Ah...the NBA Playoffs...it's the most wonderful time of the year...
or is it?
I have found that being a Spurs fan outside of Texas can be a rough situation. I began to realize this when the Lakers and Spurs played frequently years go, most of the time the Lakers came out on top...and I was living in Los Angeles at the time, so I had about 15 friends who let me know it. Now being in Arizona the rivalry switched away from the Lakers and more towards the Suns, what good timing! Ironically, Shaq made himself a factor in both situations.
I must say I have been very fortunate to be a Spurs fan during the last 10 years. I got to watch my favorite player of all time...David Robinson...during his prime. I got to see his 71 point game, I got to see him play live in San Antonio, but best of all I got to see him go out a Champion. That kind of story will probably never be topped in all my years being a sports fan.
I got to see a horrible Spurs team led by Will "The Lone Ranger" Purdue turn into what can be argued to be a dynasty. 4 championships, each one with its own story and its own ups and downs. I have also experienced my share of heartbreak...some worse than others...never again will I go from insanely happy to devastated in .4 seconds.
...but I digress.
The point of all this is that every year it seems I have to go through a period of time where the Spurs play either the Suns or Lakers and I have to deal with being the one guy in a place where 90% of the people are "against" me(in a Sports-sense of the word). I never really express my feelings on a lot of things because that's just the kind of fan and person I am, so I thought I would throw some of them out in the blog. So...here are my feelings/opinions on some random thoughts:
Being a Spurs Fan: I love the Spurs, I have followed them for more than half my life, which I realize isn't very long, but they are a part of me nonetheless and I will always be loyal...that's just who I am and how it is.
The Lakers: I was raised going to Laker games at the forum...I even saw Kobe shoot his first NBA free throw...an airball. I actually like Kobe, he is the greatest player in the game. I have respect for him. Yea, you will never see me all out cheering for the Lakers but I will always have a spot in my heart for Eddie Jones, Vlade, Nick the Quick Van Exel and Pig Miller.
Shaq: I hate him.
Random Spurs Complaints I Hear:
Dirty Play aka Bruce Bowen: Bruce Bowen has been the center of lots of controversy. I believe he thrives on all the criticism...he has been elected to the NBA All-Defensive teams 7 times and been on 3 championship teams. Does he intentionally hurt people? I don't know, no one does. I don't really worry about that though. He is a Spur and the team is much better with him on it. Any NBA team would love to have a Bruce Bowen, anyone who disagrees is just in denial or not thinking clearly. Do people think he is the only one to ever knee someone in the nuts during a game? Do people watch all the jersey grabbing and cheap shots in every other game by other players? No...because Bruce is in the spotlight. He is on a good team and people love to hate him. So far, that has proved to be a great motivator...so ask a Spur fan if they hope all the hate will stop...they will probably say no. Need a reason to LIKE Bruce? Well...he runs his own charity foundation, "The Bruce Bowen Foundation", and also is a spokesman for a campaign against Childhood Obesity. His father was also a drug addict who made his childhood a living hell. Need something to blame the so called "violence" on...blame his Dad.
Manu Flopping: Seriously...flopping happens ALL THE TIME. It is done ALL THE TIME in NBA games. It has been happening for YEARS and TONS of NBA players do it. When I hear people talk about Manu flopping 99% of the time it just tells me they are a bitter fan of some team that Manu has burned in the past. Once again if Manu didn't have three rings this wouldn't even be an issue.
Robert Horry body checking Steve Nash: Was this dirty? Course. Did Nash sell it? Brilliantly. Was it a veteran move? Yup. I'm not defending Robert's actions, but I can't really see all of this being an issue if Nash didn't decide to "fly" into the boards then flail back his arms like he was out cold. This goes back to my Manu Flopping paragraph. NBA players sell fouls, and Nash did a great job making this look 1000x worse than it was. He did such a good job in fact that his team jumped off the bench to protect him, and the rest is history. I'm sure most people reading this(any Suns fans) will be angered by my analysis. All I will say is go to YouTube and watch the video. After he is bumped he leaves the ground and FLIES into the boards, then flails his arms back. All I am saying is he helped sell it and it may have backfired. I don't deny that Robert obviously took a cheap shot at Nash and so I understand why Suns fans hate him and call the Spurs a dirty team. I was embarrassed when he did that, I really was. It will always be something I look at as a low point for the team. Still, the series had to go on and it did. The worst part of it for me is that as a Spurs fan I wish all of it NEVER happened. I would rather beat a full strength Suns team...otherwise you get bombarded with excuses and reasons why the series was supposedly some conspiracy or fluke...which leads me to my next issue.
The San Antonio "Sterns": Let me try and explain this to everyone.
Hi, My name is the San Antonio Spurs. We are a small market team that draws bad ratings nationally.
Hi, My name is David Stern. I like ratings and I get ratings by having larger market and more exciting teams in the playoffs!
From the above we can conclude...
There is NO reason that Stern would want at ALL help the Spurs win a championship!
Stern made the decisions he had to as commissioner. He didn't want to help a small market ratings killer advance...let's get serious.
I guess the only people I hear the Stern stuff from are Suns fans, but once again I have to attribute this to bitterness. If you think Stern wants the Spurs deep in the playoffs...you need to do some research. Otherwise, there is no logical reason why he would ever want the Spurs beating a high powered offensive team with a considerably larger market. I guess I read way too deep into all of this and should just realize that sometimes name-calling and false-assumptions are byproducts of years of frustration.
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All of the above issues are ones that I never really talk about despite the fact that I hear about them a million times every season. It gets old.
You have to understand that every year I have to hear the same old stuff from tons of fans from whatever team the Spurs are playing. Why? Cause I am the only Spurs fan they know so why not. Here is the thing about me as a Spurs fan...I don't really care about all of the distractions. All I care about is the banner on my wall that has the Spurs NBA Champions in 4 different years. That's what it is all about to me. If any other fan of any other team were in my shoes, they would feel the same way. I can hear all the negative rants and raves possible about the Spurs but the bottom line is I was here to watch them win and I will watch as long as I can...even when they are a 20 win team again and have to rebuild all over. At that time, I will just hope they draft well so my kids can watch and enjoy the Spurs like I did.
Going into the 2008 playoffs I feel the Spurs are more vulnerable than ever. I don't know if they can pull out a series win over the Suns, but I am looking forward to watching it. If the Suns win, good for them. I hope if they win they go all the way and give everyone the Championship they have been so close to all these years.
Either way, Suns or Spurs victory, you won't hear about it from me.
What happens with the Spurs is simply between me and them. I am not a fan of the Spurs so I can rub it in. I am not a fan of the Spurs so I can complain or fire off excuses if they lose. I am not a fan of the Spurs so I can go on message boards and brag about recent accomplishments. I am a fan because I enjoy Sports and they are my team, they are like family(distant distant distant family). It makes me feel good when they succeed and conversely I feel bad when they don't. They have been a constant in my life and helped shape me into the person I am today, as dumb as that sounds. They have given me a chance to grow closer to my Dad, taking trips to San Antonio were some of the best times I have ever had. I am over all the talk, all the arguments, all the controversy, it just isn't worth it to me. Sure I have opinions on it, and I never really express them. I guess I just decided to write about it because I never really have, and I thought why not. Take my words with a grain of salt. It's not as though I am attacking the Suns or the Lakers or whoever, I am simply giving you my point of view...a point of view that is never, ever given, so it may have come off a little stronger than intended.
Believe me, I am not looking for responses or discussion....I KNOW everyone's general point of view. I hear it oh so frequently...usually too frequently. I just choose not to go back and forth with it.
Suns and Spurs. Spurs and Lakers. Doesn't matter. May the better team win. One things is for certain though...I'll be watching the games...sometimes on mute if they are too intense haha...and I'll be doing it quietly and respectfully. I'll be upset if the Spurs lose obviously, but I'll be happy for the Suns if they win. Hopefully if they win everyone will move on from complaining about the Spurs and start getting angry at Kobe and Pau. Who knows. I do realize if the Spurs win it will be another year of Spurs hating and complaining, but hopefully it won't be directed at or through me. Who am I kidding though? I guess it just comes with the territory.
At least at the end of the day I still have this:
...and nothing or no one can ever take that away.
