Once in a while, we happen to run into the players or their families in the community. One of my favorite off-court experiences was running into Jeff Hornacek at Fashion Place Mall one year prior to Christmas. He and his kids were waiting in a long line to visit Santa Claus. It spoke volumes about what a regular guy he is and how he didn't want his kids to grow up feeling entitled.

Once, my friend Lisa and I ran into Charles Barkley, back when the Round Mound of Rebound was playing for Phoenix, in Victoria's Secret. If that weren't strange enough, a few weeks later he was on the "Tonight Show" explaining that when he was rude to the flight attendants on the team's charter plane that he would attempt to get back in their good graces by taking them shopping at Victoria's Secret.

The point is, I would have had none of these experiences if a young Larry Miller hadn't had the audacity to believe that he could somehow keep the Utah Jazz in Utah, and the business smarts to make the franchise thrive once he landed it.

My brushes with the Jazz and their opponents are the experiences of but one Utahn. Multiply that by every Jazz fan out there.

Saying "thank you" to the Miller family hardly seems adequate. But they should know at least how much this Jazz fan appreciates them and will miss Larry.

Marjorie Cortez, who regrets that her brick cell phone wasn't equipped with a camera the day Charles Barkley was browsing the lingerie racks in Crossroads Plaza, is a Deseret News editorial writer. E-mail her at marjorie@desnews.com