Basketball Gods align as the Utah Jazz and long-time fan, John Cleese, are in Phoenix on the same day!
John Cleese at KERA. Photo: Bill Young
The New York Knicks have Spike Lee, the Los Angeles Lakers may have Jack Nicholson, even Everton FC can count Dame Judi Dench among their ‘avid-Blue’ fan base. Now, the NBA’s Utah Jazz can count on none other than John Cleese, one of the original founding members of the Monty Python troupe, to be one of their most ardent fans. Even though he has never seen a game live, Cleese has remained a Jazz fan for more than two decades.
In true Cleese fashion, he apparently started his love affair with the Karl Malone/John Stockton-led Utah Jazz during the team’s NBA Finals runs in the late-90s, just to be a contrarian to his daughter’s favorite team, the Chicago Bulls. That, and his self-admitted love of all things ‘silly’, led to a decades long following from across the pond.
“I love silly names,” Cleese told fans at the FanX pop culture convention at the Salt Palace in 2019. “And there has never, ever been a sillier name than the Utah Jazz.”
Fast forward to April 2021 where Cleese and daughter Camilla find themselves in Phoenix tonight (April 6) appearing at the House of Comedy for a special night of “Comedy with the Cleeses” beginning at 7p. As luck would have it, it appears that the basketball Gods have aligned the planets to where the Utah Jazz will be visiting the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday evening opening the door for Cleese to finally get an opportunity to see the high-flying 38-12 Utah Jazz in person.
Recognizing how close he’d be to the possibility of seeing 2021 NBA Western Conference greatness, Cleese (with a little help from PhotoShop) took to Twitter to reach out to the team for tickets…
.@utahjazz I would love to come see you Wednesday in Phoenix with my daughter, can we make this happen? pic.twitter.com/12LtBQD2sx
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) April 5, 2021
Jazz owner, Ryan Smith, rose to the occasion not long after apparently ‘taking care’ of the ticket request.
A cry for help !
My beloved Utah Jazz are playing the Suns on Wednesday in Phoenix
Can anyone help me and my daughter Camilla to get to go to watch the game ?
I’ve supported them for 20 years and never yet seen them live !!
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) April 5, 2021
Cleese, after not initially realizing that tickets would still be available at this late date with the top two Western Conference teams squaring off, ended up and bought two tickets and should be in attendance on Wednesday. Say hi, just don’t ask him to do a silly walk on the concourse.
Thanks to all who gave me advice about the Jazz
But I’d made a mistake !
I assumed that with limited capacity and the two best teams playing, all the tickets would have long gone.
Not so !
So I BOUGHT two tickets
Sorry
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) April 5, 2021
While Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert may not be John Stockton and Karl Malone, they are 38-12 and sit atop the traditionally strong Western Conference. Should be a good game to be your first Utah Jazz game to see in person.
In: Odds & Sods
