A few days ago, on StR of course, my normal home (for those unaware), some idiot (who came to the site because Hilton Armstrong was traded to the Kings---I know I find that funny too) said that some Kings fans were too laid back about all the losing the Kings had recently suffered. The point here, though, is not to tell all of you that trolls exist. They exist on every SBN site heard or unheard.

But that idiot did tell me something that I think is very much applicable to the Magic: He essentially said that Kings fans tolerate losing, and that people on the East Coast do not tolerate such things. And, naturally, this is where the Magic do come in.

If you click on the link, you'll see the whole conversation. For those here wishing to read, do so at your own peril. The point is an interesting one, I think however, that applies to the Magic who are, by any reasonable definition, a championship contender. And, should championship contenders lose to teams like the Blazers without all their star players, or the Nuggets (who are struggling), or the Grizzlies last night? The answer, obviously, is: No, of course not. If it was that simple teams like the Cavaliers and Spurs would have not lost to the Grizz either. Does a team lose top 10 status because it loses games to teams that it should beat on paper?

Now, thinking about what "East Coast" is, I find it a bit funny that I could apply that label to Orlando right? Florida is on the East Coast. But, I'm pretty sure, fans on the West Coast don't tolerate losing any more than fans on the East Coast or Midwest or anywhere else for that matter. All fans hate losing. Anyone who says otherwise is trying to sell you an expired lottery ticket.

At the same time how do we define losing? And that's the real point I'm trying to get at here. Do we define losing as something that shouldn't happen but in specific context? Take a loss to the Lakers or Grizzlies for example. Granted, nobody likes losses, but at least a loss is more EASILY UNDERSTOOD to LA than Memphis. Right?

What about to the Celtics or Cavs?

Personally I think the viewpoint that the Magic are underachieving is a bit of a dis-service to the changes that the team made in the off-season. One core member (Hedo) was replaced with another (VC), and several key role players are now in the rotation that weren't there last season. The assumption is, no matter what people thought, was that this assimiliation of new talent would be a bit easy given that most of the Magic core had been together awhile and it's not that hard to build chemistry with 1 or 2 guys when most teams change rosters annually, or a few times annually, as part of the modern era.

As we've all seen, chemistry is beyond fickle. It's impossible to completely capture this without already having it in tow.

Last season, the team was partially propelled to such a heavy start due in part to the brilliant offensive play of Jameer. Then he went down right before the AS game, the Magic traded for Rafer Alston (giving up the 27th pick in the process to the Grizz who ended up selecting DeMarre Carroll with the pick), and Alston ended up being part of the package that got the Magic Ryan Anderson and VC.

My point here is that not every sequence for a franchise is binary. And by binary, I mean straight back and forth. Quite often a route for a franchise to win a championship looks like a dilapidated road map. It's not quite the twist or turn you were expecting. There isn't one way to build championship teams (despite the amount of angst, discussion and debate that goes on), and the Magic prove this point yet again. Yet, I've digressed. Argh.

What I'm trying to say is that the Magic, while suffering their own devastating blow in the loss of Jameer Nelson, also would greatly benefit from the KG knee injury, and the Cavs lack of a quality core around Bron-Bron. Sometimes these outside issue's are as instructive as the internal issue's that often rue the day.

I bring this up because the amount of expectation around the Magic franchise has risen the last several years. From 2 years ago this team was considered playoff worthy (obviously), but not really a championship contender. Now the Magic are seen as a championship contender, but have disappointed a bit given the amount of losses the team has endured to this point. As always, this is such a fine line I'm not sure any microscope including one with the lens having the magnifying power of a Hubble telescope could find this line.

VC, obviously, has not accomplished what many would have hoped that he could up to this point. On the other hand, how many Magic fans are disappointed with Ryan Anderson? What about Matt Barnes, Marcin Gortat or Mickeal Pietrus? All these players are all effected on how each plays.

Maybe the only player who isn't really as affected by player movement is Dwight, but, umm, shouldn't that always be the case?

Rashard Lewis has not played with the same level of confidence he seemed to have a year ago, and Nelson's own play has been up and down mostly due to his knee problems.

Which brings me to the title: Do Magic fans know how to define losing? What's a loss? What's a victory? I think most, will be able to suss out the more obvious aspects of the definition. After all, these are not complicated concepts. Anyone should be able to figure these out.

The question then becomes: What makes losing so intolerable that winning is so valuable as the converse function of losing?

I will admit I don't think this question only vexes Magic fans; alas it vexes all fans who aren't the Celtics and Lakers. (Even if I didn't root for the Magic off & on, this is not a foreign concept to any fanbase of any sport anywhere.) Even they, though, are quite often dissatisfied with "losing". As one person pointed out in the game thread, no team goes 82-0 every year. Really though, again, that's just me being Captain Obvious. And, again, you can't win a championship in the regular season either. All you can do is qualify for the playoffs and get the best record in the regular season. It's happened enough times in the NBA that having the best record does not get you the NBA championship.

I think Magic fans aren't so much upset at the losing, but are simply disappointed. It's easy enough to understand, after all. Nobody likes losses regardless of the opponent. But every team loses to teams it shouldn't over the course of the regular season. That's one of the irritating aspects sure, but it's also one of the beauties of said season. Over the course of 82 games usually the cream rises to the top. And, unless I'm badly mistaken, the Magic are one of those teams that make up the cream of the NBA.

Don't get me wrong: I don't blame anyone for not wanting to accept that losses happen. I get that part, and I didn't write this to lecture you about how losses happen and that the NBA is a long season and let this all play out. You can read Eddy or Ben's comments for that. (They're also right. But I digress.) The point I'm making is that if you spend so much time wrapping so much worth in one individual game, such as the recent Memphis loss, that you're ignoring the big picture because the interim picture suggests bad news, I think you're sort of eliminating one of the joys fandom has to offer. (The ride.) So many people are focused on the Magic being a championship team that they're ignoring that this is a damn good team trying to figure out how to play together. In many cases, this takes YEARS. If the expectation is that the Magic go out and show it's a championship team every night, I think you're hurting yourself due to unrealistic expectation. In fact, I think you're not getting your money's worth out of being a fan.

That all having been said, if the Magic do not win a championship this season, every fan and the organization will have earned the right to be disappointed. But championships aren't won or lost in January, and there is a lot of games left to determine that title. Is it too much to ask to do Buddha chants during losses or something? There is a fine line between being critical and being unrealistic, and unfortunately, to the detriment of a few, that unrealistic side is showing way too often.