April 21st, 7 p.m., Triangle Center in Salt Lake City, the 2006–2007 NBA Playoffs, Western Conference first round, the 4-seed vs. 5-seed matchup is about to begin.
The Radiant Players are wearing gold-and-red warm-up jackets, looking completely out of place in Salt Lake City's home arena, whose main colors are blue and white and whose vibe is cool and restrained. These two teams couldn't be more different.
Glory comes from the blazing desert gambling capital, Las Vegas—bright sun, burning passion. It's the ultimate in commercial basketball, never short on marquee stars, with mind-blowing revenue.
The Jazz team, on the other hand, are tucked away in the most remote of the League's 30 markets, Salt Lake City. The cold, snowcapped mountains used to be this place's calling card, and conservative Mormons run the town. At night, there's almost nowhere to go for fun; coming to the arena to watch games is one of the biggest pleasures people have.
