I am a Spurs fan, to the core. I value the franchise and hold it dear to my heart. Being in the armed forces, stationed on an aircraft carrier, I get to enjoy the company of many other fans of sporting teams. Some loyal, some playoff bandwagoneers and some just plain dumb.
Needless to say, my fellow shipmates and I do have our disagreements. Fortunately, my loyalty runs pretty deep and I have learned to put up with the dreamweavers of the Miami Heat and supporters of the LA Lakers, my wife for one (yes, we have a divided household).
I enjoy hearing people talk about the Magic like they are more than just a bunch of Disneyland rejects, when that’s all they are.
I thoroughly enjoy comments regarding the Spurs’ age, which impressively isn’t as bad as people realize.
I hear the same comments over and over again. Tim is old. Manu is lucky. Tony is soft. And of course the never ending comments about how boring the Spurs are. I chuckle.
Someone once said, “Ignorance is bliss.” I love that people don’t know about Gary Neal, yet he walks into arenas, has his visa stamped and contributes to the team with a 12-point outing here or a 16-point-sweet-J-fest there.
I love that people have no clue who Tiago Splitter is and assume he is European. Split just makes me smile. He is gonna be good. He will be a trial-and-error guy and will have to learn from his mistakes, but he isn’t making too many. I bet before the season is out, he gets a game ball or two.
I love that people refuse to guard the Red Rocket. I don’t think anyone has realized that, as goofy as Matt Bonner is, you just don’t leave him open, cause he “gets guap” and breaks hearts from behind that line.
I love that George Hill can score 20 points off the bench on any given night. Hill, in my opinion, got hosed last year when Houston’s Aaron Brooks received the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. The kid can play and is flat out graceful. Hill is the Barry White of basketball. No matter how many times he does something stupid, his smoothness begs for your attention and you always give it. In two years, he will be a legitimate All Star candidate.
I love that people assume Richard Jefferson is still a bust from last year, yet don’t even know how the Spurs actually got him and how drastically he changed over the summer. RJ, who I can honestly say I never doubted, is reborn. Right now, my most boisterous applause comes from his success. He looks really good right now. Without a doubt, he is our X Factor. I believe that our season depends on him.
I love that people get “handled” by the “Ol’ Big Three.” The Big Three still manage to get buckets, get boards and get stops night after night. Tim is old and slow, right? Yet he just goes out on the court and gets results. He is okay if he only plays 20 minutes, gets nine points and six boards, but still gets the W. Save the knees…
It’s true about Money Manu. He gets lucky.
