Suns rookie Leandro Barbosa is still looking for his Valentine this year.

Love and Basketball

By Kayte Christensen,
Phoenix Mercury
Posted: Feb. 11, 2004

February 14th – Valentine’s Day – is the one day a year strictly reserved for romance! What makes this day so special? Is it really a holiday or is it just a day created by the makers of greeting cards, florists and candy distributors? And if there is some mysterious beginning to this popular holiday, why is it that woman are traditionally the ones being pampered?

Based on years of studying ancient Greece and Rome, and countless hours of translating the real language of love – Latin – I feel the mystery on the origin of Valentine’s Day is something I am more than qualified to solve.

The story begins in ancient Rome during the rule of Emperor Claudius II between the years of 68-54 B.C. The Emperor decided unmarried men were better soldiers and outlawed marriage for young men who were his potential outcrop. Valentine, later sainted, was a Catholic priest who thought this law to be uncivil so he secretly performed marriages for young lovers. Valentine was eventually caught and thrown in prison. He ended up falling in love with a young girl who visited him during his confinement. Sometime before his death he wrote her a love letter, signing it, “From Your Valentine!” And this is where the day of love and romance first began.

So, with this in mind I thought I would combine my love of ancient Rome with my love of basketball and see what some of our Suns do for their ladies on Valentine’s Day. I sat down with Shawn Marion, Leandro Barbosa and Jake Voskuhl this past week to find who is the true romantic in the Suns' locker room.

As any woman knows, not all men are completely in tune with what a female’s idea of romance is. Of course, Valentine’s Day plans can be drastically altered based on things like marital status, whether or not you have kids, or the most important factor – do you have a lady in your life! Jake Voskuhl, the Sun’s starting big man, has some very mellow plans made for his special day. Married with two children, something as simple as getting a babysitter is enough to show your lady you love her. As Jake put it, “As you could imagine, for my wife to have a break from the kids is nice.” Flowers, a thoughtful gift, some relaxing time at home, sounds like a man after my own heart.

There are, however, others who like to do things a bit more extravagantly. Shawn Marion is one of them. Being in a long distance relationship is hard enough as it is; add in the NBA schedule and it throws an interesting kink in things. Shawn is going to make that up to his special lady, though, by taking her to his hometown of Las Vegas this weekend and showering her with gifts including a sweet at the Mirage, tickets to the Celine Dion concert, a matching necklace and bracelet from Tiffany’s, a bushel of tulips, a candlelit dinner for two... and the list just goes on and on. In his own words, “I'm gonna go all out!” I’m guessing there will be no complaints with plans like that.

Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be Valentine’s Day, of course, if there weren’t people out there still looking for love. Leandro Barbosa, starting point guard for the Suns, is no different than the thousands of people who don’t have the luxury of worrying about plans this year. However, the 21-year-old isn’t letting the fact that he doesn’t have a lady right now stop him from planning the perfect day. For all of you ladies out there that are single, I’ll let you in on a little secret... if you want a man who is romantic, thoughtful and attentive, run don’t walk.

According to Leandro, there is nothing he wouldn’t do to make this day special for his love, if he had one. He would start the day off with breakfast in bed, and as he put it, “He would like to give her a little kiss." He would follow that up doing countless special things for her, such as dedicating a love song to her and leaving her notes to find. The most important aspects of this man’s plans, though, include the element of surprise. He says he would fly her to Brazil where they would spend their time on the beach cuddled up together surrounded by sand and sun. No, I can’t tell you why this man is single, but I can say he won’t be for long.

Valentine’s Day can be decadent, simple, or relaxing, but I must say the most important thing is actually remembering it. Boys, if you can’t figure that out on your own, there’s not much I can do for you.

Phoenix Mercury forward and budding broadcaster Kayte Christensen contributes a regular column to Suns.com looking into the different ways the Phoenix Suns choose to "Inhale Life."