For one, I spent most of the first five years of my life in San Antonio, save for a couple months in Galveston where I was born. I've been to multiple Spurs games and I've loved every one of them (except the one when I was little and we had to leave early because of the pre-game intros, when the arena went dark and spotlights came on). Even when I wasn't at the games, I was watching them on TV with my parents. In fact, in 2007, I think it was (which happens to be one of the four years the Spurs have won the title) I went back to San Antonio and saw a Spurs-Timberwolves game with my dad. My loyalty will always lie in San Anton' no matter how good the Spurs' record is or who's on the roster. That will never change.
My second reason is a big one. Class and humbleness. The Spurs are such a class act. Where you see Russell Westbrook wearing what appears to be scavenged strips from lampshades and his grandmother's prom dress at press conferences, you see Tim Duncan wearing a plain brown, button-up shirt. That's it. While I know press conferences are a far cry from humbleness on the court, it plays a part in how much importance you place on looking flashy for the reporters. The Spurs place none to almost none.
Another thing to consider about the Spurs' humbleness is this: how many pairs of socks, pairs of slides, pairs of shoes, shorts, shirts, jackets even, do you own that market an individual Spurs player? How many national (some Spurs players star in local H-E-B grocery store spots) commercials have you seen that a Spurs player appears in, attempting to bring another company money? None. That's because Spurs players just don't care. They realize that yes, advertising would bring them a lot more money, but they choose to stay humble and do their job, which isn't to brag about or bring attention to themselves.
One more thing about the Spurs' humbleness and class: They have NO EGOS. If you've been around basketball or watched games on TV, you might've heard this. This doesn't make it any less true. One might think that since the Spurs are so seasoned and have been through clutch situations, that they tend to always scream and be "expressive" on the court. The opposite is true. The only time I've seen Spurs players (there are likely more, but I'm only 15, so I haven't seen everything) express emotion are in these situations: In 2008, Tim Duncan made a three pointer versus the Phoenix Suns to tie the game in overtime in the playoffs. Another was Manu Ginobili's three pointer versus the Mavericks (I forget the year; this was also in the playoffs) that gave San Antonio the lead. The Spurs had not led at all the entire game until that shot. Ginobili also had a three pointer this year versus the Warriors; you might have seen it. In both of these circumstances Ginobili did his classic fist pump and scream towards the ground. The final one that I can remember was earlier this season in November when Tony Parker hit a buzzer beater to defeat the Thunder to whom the Spurs had lost the previous season. Parker, following the shot, was excited and appeared to be screaming when surrounded by his teammates.
That's it. Four situations. Now, I'm sure that there have been multiple other occasions on which the Spurs have showed emotion; it's part of the game. However, these situations are the only ones that I can recall. Also, if you look at how often teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Miami Heat or the Los Angeles Clippers scream and shout (and let it all out...), this post would be even longer. Those teams' flash and appeal are about polar opposites of the Spurs. The Spurs don't beg for attention and try to finish off fast breaks in the most crowd-pleasing way. Instead, they do what it takes to get the job done, keep their heads down, and go about their business. They have no one superstar that they run isolation plays and try to get a "dunk face" with. They play TEAM BASKETBALL (hence the team's 23.6 assists per game this season, good for tops in the NBA) and work together to be successful year in and year out.
A final reason why I love the San Antonio Spurs is this: Gregg Popovich and his squad of managerial employees do a great job of finding undervalued talent and making the best of it. Before last season, had you heard of a Danny Green? How about a Kawhi Leonard? Tiago Splitter? Probably not. These are just three of Gregg Popovich's gems that he's unearthed. Add to the fact that Green is averaging 10.5 points per game this season, Leonard is averaging about twelve points and six rebounds, and Splitter is going for 10.3 and 6.4, you've got three solid players who other teams might not have given a second glance on draft day or in a trade. People can call the Spurs old, but these three players have added a spark of youth to the team that was just what the Spurs needed.
So, yes, call them old. Call them boring. Say "only four championships". Hate on them. Let them be the butt of jokes. But I'll always love my Spurs, no matter where I am, what I'm doing, who's on the roster, how the team is doing in a given year or who the coach is. The Spurs will always be my favorite NBA team, and there's no changing that. Go ahead. Try to change my mind. I might write another post like this.
--Greg
P.S.: #GoSpursGo!
If you have a Twitter, you should follow me! -> https://twitter.com/gwoods33
I also have a YouTube channel; you should subscribe! -> http://www.youtube.com/chiefs141
Oh, and there's also my "vlog" YouTube channel -> http://www.youtube.com/gregwoodsvlog
Thanks for reading this!
A final reason why I love the San Antonio Spurs is this: Gregg Popovich and his squad of managerial employees do a great job of finding undervalued talent and making the best of it. Before last season, had you heard of a Danny Green? How about a Kawhi Leonard? Tiago Splitter? Probably not. These are just three of Gregg Popovich's gems that he's unearthed. Add to the fact that Green is averaging 10.5 points per game this season, Leonard is averaging about twelve points and six rebounds, and Splitter is going for 10.3 and 6.4, you've got three solid players who other teams might not have given a second glance on draft day or in a trade. People can call the Spurs old, but these three players have added a spark of youth to the team that was just what the Spurs needed.
So, yes, call them old. Call them boring. Say "only four championships". Hate on them. Let them be the butt of jokes. But I'll always love my Spurs, no matter where I am, what I'm doing, who's on the roster, how the team is doing in a given year or who the coach is. The Spurs will always be my favorite NBA team, and there's no changing that. Go ahead. Try to change my mind. I might write another post like this.
--Greg
P.S.: #GoSpursGo!
If you have a Twitter, you should follow me! -> https://twitter.com/gwoods33
I also have a YouTube channel; you should subscribe! -> http://www.youtube.com/chiefs141
Oh, and there's also my "vlog" YouTube channel -> http://www.youtube.com/gregwoodsvlog
Thanks for reading this!
