Professional Sports in Utah - Does it Exist?

S'long Utah Jazz! The NBA's small-market overachievers once again proved that winning a playoff series in the Intermountain West doesn't mean your a champion. Far from it actually. So yeah, the Jazz pulled it off against the Denver Nuggets (another small-market NBA wannabe), but again didn't have to step outside the Intermountain West region to do it. Unfortunately, or maybe I should say fortunately, the real NBA exists in a totally different world and one that provides true, epic championship games.
I know, I know, there are those of you that will point to the '96-'97 and '97-'98 seasons as proof in the pudding that the Jazz are, were, have been, can be a legitimate, credible contender, but sorry folks cause that just don't fly.
The planets had to be aligned for the Jazz to make it to the NBA Finals and despite that alignment, they lost both series 4-2. Despite having glittering stars like Karl Malone and John Stockton, it just wasn't going to happen, it couldn't happen. What, you really think Bryon Russell could actually guard Michael Jordan, LOL! Don't gripe about the "push-off" or whether or not the refs should have called a foul. It didn't matter, it wouldn't have mattered. Even Russell himself stated, "...whether he pushed off or not, he was making that shot..." Geez, Jordan beat the Jazz while suffering from the flu. Whew!
Utah suffers from small-market syndrome. Basically defined, that means the best, the biggest, the brightest stars will never play in Utah. Just won't happen. Those stars will win NBA championships for teams located in large television markets...Los Angelest, New York, Boston, Miami, Chicago, Houston, Detroit, etc. Salt Lake City will never have a Kareem, or Magic, Shaq, Bird, Admiral, Isiah, much less a Jordan or Kobe. Nobody like THAT will play in Utah and unfortunately for the Jazz and Salt Lake City, you all ain't no Green Bay Packers (team or fans).
But hold on, the title of this post is "Professional Sports in Utah - Does it Exist?". So I know some of you will be pointing a finger at Real Salt Lake's MLS Cup win last year. OK, even I will admit that once an eon the planet's alignment can actually work to overall success. That's what happened last year for Real Salt Lake, sho' 'nuff, and what an exciting time that was. But that's a professional sports championship that the whole state of Utah will need to sustain themselves for years, even decades to come. RLS did their thing last year, but so far this year it's back to earth for the club. Until you get a Landon Donovan caliber player who can actually make a penalty shot, or a Beckham when he was in his prime, no more MLS Cups for RLS.
Utah's best hope for sports notoriety is through it's college football and basketball programs. Only UofU and BYU have a legitimate shot at making a mark on the national scene. In fact, Utah has already done it more than once in a few years. BYU is bound to in the near future IMHO. That's where we make our real mark. I'm so glad to be a legal immigrant to Utah. I can jump on either a Ute or Cougar bandwagon each football/basketball season depending on who is doing well. I'll wear red or blue, don't matter to me. But as for the Utah Jazz...I won't waste my time or my money.

P.S. Please note my font is brown for this post. That represents the stink the Jazz made of their playoff run. It was a big fat turd.