Every week, Suns.com’s Ben York shares a unique Suns fan story. Do you have one of your own? Send Ben York an email at
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The unifying bond between Cory Boston and his wife, Christina, has always been the Phoenix Suns.
Cory grew up watching the Suns on television with his dad. For Cory, it was pure magic seeing Alvan Adams, Dennis Johnson, Walter Davis and Larry Nance
play. In fact, sharing those moments with his father were some of the most important times in his life.
His wife, Christina, on the other hand, first became hooked on the Suns after seeing a game live. While in the fifth grade, Christina’s teacher, Mrs.
Joanne Dann, was a season ticket holder. Mrs. Dann told her students at the beginning of the school year that anyone with perfect attendance would be
entered into a drawing at the end of the year for a pair of Suns tickets.
As fate would have it, Christina won the drawing and has been a diehard fan ever since. Though, as Christina puts it, having Raja Bell fall on her and her
sister at a game later in her life certainly helped further her Phoenix Suns passion.
Suns.com caught up with longtime Suns fan Cory Boston to talk about his favorite Suns memories, a Suns-themed marriage proposal to his wife and their
shared, emotional connection to the team.
Suns.com: You’ve been a fan for multiple decades. What player or moment first caught your attention?
Cory Boston:
For Christina, it was her first visit to the Madhouse on McDowell thanks to her fifth grade teacher. From the moment she walked into the arena, it was
something she knew she wanted to do over and over. She remembers the whole thing so vividly as if it happened yesterday.
For me, I remember the Suns playing the Los Angeles Lakers in the early ‘80s. That was the first time I saw Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson play. My
dad and I would be cheering for the Suns so loudly we didn’t have much of a voice left after each game.
Suns.com: Describe why being a fan of the Suns is important to you, and why the team has kept you as a fan for so long.
Cory:
The overall experience when entering the arena is the same feeling every time. We feel like this is our team. Christina and I have always treated
the Suns like our escape from everything. It almost seems that we are going on a vacation every time we drive to the arena. It is our own “getaway.”
Now that Christina and I have grown up and have season tickets of our own, we’ve had the ability to do so many more things from watching our son and
daughter participate in the Hi-Five Kids to Christina passing tickets along to her students for perfect attendance (she’s a teacher).
Suns.com: What is the most heartfelt, unique or funny story you have in regards to your Suns fandom?
Cory:
Christina and I have such a passion for the Phoenix Suns that in 2008, I decided to propose to her at a Suns game against the Dallas Mavericks on
February 14, 2008.
Before the game, we had a wonderful Valentine’s Day dinner at the Arizona Center and headed over to the arena. I had a jersey made that had No. 2 on the
front and No. 14 on the back with the name “She Said Yes.” The plan was for the proposal to be on the jumbotron. I’ll never forget; Christina kept on
needing to go to the bathroom – I was afraid she would miss it! We were sitting above the bench in section 230 when the Suns called a timeout and
“Christina Gonzalez, will you marry me?” came up on the board.
I pointed to the screen, got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. She was in such shock; it took a while for her to answer. When she finally said
yes, I pulled out my custom Suns jersey and put in on. The entire section went wild and the team looked around the arena to find out what was all the noise
about. I wore the jersey the entire game and received so many handshakes. And to top it off, the Suns won the game.
Suns.com: A lot of fans have an emotional connection to the team, win or lose. Is that how you and your wife feel as well?
Cory:
Christina and I are Phoenix Suns fans to the end. Of course we want them to be successful and win every game they play, but win or lose they are our
team. Being natives to Arizona, our loyalty is to the Suns. We don’t ride on the bandwagon; we know that one day we will have our title to hang proudly.
Suns.com: You mentioned that you grew up loving the team. Over the years, how has your experience as a Suns fan changed?
Cory:
We’ve been able to grow and become more and more passionate about our team. Our garage is a Phoenix Suns shrine. We’ve even had birthday parties where
you had to wear Suns gear just to get in. I think the only thing that has changed is the opportunity to be more involved with the team from being fortunate
enough to have season tickets, appearing in multiple Phoenix Suns ads, to meeting the players, courtside seats and even a Suns license plate that reads
TIXHLDR.
We are proud Suns fans. My next step is to become one of the “Dancing Dads” and take my Suns fandom to the next level!