Cinco Anillos – My take on the Spurs’ championship
It’s been a week now, and I’m still riding the wave, even if the water’s getting shallower. I don’t think about it as often, but when I do a big smile breaks across my face. We got number five! In one of the most glorious runs of all-time, a run that came with very little stress and anxiety, if you don’t count the Mavs. Being the self-centered person I am, I will always equate number five with my own waltz into retirement, God’s icing on my cake of joy. April, May and the beginning of June cruised by as I planned my life schedule around which nights the Spurs had a playoff game.
Did I expect them to win it all? I am optimistic by nature, but, heart of hearts, not really. The agonizing end to last season (see my blog entry Los Spurs)… Do you remember the first two (or three) months of this season, when we were crushing the teams that sucked but couldn’t get a win against the potential playoff teams? I was afraid of the Clips, Houston, the Warriors, the Grizzlies, the Trailblazers, and OKC. Especially Portland and OKC. (I didn’t even think about the Eastern Conference.) So I was hopeful, at best.
But the Spurs inspire such passion, devotion and love. I confess I am a terrible fan. I don’t go to games, don’t own any Spurs gear or paraphernalia (though I do want to get a sticker for my golf cart), and don’t attend the parades and celebrations that go with winning it all. All I do is watch their games, read about them in the Express News and on the internet, and smile as the national sports media essentially ignore them. If I were typical of our fan base, the Spurs would go broke. But I’m not. Our fans are as diverse as our players. There’s a couple in Corpus Christi who drive up for every single home game. I think they’ve missed one in fifteen years. Of course, the Spurs have been good for fifteen years—how many teams can say that? I know there are other NBA cities with large Hispanic populations, but I’d bet anything that the Spurs rank number one worldwide among Hispanic basketball fans. In one of my less self-centered moments I realized—if I, who only watch the games on TV, can experience this much happiness over our championship, how unfathomably joyous must it be for our more committed fans? It’s a wonder San Antonio hasn’t floated away.
How do the Spurs do it? I remember after the 2007 championship I came up with the following body analogy for the Spurs core: Pop is the Brain, Timmie is the Soul, Manu is the Heart, and Tony is the Penis. (I know that makes Tony sound like a dick, but, c’mon guys, where would you be without your penis?) Now I have to add to the analogy. Kawhi, quite obviously, is the Hand, and R.C.—well, R.C. must be God, who knows and sees all things, and understands how it all fits together. Many Spurs fans already know this, but there is a wonderful YouTube video called “The Beautiful Game”—which is a six minute tribute to how the Spurs play the game of basketball. If you haven’t seen it yet, it will probably bring tears to your eyes.
Every loyal Spur fan probably has his/her favorite moment from the playoff run. I’ve heard about Manu’s thunder dunk on Bosh, Boris’s behind-the-back pass to Tiago for a lay-up, Patty’s diving tip pass to Manu, Tiago’s revenge block, and many others. My personal favorite came early against the Mavs—Manu’s crosscourt baseline pass, all the way from one side to Danny Green open for a three on the other side. Danny said that Manu threw a curveball, so that the ball swung out of bounds and hooked back in at his corner. I’ve been watching basketball for more than fifty years and have never seen that pass before!
Can we repeat? I feel cautiously optimistic. We were clearly the best team in basketball this year, and the biggest thing we’re losing is another year. The core is even stronger, since you have to include Kawhi in there now. We have to have Boris back, and Patty owes it to us to come back since we allowed him to do the worst emcee job in the history of championship celebrations. I think the key is Manu. It concerns the hell out of me that he is playing in the World Championships for Argentina this summer—though I admire him for it. Here’s what’s got to happen: Manu must never play more minutes than his uniform number during the regular season—and the Spurs should give him the month of March off. Go to the beach, hang out with your wife, take care of the twins and Luca. Be fresh April 1. Are you listening, Pop?
Go Spurs go, forever and ever.
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