Phoenix is a basketball town. Always has been. Always will be. We crowd-sourced, pre-social media, more than 300,000 for a parade to celebrate a Finals run in 1993 that we didn’t even win!
The Phoenix Suns were the valley’s first pro sports team among the four major men’s sports (NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL), joining the league way back in 1968. They hired the league’s first full-time team mascot. Yes, I know a Gorilla has nothing to do with a flaming sun or basketball or even domestic civilization, but when you delight the crowd with a singing telegram you gotta stick with what you’re good at.