This one goes to my friends in Arizona. You will understand what I am going to say. What’s more annoying than an 8 p.m. Phoenix Suns game? While it may not be as bad as if someone before you at Fry’s was using paper coupons or flat soda, it can be irritating. Every season, Suns fans who live in State 48 have to deal with one annoying thing: Daylight Saving Time.
If you’re new to this or live in another country, you’re probably thinking that it must be nice for those in Arizona and Hawaii. After all, we don’t need to turn our clocks forward or back, we do everything we can to capture as much sunlight during the hours we want. Daylight saving time is observed here unless you are in the Navajo Nation.
I think this is why the rest of the Northern Hemisphere (with a few exceptions), parts of Australia, and parts of South America do it. How nice. I don’t need to remember when this is due or whether we are moving forward or backward.
What you may not realize, however, is that the entire country is changing times around us. We might not notice…until it’s time to watch the Suns.
When the NBA regular season begins in October, Arizona clocks are aligned with Pacific Daylight Time (PDT). Suns games on the West Coast start at 7:00 p.m., the same time as their hometown of Phoenix. If they play one of our Pacific Division rivals in California? 7:00 p.m. Is there a big game on TNT and the Suns are in the spotlight? Yeah. 7:00 p.m.
But once daylight saving time passes, which is usually the first weekend in November, the entire country sets its clocks back one hour. Except for Arizona. The state is then aligned with Mountain Standard Time (MST). Games taking place on the West Coast now start at 8:00 p.m. Big TNT games, like last week against the Denver Nuggets? You got it. A late check-out at 8:00 p.m.
Why am I talking about this? Because we did it. As of this morning, the country has “leap forward,” moving its clock back an hour as it transitions to Daylight Saving Time. We don’t have any more games at 8:00 p.m., y’all!
For the rest of the world, thank you for listening to this little explanation. I know that wherever you consume your Suns content, especially if you do it live, you must roll your eyes. The odd times you have to navigate to watch them must make you wonder why I’m talking about a time change here or there. East Coast fans wait until 10:00 p.m. to watch Suns home games, and if you’re in Melbourne, Australia, a game usually starts at 1:00 p.m. The next day. And it will be 4:00 a.m. when the Suns play the Bucks next Sunday (10:00 a.m. Arizona start time).
But for us here in Arizona…it’s nice. No more 8 p.m. games!
