Let me begin by saying that I am definitely not a Spurs fan, by any definition. I am, however, happily married to one, which makes it interesting around our house when the Mavs and Spurs play. So, as a diehard Mavs fan, why I was so enthralled in the Jazz vs. Spurs game tonight? Because, I realized, first and foremost, I am a fan of good basketball. And as much as it pains me to admit this (you'll never actually HEAR me utter these words), the Spurs consistently play good basketball. And they pretty much have, since the days of Larry Brown. It might not be the run and gun (not to mention fun) brand of basketball, but whatever it is that they're doing, it works. It's hard to argue with four championships in recent years, and a decade long string of 50-win seasons.
After watching Dirk cross the 20,000 point threshold against the Lakers last week at the AAC, I have to say I was just as excited at the prospect of seeing Timmy Duncan hit 20k tonight. And there's no better place for a superstar to reach a career milestone like that than in his arena, in front of his home crowd. When it got down to where Duncan was one point shy of his goal, I found myself hollering at the TV every possession for them to give Timmy the ball. But they didn't, and then with a little over 30 seconds left, he was called for his 6th personal foul, sufficiently ending the dream, at least for tonight. While I'm sure Tim was a bit disappointed, not only with his failure to reach 20,000 but with the Spurs' eventual 105-98 loss to the Jazz, I can guarantee you the AT&T Center was full of fans who were even more discouraged and upset.
In a way, I've been through that same frustration myself. I remember a few seasons ago when Dirk was just a few points shy of hitting 10,000. My dad and I were at the game, counting down the points he needed and cheering him on from the cheap seats, as usual. Dirk had scored around 30 points and the game was pretty much decided, so then coach Don Nelson pulled him from the game with a couple minutes left. Apparently, someone realized Dirk needed just two more points, and with less than a minute left, amid chants of "Dirk! Dirk! Dirk!", Nellie threw him back in the game to give him one last shot. Something happened and he couldn't get off the shot, so Nellie took Dirk back out, essentially squashing my dream of being at the AAC to see Dirk hit 10k. Even though we won that game, I still felt robbed that I hadn't seen point #10,000. The very next day, I went to work and bought two tickets to the Mavs next game and persuaded my colleague and cohort Holly to attend the game with me. We were there to see 10,000 and I was again there to see 15,000 and now 20,000 points for Dirk. And I hope to be in attendance when he scores 25k and 30k, as well.
But on Friday night, whenever the Mavs game cuts to commercial, I'm going to flip over to the Spurs game and see if Timmy has hit it yet or not. One shot, one point --that's all he needs. For one night only, I'll be a Spurs fan, because magical milestones like this are what make up great basketball, regardless of the color of the jersey.
After watching Dirk cross the 20,000 point threshold against the Lakers last week at the AAC, I have to say I was just as excited at the prospect of seeing Timmy Duncan hit 20k tonight. And there's no better place for a superstar to reach a career milestone like that than in his arena, in front of his home crowd. When it got down to where Duncan was one point shy of his goal, I found myself hollering at the TV every possession for them to give Timmy the ball. But they didn't, and then with a little over 30 seconds left, he was called for his 6th personal foul, sufficiently ending the dream, at least for tonight. While I'm sure Tim was a bit disappointed, not only with his failure to reach 20,000 but with the Spurs' eventual 105-98 loss to the Jazz, I can guarantee you the AT&T Center was full of fans who were even more discouraged and upset.
In a way, I've been through that same frustration myself. I remember a few seasons ago when Dirk was just a few points shy of hitting 10,000. My dad and I were at the game, counting down the points he needed and cheering him on from the cheap seats, as usual. Dirk had scored around 30 points and the game was pretty much decided, so then coach Don Nelson pulled him from the game with a couple minutes left. Apparently, someone realized Dirk needed just two more points, and with less than a minute left, amid chants of "Dirk! Dirk! Dirk!", Nellie threw him back in the game to give him one last shot. Something happened and he couldn't get off the shot, so Nellie took Dirk back out, essentially squashing my dream of being at the AAC to see Dirk hit 10k. Even though we won that game, I still felt robbed that I hadn't seen point #10,000. The very next day, I went to work and bought two tickets to the Mavs next game and persuaded my colleague and cohort Holly to attend the game with me. We were there to see 10,000 and I was again there to see 15,000 and now 20,000 points for Dirk. And I hope to be in attendance when he scores 25k and 30k, as well.
But on Friday night, whenever the Mavs game cuts to commercial, I'm going to flip over to the Spurs game and see if Timmy has hit it yet or not. One shot, one point --that's all he needs. For one night only, I'll be a Spurs fan, because magical milestones like this are what make up great basketball, regardless of the color of the jersey.
I can't believe I'm reading these words, coming from you, hehehe! But you're right, good basketball is good basketball. Hopefully Tim will get his 20K Friday night
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