Amazing turnaround of the underdog

A new day is approaching to Denver — an “underdog” in the American society — and to the Nuggets, the “underdog” of Denver’s professional sports.

SONG JI-HOONThe author is a sports news writer of the JoongAng Ilbo. Denver, the state capital of Colorado, may not be a widely known city in Korea like New York or Los Angeles. However, in the United States, it is famous as a road and aviation hub. These days, it is famous as the hometown of professional sports teams.

The name Denver comes from James Denver, the governor of Kansas. But Governor Denver did not visit the city named after him during his term.

Denver is an alpine city at an altitude of 1,600 meters (5,249 feet), located in the eastern valley of the Rocky Mountains. It is nicknamed a “mile-high city.” It’s the same as a city built on the top of Mount Kumgang (1,638 meters high). In the old West, Denver was spotlighted as one of the major bases of the gold rush.

The mountain city with clean water and air is well equipped with nursing infrastructure for older adults and patients, as well as facilities for various winter sports and climbing. In America, Denver is the epitome of a clean and quiet mountain town.

What makes the peaceful and calm city excited is none other than sports. With a population of 3 million, Denver has four major professional sports teams, Denver Broncos for American football, Colorado Rockies for baseball, Colorado Avalanche for ice hockey and Denver Nuggets for basketball.

In general, American football teams lead the local sports boom, but it is different this year. For the first time in its history, a basketball team — the Denver Nuggets — have advanced to the finals this season. After being founded in 1967, the Nuggets joined the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1976. In nearly half a century, it has never won the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy.

This season is an opportunity to win it for the first time. The Nuggets have the momentum by beating LA Lakers — which always hindered the Nuggets’ advancement to the Final — with all four wins in the Western Conference Finals this season. The American media, which regarded the Nuggets as the sidekick of the Lakers, now consider them “a strong candidate for the championship.”

Denver will play against the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals between Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. A new day is approaching to Denver — an “underdog” in the American society — and to the Nuggets, the “underdog” of Denver’s professional sports.