Baseline Bums

[spursncowboys]

1. Does anyone know when the Baseline Bums went from a rowdy group of drunk, loud, rude fans who in the NBA of today would get kicked out and became this family fun group?
2. What are some good BB stories. Like throwing guacamole on Larry Brown's head.

[Captain Oblivious]

As far as them being loud at games, that went out in 2003. Loud, rowdy and rude probably goes back to Hemisphere. Rowdy probably stopped when the ATT Center opened.

[rogcl1]

Well they used to be the bleacher bums at baseball games and they got that name because they would bring bear to the baseball games by hiding the bottles in their baby's dippers.

Also they calmed down quite a bit after the ABA merger. The owner of the Spurs needed something to entertain people so they basically gave away great seats behind the visitor bench and sold cheap beer.

Now you already brought up the Larry Brown thing, but when Brown was later named the Spurs head coach some of the bums came to the press confrence and brought guacamole for Larry.

The baseline bums were not located behind the visitors bench. They were kinda on a diagonal corner of the baseline and on the next level up. They were cheap seats in the old days. And I thought Brown got the guac tossed on him as he wlked throug the tunnel.

[xmas1997]

What happened?
They grew up, got families, and simply got old.
Happens to the best of us.

[completely deck]

I've never liked the idea that they are an exclusive group now. It's like you have to be an heir to the throne to get in.

[wildbill2u]

Lots of misinformation out there about the Bums:

Such as the mistake in the book Loose Balls about Dancing Harry. Dancing Harry was NOT the big fat Mexican American guy who waved the Texas and Spurs flag. Harry was a slim 'cool' guy with a fedora hat who did cool dance steps up in the Bums location in the stands.

Pat Talman, the Spurs announcer dubbed him Dancing Harry and Harry sorta became a spot-lighted feature during timeouts and at half-time. He and his bride, another Bum, were married at half-court during half-time of a game. After marriage, Harry drifted away from the Bums for more mature life.

So much for the Dancing Harry story. I'll come back with more if there aren't any Bums on the forum. Don't want to step on their territory.

[TIMMYD!]

I'd like to be a part of the BB's.

[baseline bum]

There was the time Chris Mullin had just gotten out of the Betty Ford Clinic and Leon dressed as a giant beer. That was pretty funny.

[baseline bum]

Lots of misinformation out there about the Bums:

Such as the mistake in the book Loose Balls about Dancing Harry. Dancing Harry was NOT the big fat Mexican American guy who waved the Texas and Spurs flag. Harry was a slim 'cool' guy with a fedora hat who did cool dance steps up in the Bums location in the stands.


That's George who always waved the Texas flag. He's a really cool guy and makes an incredible brisket.

[EricB]

They are still pretty loud, I sit in front of them and they bring bells and drums and other retarded things to make noise.

They are just an older group of people that had to move higher up due to the logistics of the new arena.

[baseline bum]

The baseline bums were not located behind the visitors bench. They were kinda on a diagonal corner of the baseline and on the next level up. They were cheap seats in the old days. And I thought Brown got the guac tossed on him as he wlked throug the tunnel.

The seats at Hemisfair Arena were directly over the door to the opponent's locker room. There was a line of bleachers ahead of us and to the left, but no seats directly in front of our section.

[bigbendbruisebrother]

The baseline bums have been a docile lot for a long time now.

At the bean pot (Hemisfair) in 1988 or 89, I got into an argument with one of the Baseline Bums after a Utah Jazz game. I saw several of them hanging over the tunnel waiting for Karl Malone to walk through and I thought they were going to heckle him like good bums should. Instead they held out papers for autographs and chatted happily with the evil one. I went over to their section and asked what the hell they were doing asking for that dipshit's autograph. One of them explained to me that they appreciate all of the players, not just the Spurs.

[WildcardManu]

There was the time Chris Mullin had just gotten out of the Betty Ford Clinic and Leon dressed as a giant beer. That was pretty funny.

:lol:lol:lol:lmao:toast:whine

[spursncowboys]

I've never liked the idea that they are an exclusive group now. It's like you have to be an heir to the throne to get in.
:toast Agree. It seems like a "who do you know" type thing now.

[GoSpurs99]

I always loved their chants, like:

m-i-c

k-e-y

O-U-S-O-B!!

I always envied those guys and wished I could've sat with them. They are an integral part of Spurs lore!

[SpurNation]

You didnt have to be a BB to be roudy back in the day. They got the media's attention...but many in the Hemisphere Arena were just as or even more rowdy than the Baseline Bums.

And correct...once the Alamodome opened...roudy was discouraged by the security staff which in turn probably was directed by heirarchy to start portraying the Spurs as more than just a local fan frenzy team and more as a legitiment franchise.

[xellos88330]

I was wondering this exact same thing. They do seem to have been tamed. Maybe they are part of the organization now so they need to act like it maybe?

[wildbill2u]

There is a lot of misinformation out there about the Bums in the early days.

For example, the item cited from Loose Balls is completely in error.

Dancin Harry WAS NOT the big fat Mex dude that waved the flag. Dancin' Harry was a slim cool dude who wore fedora hats and danced some cool 'vato' steps up in the section reserved for the Bums in the old Hemisphere Arena.

He was named Dancin Harry by Pat Talman, the Spurs Arena announcer who called on him to dance at time outs an half-times as part of the show. Dancing Harry and his bride, another Bum I believe, were married at half-time of an ABA game at half-court. After marriage, he and his wife settled down and left the Bums. Sic Semper Dancin' Harry

[wildbill2u]

Sorry ab out the multiple posts. I kept getting this message.

Your submission could not be processed because the token has expired.

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What the hell is the token. Never saw this before.

[nuclearfm]

My first Spurs experience was in 93 with the baseline bums. I still remember their chant to this day. "We don't want no mama, we don't want no referee"

[NFGIII]

Didn't they have a pinata resembling Karl Malone one time and he went off and smashed it? God I wish I was at that game. That would have been hilarous, especially since we were their bitches back then.

[wildbill2u]

I wasn't a Bum but dated one of the members and participated in a lot of their activities over the early years.

The Bums' bus trips to Houston or Dallas for an away game were the stuff of legends. They always had a keg tapped and we were drunk by the time we arrived at the enemy arena. Somehow we always had pretty good seats together and you might say our cheering section stood out. There was this one guy with a air horn...

[dbestpro]

Went to a game with my wife last year and the announcer recognized the Baseline Bums. My wife who had not heard of this group before looked over to the section full of eldery women and said, "So what is the big deal with the Baseline Mums?"

[Juanobili]

on a similar note... who is that guy that has that weird ass laugh during an opponent's free throws? lol I've been hearing it for years... you know... that "aaaaaaaaaaaahahahahaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahaaaa"

[B-Hath]

You didnt have to be a BB to be roudy back in the day. They got the media's attention...but many in the Hemisphere Arena were just as or even more rowdy than the Baseline Bums.

And correct...once the Alamodome opened...roudy was discouraged by the security staff which in turn probably was directed by heirarchy to start portraying the Spurs as more than just a local fan frenzy team and more as a legitiment franchise.

I can see that. I went to games in Hemisphere and I swear it was rock concert loud. You couldn't hear yourself think. The Alamodome & SBC/ATT pretty much homogenized the character of the crowd.

[Gervin44Silas13]

There are great BB stories...This is my favorite one.....

One was where Kareem's house was burned in LA and runied his prized record collection
when the Lakers came to town that season the BB were waving burned records to Kareem at the FT line, and Jabaar, being Jabaar was pissed.

the arena days of the BB were the bomb....alot of the were "waved-off" the section when they moved to the dome....they could have been much like Cleveland's "Dog Pound" but like every Organization they (Bleep) things up for the causal die hard fan, they would have been a mainstay if they kept them in the same original section like the arena. But with "heckleing AKA... Security" laws the NBA has placed....it can never be the same...as in the early Spurs days of the ABA/NBA.

[wildbill2u]

The Bums used to have a summer bar-b-q at a county park. The players and coaches were invited and a lot of them showed up. Even Larry Brown showed up at one to show that all was forgiven about the guacamole.

One of the highlights was a volley ball game with three players and three Bums mixed up among the two 6 man teams. It was all for fun but professional athletes are incredibly skilled and COMPETITIVE. AND BIG. It got awful crowded out there.

I remember playing at the net when Artis Gilmore went up for a slam, thinking, "I'm gonna die with a volleyball stuck down my throat."

[phyzik]

The Bums are a bunch of washed out senior citizens and the Spurs/AT&T center need to stop glorifying them as they are no longer the true "Baseline Bums". They are now a bunch of pretenders riding off of the glory days. The Baseline Bums should be disbanded and forgotten.

They are like a bunch of Brett Favre wanna-be's. Everyone knows they should retire as they are no longer what they once where.

[JudynTX]

They sure aren't what they used to be.

[wildbill2u]

During their salad days someone who wanted to be a Bum had to show up for some games in the Bums section and prove how loud and rambunctious a fan they were. They had to be voted in.

Spur FO Management is responsible for toning them down. They were threatened with loss of their perks (cheaper seats)/status/name if they didn't become nice little boys and girls. The league has gone 'model citizen' as well with stiff on court rules for players and off court standards. Too much money is at stake.

You'll never again see a full court fight like the one between the Nets and the Spurs with fans (predictably some of them Bums) joining in.