
As you can tell, I was rather well known for being a huge fan of No. 34. When I went to school the next day, I had close friends, teachers and little freshmen I didn't even know expressing their sympathy for the loss of Ray; I even think someone sent me flowers.
It has been hard, but two years later, I have moved on. I continue to support Allen as well as his former team but I don't think I will ever forgive the Bucks organization for one of the most brainless moves they have ever made. They gave away the best member of ""The Big Three"" (Glenn Robinson and Sam Cassell beg to differ) for 30 or so games of The Glove. And, as any Bucks fan knows, The Glove didn't fit for too long as he quickly left for LA the following year. I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised-this is the same team that traded Dirk Nowitzki AND Pat Garrity for none other than Robert ""I'm now as big as a Tractor"" Traylor on Draft Day.
Today, the Bucks are back to being one of jokes in the Eastern Conference and I give all the thanks to the masterminds behind the trade--ex-coach George Karl and ex-general manager Ernie Grunfield. Karl is back in the league once again with the Denver Nuggets and even recently admitted that pawning off Allen was not a smart move. The only positive from the trade was the acquisition of Desmond Mason, but not even his dunks helped the Bucks too much last year nor will they help this year's team get into the playoffs. Nuggets fans beware; Georgie will break your team up and the next thing you know Carmelo Anthony will be pawned off for Vin Baker and maybe a future second-round pick if you're lucky.
My hope has not faded for the Bucks though, or even for another chance to see Ray in purple and green once again. Rumor has it that Michael Redd wants a part of King LeBron's dynasty in Cleveland and Mr. Allen will be an unrestricted free agent following this season. If Ray is to come back home to Milwaukee we will know for sure that his heart still longs for beer, brats, cheese and me!
Betsy is not obsessed. She swears. She can be reached for comment at eagolomski@wisc.edu
