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It was a rite of Fall. Well, almost every Fall. For over 50 years, Charlie Brown took a run at a football, aiming to finally realize his dream of kicking it. In more than a half century, Chuck never did actually get the ball kicked. (No, I don’t count It’s Magic, Charlie Brown)

In Charlie Brown’s case, it was one of the hundreds of things that made him relatable. His never-failing hope in the face of unimpeachable data always made him a hero of mine growing up, and Charles M. Schulz repeatedly said that the only way the larger narrative held up was if Charlie never pulls off the booting of the ball. Tragic, but educational and darkly humorous.

For your Denver Nuggets, it’s more a rite of Spring. A quick pop quiz for you… think about it for a second before scrolling…

For the Nuggets, there have been 50 full seasons preceding this one. How many of those seasons ended with a last-game win?

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Seven, actually. 43 seasons ending with an L. It’s a flawed number, as a bevy of playoff appearances with no titles makes that particular ending inevitable. But with our recent playoffs dry spell, there were still 18 seasons of not making the playoffs in Nuggets history. And frankly, who cares about seasons that end with a W when you don’t get to go to they playoffs, if you want what most fans want. Your team hoisting a trophy. If you’ve been a fan of the team for a while, you remember the three seasons they didn’t even break 20 wins, and dream of the day a playoff run actually ends with a W.

The Nuggets looked spectacular last night against a Chicago Bulls team that somehow looked like it was playing one less guy most of the night. For a few minutes, the starters and shortened bench had Denver up by 40 or more. It was so dominating a performance as to have me wincing for Bulls fans for a moment or two.

But Denver has also muffed some bankable wins all season, including in their last several games, looking anything but spectacular in the process. They have therefore placed themselves in the precarious position of several more road games, played in the teeth of the league’s toughest schedule to wrap it all up. Should the Nuggets actually make the playoffs this year, it will have been because of skill, backbone, timing, and a healthy helping of good fortune.

Should they miss the playoffs this year, even if they end with a W, I’ll probably find my round head staring at what little hair has left not the forehead and say “Augh. You blockhead.” Maybe I should just buy this t-shirt.

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And somehow yet again, I’m still running at that football. Maybe Mr. Schulz was on to something. One of these days, I’m truly hoping to kick the crap out of that thing.

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