The 5 Stages of Grief

Posted by: PremiumChicken on February 10th, 2011

The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.

During my adventurous days in college, I felt compelled to register for a semester of psychology class – mainly to meet girls.  Despite how dubious my original intentions were, I did manage to learn a thing or two about the human psyche.

One such memorable lesson were the 5 Stages of Grief.  Often, we experience these stages during the death of a loved one or the termination of a long-term relationship.  Such is applicable with the departure of the longest tenured coach of any professional sport in the country.

When I heard the news this morning that Coach Jerry Sloan was holding a press conference in the afternoon to announce his resignation from the Jazz franchise, I was devastated.  Then, I reverted to my earlier training and performed a self-assessment to determine where I lay in the grief spectrum.  I’m no medical expert (far from it in fact) , but I also realized that many in the Jazz Nation may also be experiencing the same symptoms and understanding where we’re at may help us grieve.

1. Denial:
This is the part where we refuse to believe that Sloan would ever retire from the sport.  He had been such an iconic figure for so long that to have that taken away would be like losing a limb.  What made it more challenging is that we lost Phil Johnson as well.  To many this stage lasted all but a minute, but for some, it may still be going on despite the press releases.  Letting go is a difficult step.

2. Anger/Resentment:
Reading through the posts and comments in this blog has made me realize that many fans are at this stage.  This is one of the easiest emotions to be immersed in and one of the most difficult overcome.  This is also where we start playing the blame game and, unfortunately, certain players or the organization are the easy targets.

3. Bargaining:
Because we, the fans, are in the receiving end of this tragedy and have very little influence as far as being able to change the situation, we feel powerless in this regard.  Some have suggested that we boycott some games or write letters to correct the course of events.

4. Depression:
This is when we acknowledge that things are not going to go back the way they were, despite our humble efforts.  Everyone experiences depression differently.  Some of us may just need a quiet moment to think things through.

5. Acceptance:
Ty Corbin being selected as the new head coach of the Utah Jazz as the final nail in the coffin for me and has reassured me that Jazz will continue despite this massive blow.  Basketball will continue for the rest of the season, the weather will still be cold, and birds will continue to fall from the sky.

I am grateful for the dedicated service that Jazz coaching staff has provided and hope that the future is bright for the franchise.  I am hopeful that, one day, our team will win the elusive championship. I was always a sucker for underdogs.

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