How did you become a Spurs fan?

[xellos88330]

I became a fan of the Spurs when I first learned how to play basketball.

I am a short statured guy, so obviously it pissed me off when I was always picked last to play. I would spend hours and hours playing basketball, eating enough leather that I would shit a shoe factory every time I went to the bathroom. Sometimes I would come home at 4am during a school night.

I remember my father taking me to a few Spurs games when I was younger and didn't understand the game at all, and I asked him to take me to help me learn the game better. Needless to say the Spurs inspired me and I worked at my game harder than ever. Soon enough, the tasty leather snack became needles thrown right into the eyes of my much taller defenders. From that moment on I respected the Spurs and admired them for inspiring me to do the impossible. The little market of San Antonio was dominating the much larger franchises and it did my heart good. I soon fell completely in love with the franchise.

My stature as a Spurs fan was solidified after I joined the military with my comrades being mostly Lakers fans. Words flew and at the end of the day, the Spurs toppled the 3peat Lakers. Tears of a Lakers fans are glorious to witness. Especially at the hands of the small market team like the Spurs.

[Frenzy]

When I was younger our parents made us go the a Baptist church and I was upset I couldn't fine any cool church going famous people. Till I read about David Robinson. The game came next...he just a lovable guy. Then the team.... how they were labled the good guys of basketball.(later the dirty team.) My church going ways have long since passed me. But my love for the spurs hasn't.

[texaskid]

2005 finals G5
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[Nathan89]

I was born.:flag:

[Juanobili]

My dad had been a Spurs fan way before I was born... so I guess I was born a Spurs fan

I have baby pics of Sean Elliott and the Coyote holding me :) Spurs fan for life

[Spursfan092120]

I was born.:flag:

[gospursgojas]

I learned how much easier they made riding a horse

[SpursTillTheEnd]

just did

[analyzed]

I'm not based in the US, I think you guys would be surprise to learn that the Spurs could easily be in the top 5 of most popular NBA franchises overseas. If I could make a call the list would go something like this :

Lakers
Celtics
Bulls (especially during Jordan years)
Spurs
Golden State

A lot of it has to do with legacy Robinson and TD have started and the emergence of Manu ( easily one of the top 10 most popular players overseas) .

A team that actually has following inspite of their poor record suprisiingly is Golden State ( people love the idea of small team , remember Run TMC ) and Nelie's system and similarities to int''l ball . Their upset over Dallas a few years ago captured the imagination of many.

A lot of ball fans are not true fans of any one frachices but of players like lebron, AI etc, and will move allegience where ever they move.

I personally made an investment to root for the Spurs ever since they drafted the Admiral and Sean __. I'm fortunate I chose the right franchice that eventually won. Its easy to root for teams like MJ's bulls and ride on the bandwagon. but it's more rewarding to root for a team in the rebuilding stage all the way to winning it. I'm lucky to have done that.

[Libri]

Believe it or not I became a fan during those bad years before DRob got drafted, the era of Frank Brickowski, Johnny Moore, Cadillac Anderson, Alvin Robertson and others. I saw Jon Sundvold hit a three and I was hooked. I was very young. :lol

[SpursNextRomanEmpire]

When I moved to SA

[Bito Corleone]

Grew up in San Antonio. My parents are huge Spurs' fans. They started taking me to games as soon as I was old enough to actually appreciate being there. Was pretty awesome...we used to sit right in front of D-Rob's parents at the Hemisfair arena.

[NRHector]

is my home team, I have been a fan since 1985

[nbaman99]

Tim Duncan

[Blake]

I fell in love with the Spurs while watching guys like Walter Berry, Steve Johnson, Frank Brickowski and Cadillac Anderson from my obstructed view seats at Hemisfair Arena, waving at the bats flying overhead and sitting next to drunkass smoking fans

[analyzed]

My other connection with the Spurs , (which is insight you guys might not be aware of is) . I've supported the Philippine National team for many years ( done some scouting for them) . One of the legends of the national team is none other than Spurs shooting coach : Chip Engelend. He played for the Philippines in the 1980's . In one tournament the Philippines played the US in the Jones cup finals. The Philippines frontline had a center of 6'7" and forwards avg 6'3 " in hight. The US was bannered by NCAA stars some of which eventually made it into the NBA. The Philippines won the title in OT on Chip Engelends incredible 3 point shooting , up to this day I have never seen a better display of shooting than what I witnessed with Chip . he must have scored 10 3's that night tightly guarded, It's no surprise to me that he probably now is the most recognized shooting coach in the NBA,

[8FOR!3]

I was born.:flag:

[lefty]

David Robinson

Discovered him while watching the 1992 pre-olympic tournament (I think in Portland)

I'm a lefty and so is Robinson, so I liked him; sure Mully is a lefty too but Robinson was such an impressive athletic Center

I started following the Spurs during the 1992-1993 season
Seriously rooting for them at the beginning of the 1993-1994 season

Never looked back, never jumped on the Bulls and Lakers bandwagons (I did like the 94-95 Rockets though, but not as much as San Antonio of course)

Man, I have suffered for so many years :lol

Now it's the Spurs and the San Antonio Heat

[NRHector]

David Robinson

Discovered him while watching the 1992 pre-olympic tournament (I think in Portland)

I'm a lefty and so is Robinson, so I liked him; sure Mully is a lefty too but Robinson was such an impressive athletic Center

I started following the Spurs during the 1992-1993 season
Seriously rooting for them at the beginning of the 1993-1994 season

Never looked back, never jumped on the Bulls and Lakers bandwagons (I did like the 94-95 Rockets though, but not as much as San Antonio of course)

Man, I have suffered for so many years :lol

Now it's the Spurs and the San Antonio Heat:toast I felt the suffering also and I'm not scared to feel it again

[LegendaryFan44]

I actually live in Florida...I was always a big sports fan and listened to alot of AM radio at nite..especially WCAU 1210 in Philly...one night while scanning the dial I came upon WOAI 1200..this was late 1976..Spurs had just entered the NBA...then Spurs announcer Terry Stembridge caught my ear..BEST ANNOUNCER EVER..I became a big fan..I believe James Silas sat in on a few games..he was sidelined with a leg injury..became a HUGE George Gervin fan..really liked Larry Kenon as well...

[Silver&Black]

When I was a kid...my older brother collected baseball/basketball cards. So when I was around 10 years old...my mom bought me my first pack of cards at a Flea Market. I opened up the pack, looked through the cards, and gave them to my brother because I had no idea who anybody was. He then told me there was a card worth $50 in this pack. I thought I had just won the lottery. It was David Robinson's Hoops rookie card. Been a Spurs fan ever since that day.....and I couldn't of picked a better organization.

[baseline bum]

When Walter Berry tried to cut Alvin Robertson. I have been hooked since.

[carina_gino20]

2003 WCF Game 1. The first that caught my eyes was TP, because he looked like my schoolmate. TD is the reason why I didn't chose the Mavs even though Spurs lost Game 1. Manu is the one who made me stay a Spurs fan.

[024]

i got two shiny tim duncan rookie cards as a kid. my brother said i could either have the tim duncan or keith van horn rookie cards, not both. suffice to say life would be much more disappointing if i had chosen keith van horn.

[GSH]

I loved watching Gervin play. But it was in the 78-79 playoffs that I became a die-hard fan. The Spurs went up 3-1 on the Bullets and, as everyone knows, eventually lost the series. In the seventh game, the Spurs were playing well and looked like they were in control. Then the lights in the arena mysteriously went out, and killed the Spurs' momentum. (Remind anyone of New Orleans a couple of seasons ago?)

The score got really tight, and near the very end the refs made a terrible call against the Spurs. And by terrible, I mean "turrible Kinny". It seemed to me that the deck was just stacked too strongly against the Spurs. It was the first time I was ever really outraged about a basketball game.

The Spurs coach, Doug Moe, looked at the film and it was a truly horrible call. He raised hell about it in the press, and drew a big fine from the league. The Spurs fans came together and collected money to pay the fine, which I thought was great. Then Moe had the bank send the money to the league office... in pennies. That pretty much capped it for me. The underdog team, the loyal fans, and the coach that paid his fine and said "screw you" at the same time. I said, "Thats MY team."

[Cane]

Used to move back and forth to SA as a military brat and the Admiral became my favorite player since he was an incredible role model on and off the court. Then there's the incredible Duncan-era when the Spurs became synonymous with winning, professionalism, and a team-first mentality while still usually working with less compared to powerhouse payrolls yet finding talent such as Manu and TP.

[lefty]

When I was a kid...my older brother collected baseball/basketball cards. So when I was around 10 years old...my mom bought me my first pack of cards at a Flea Market. I opened up the pack, looked through the cards, and gave them to my brother because I had no idea who anybody was. He then told me there was a card worth $50 in this pack. I thought I had just won the lottery. It was David Robinson's Hoops rookie card. Been a Spurs fan ever since that day.....and I couldn't of picked a better organization.


i got two shiny tim duncan rookie cards as a kid. my brother said i could either have the tim duncan or keith van horn rookie cards, not both. suffice to say life would be much more disappointing if i had chosen keith van horn.


I actually live in Florida...I was always a big sports fan and listened to alot of AM radio at nite..especially WCAU 1210 in Philly...one night while scanning the dial I came upon WOAI 1200..this was late 1976..Spurs had just entered the NBA...then Spurs announcer Terry Stembridge caught my ear..BEST ANNOUNCER EVER..I became a big fan..I believe James Silas sat in on a few games..he was sidelined with a leg injury..became a HUGE George Gervin fan..really liked Larry Kenon as well...
:tu

[ElNono]

1995, while living in Portland, OR. That '95 team had it all, and I thought they would go all the way. DRob was so much class. I was hooked then. Then I left the US for about 3 years and lost interest a bit as it was hard to follow them from afar back then. When I came back to America in 1999 I reconnected again, just in time to celebrate #1. When they signed up Manu I became a rabid fan and obsessed, which basically means I was ready to sign up in Spurstalk :hat

[bigzak25]

David Robinson.
Terry Cummings.
Sean Elliott.
Willie Anderson.
Rod Strickland.

True fan since 1989.

[slick'81]

my dad was a bball junkie he played in hs and coached a bit he always taught me the game.

i grew up watching the spurs i can remember with my dad going to the final regular season game in hemisphere,being in the alamo dome when the water cannons went off v the warriors :wow and being from sa its easy being a spur fan :flag:

[scottspurs]

David Robinson.

[Shifty]

My brother, a Laker fan, had a Willie Anderson poster that included the profile photo of everyone else on the team (1989-1990 I believe). Then I saw David play...

:flag:

[timtonymanu]

Around 2004 I wanted to get into watching the NBA since I played ball and played nba street. Started out as a Laker bandwagoner but they got owned in the finals by detroit that year and I hated the way kobe and shaq acted.

Then my cousin (a laker hater/spurs fan) told me to watch a "real" team. So I watched his tapes and saw Tim Duncan and I became a fan. Then I started to be impressed by Parker and Manu. I also liked Bowen and Horry. Luckily for me, the Spurs won the season I started watching them. As every season went by, my love grew for the Spurs. I started studying their history during the Iceman, DRob era. Overall, I was impressed by how the Spurs handled themselves. They were so classy unlike Kobe and Shaq.

[silverblk mystix]

I loved watching Gervin play. But it was in the 78-79 playoffs that I became a die-hard fan. The Spurs went up 3-1 on the Bullets and, as everyone knows, eventually lost the series. In the seventh game, the Spurs were playing well and looked like they were in control. Then the lights in the arena mysteriously went out, and killed the Spurs' momentum. (Remind anyone of New Orleans a couple of seasons ago?)

The score got really tight, and near the very end the refs made a terrible call against the Spurs. And by terrible, I mean "turrible Kinny". It seemed to me that the deck was just stacked too strongly against the Spurs. It was the first time I was ever really outraged about a basketball game.

The Spurs coach, Doug Moe, looked at the film and it was a truly horrible call. He raised hell about it in the press, and drew a big fine from the league. The Spurs fans came together and collected money to pay the fine, which I thought was great. Then Moe had the bank send the money to the league office... in pennies. That pretty much capped it for me. The underdog team, the loyal fans, and the coach that paid his fine and said "screw you" at the same time. I said, "Thats MY team."


I remember that game-that series...

I was at the game at the Hemisfair Arena and as the game ended...(the Spurs had just taken a 3-1 series lead)the house announcer says over the PA, ``ladies and gentlemen-please stay off of the court...we will be needing it for THE NBA FINALS!''

everyone cheered---FUCK --we were going to the NBA finals....

the FUCKER jinxed it...sure enough...the bullets came back and I still remember that infamous game where the spurs were rolling---about to clinch the series---and---the lights went out---FUCK!

but that was NOT all...that DICKHEAD Jake O'donnell---completely went fuckin nutz and started calling fouls on the spurs---you would not believe that shit---3 or 4 or 5 OFFENSIVE fouls in a row---

Bullets came back and won the series---it was exactly the way that the Lakers win nowadays...

at that time---the spurs had been in the NBA less than 10 years and there WAS NO WAY---that the old school NBA was going to allow the upstart ABA spurs go to the NBA finals...it would have embarrased a lot of people who had fought AGAINST the NBA allowing ABA teams to join the NBA...and also there were a LOT of people who had pronounced that the ABA was INFERIOIR basketball and in no way on the NBA level---and here were the Spurs --about to go to the FINALS!

some things cannot be forgotten...

yeah I am a long time spurs fan...

[Russo21]

It was 1997 and i was new to Basketball, starting to play at school and follow it. My friends were mainly Knick fans or bulls fans and i'd known a little bit about basketball from the 92 and 96 Dream Teams etc. and i really wanted to know more about it.

I went to the local shop and picked out a "One on One" Magazine. On the front cover were the "Men in Black" David Robinson and Tim Duncan wearing shades. I had known a little bit about The Admiral and the article was just fantastic. Being young a loved the photos aswell, they were awesome:p: I still have it at my folks house all these years later. I read about how much of a nice person Robinson was and they were saying how much of a nice guy tim was and about his mum, swimming and his psychology degree etc and that Tim was destined to be a great one and at that moment after reading the article i logged onto nba.com and spent all my money on a duncan jersey:toast and plastered spurs posters in the magazine all around my room. Tim has been my idol ever since.

I remember the last sentence of the article like i read it yesteday...

"For San Antonio Spurs fans, the sins of the past have been forgiven... Tim Duncan is in Town"

I remember thinking to myself, wow, this guy seems like he's going to be awesome and hes never even played a game. Been a die hard Spurs fan ever since, amazing article:D I am so glad to have become a fan. I fell in love with Tim, David, the spurs and the whole organisation and have bled black and silver ever since:king They've never let me down:flag:

I know some of you might say "oh, a bandagon fan" But i was lucky enough to have started following basketball at that exact time and buying that exact magazine, if i decided to follow the nba a month earlier and if i bought a different magazine who knows what would have been, like i was destined to be a spurs fan:toast I couldn't be happier.

Tim Russo

[Texas_Ranger]

In 99 Friend told me that the Spurs were champs. Back then I knew just about Jordan and the Bulls, I think I didn't even know any other team. So I got one magazine and there was Tim Duncan in it, and I just liked his picture and from then on I'm a Spurs fan.

[lowdown]

I was born in SA - lived in Leon Valley & attended Oak Hills Terrace elementary school. I followed and attended games when the IceMan was playing and Doug Moe was the coach. I've lived on the east coast and now live in L.A. (since '88) and always - and I mean always represented the Spurs. I actually attended the 4th game in which the Lakers swept the Spurs back in the 2000-01 season. GSH, I remember that series - back when the Spurs were in the East - and I hated Unseld 'cause it seemed like he fouled on every play. I remember Elvin Hayes doing his thing but it seemed like Wes was the go to guy against the Spurs. In those days we always were frustrated that there wasn't enough toughness inside until Artis Gilmore arrived. Unfortunately he was much older by that point.

[Xevious]

Born and raised in San Antonio. Went to many a game at the ol' Hemisphere when I was a kid.

[Vic Petro]

I am the son of immigrants. My parents came to New York from Armenia in 1972. My Dad couldn't tell you the difference between a slam dunk and a home run. So I was not grandfathered into any team or any basketball allegiance whatsoever.

Raised in Knicks country - you could see the Manhattan skyline from my North Jersey apartment building. If you weren't a Knicks fan, you were surely a Nets fan.

At about 10 years old, there is tremendous pressure to conform. This is particularly true if you are from an ethnic household. At home, things are one way. At school, things are completely different - and young kids hate feeling different. Most just went with the Nets/Knicks/Jets/Giants/Yankees/Mets combination because it was an easy way to fit in.

I joined baseball for the first time when I was 10 at the urging of a friend. I had never watched a baseball game, thrown a baseball or even held one in my hand. But it seemed like something American kids did and it sure looked fun, so I joined.

In preparation, I started watching some games on television. I always admired how players would run so hard to 1st base that they couldn't stop. They were going so fast, they had to run through the bag. I told myself when I got into a game, I was going to do that and be really cool.

1st game, little league. I'm up in a pinch hitting role. I can't wait to hit the ball and make that run to first. 4 straight balls later, I was standing at 1b, lamenting my missed opportunity. Only then another opportunity arose...2nd base was right in front of me. I could just do the same thing at 2b, of course! So sure enough the next batter hits a clean single to the outfield, and I'm getting the big "hold up" sign from the 3b coach. But I'm running so fast, there's no stopping me. I hit 2b well ahead of the throw, but I keep going a few steps as I slow my gait, completely unaware that this is only allowed at 1b. I take a leisurely stroll back to 2b, all smiles. After kicking the ball around a bit, the CF got the ball back to the SS, who couldn't believe his good fortune that a buffoon such as myself hadn't caught on that my entire team was frantically screaming at me to get back to the bag. His glove touched my chest and I was out, and we lost, and I sucked.

I sucked bad. I didn't know the rules or the fundamentals or anything. Those kids let me have it, and rightfully so for how terrible I was. But I wanted so badly to beat them - at something - that a sports obsession was born. I refused to side with them and their Knics/Nets/Jets/Giants/Yankees/Mets affiliations and decided I was going to look for my own separate rooting interests. I was a free agent.

I remembered watching the NCAA tournament a couple of years prior. There was a player - David Robinson - who was built unlike any other person I'd ever seen. He was tall, lean, fast, strong, agile, explosive, intelligent, thoughtful. Most of all, he was different, like me. No one was paying attention to David Robinson in 1990 New Jersey. I identified with that and I identified with him.

Admittedly, I also thought the silver and black was pretty darn snazzy.

Like everyone else I can't imagine having lucked into choosing a better organization. When Pop took over, I thought he was a tyrant pushing Bob Hill out in a year where the whole team got hurt. But him and RC built an empire, and I must say of all the teams I chose as a 10 year old, the Spurs are by far the greatest pleasure to root for. We don't realize how good we have it.

The franchise's greatest mistake was the turquoise and pink color scheme. My it never return.

[Leonard Curse]

I have a good story on why I'm a spurs fan. So about 15 years ago-ish, I had this crazy drunk night in Vegas. At least I think it was crazy, I do remember getting drunk, but that's about it. Anyways, I wake up the next day with a terrible hangover, I look around and I'm in the middle of the desert!

So I wandered in the desert for a couple hours and then I find myself face to face with the biggest coyote I've ever seen. I'm still hung over, I'm tired, I'm dehydrated, I figure I look pretty easy for the coyote so I just wave it on to kill me. As it approached the coyote opened up it's arms and hugged me! Then it took me into it's cave, called a cab and we've been buddies ever since. Turns out the coyote vacations about 15 miles outside Vegas in the summer and lives in San Antonio during the season. Fun fact! My main source of Spurs information. He's so sneaky getting around the building that he can just listen in on anything. He's also a really good texter, which is weird with those big thumbs.
:lol

[Leonard Curse]

im 2yrs younger than my brother and so when i was born he liked the spurs but was kind of a band wagoner so when i got around 5 i was in all sorts of sports and got to see Drob a whole bunch he picked me up when i was a little kid and started messing w/my hair haaha i was a huge spurs fan when they would lose i would cry and get really pissed .

ive been going to spurs games sice the hemisphere,alamodome,now at&t center. i was little so dont hate but i loved Dennis rodman when he came you guys remember when he threw the mic on the floor after he made his introduction speech at the dome????? or when the spurs owned the bulls during the regular season and MJ would get pissed cause we had his number here ( not by stopping mj but by stopping the team). anyway i was born w/the spurs and im going to die a spurs fan!

[Leonard Curse]

I am the son of immigrants. My parents came to New York from Armenia in 1972. My Dad couldn't tell you the difference between a slam dunk and a home run. So I was not grandfathered into any team or any basketball allegiance whatsoever.

Raised in Knicks country - you could see the Manhattan skyline from my North Jersey apartment building. If you weren't a Knicks fan, you were surely a Nets fan.

At about 10 years old, there is tremendous pressure to conform. This is particularly true if you are from an ethnic household. At home, things are one way. At school, things are completely different - and young kids hate feeling different. Most just went with the Nets/Knicks/Jets/Giants/Yankees/Mets combination because it was an easy way to fit in.

I joined baseball for the first time when I was 10 at the urging of a friend. I had never watched a baseball game, thrown a baseball or even held one in my hand. But it seemed like something American kids did and it sure looked fun, so I joined.

In preparation, I started watching some games on television. I always admired how players would run so hard to 1st base that they couldn't stop. They were going so fast, they had to run through the bag. I told myself when I got into a game, I was going to do that and be really cool.

1st game, little league. I'm up in a pinch hitting role. I can't wait to hit the ball and make that run to first. 4 straight balls later, I was standing at 1b, lamenting my missed opportunity. Only then another opportunity arose...2nd base was right in front of me. I could just do the same thing at 2b, of course! So sure enough the next batter hits a clean single to the outfield, and I'm getting the big "hold up" sign from the 3b coach. But I'm running so fast, there's no stopping me. I hit 2b well ahead of the throw, but I keep going a few steps as I slow my gait, completely unaware that this is only allowed at 1b. I take a leisurely stroll back to 2b, all smiles. After kicking the ball around a bit, the CF got the ball back to the SS, who couldn't believe his good fortune that a buffoon such as myself hadn't caught on that my entire team was frantically screaming at me to get back to the bag. His glove touched my chest and I was out, and we lost, and I sucked.

I sucked bad. I didn't know the rules or the fundamentals or anything. Those kids let me have it, and rightfully so for how terrible I was. But I wanted so badly to beat them - at something - that a sports obsession was born. I refused to side with them and their Knics/Nets/Jets/Giants/Yankees/Mets affiliations and decided I was going to look for my own separate rooting interests. I was a free agent.

I remembered watching the NCAA tournament a couple of years prior. There was a player - David Robinson - who was built unlike any other person I'd ever seen. He was tall, lean, fast, strong, agile, explosive, intelligent, thoughtful. Most of all, he was different, like me. No one was paying attention to David Robinson in 1990 New Jersey. I identified with that and I identified with him.

Admittedly, I also thought the silver and black was pretty darn snazzy.

Like everyone else I can't imagine having lucked into choosing a better organization. When Pop took over, I thought he was a tyrant pushing Bob Hill out in a year where the whole team got hurt. But him and RC built an empire, and I must say of all the teams I chose as a 10 year old, the Spurs are by far the greatest pleasure to root for. We don't realize how good we have it.

The franchise's greatest mistake was the turquoise and pink color scheme. My it never return.


thats a really good story i enjoyed that and yep i had it pretty darn hard myself growing up, youre right about the black and white uni's i really loved them those warmups though my god hahah i thought taco cabana was taking over the spurs w/those gay colors but hey it was the 90's it was all about the fuschia/teal and black baby

[TDMVPDPOY]

start following basketball when i was 8yrs old back in the 90s, i was more of a patrick ewing fan cause i got his shoes and a poster on the wall, then i kept on watchin him keep on gettin posterizing by jordan, pissed me off, even though i was going against the trend of hating jordan/bulls worshippers...

played bball, saw a friend had a robinson jersey, he told me check him out on one of these bball cards, to my surprise it was a nba hoops/skybox card david best, the ripped muscles just took my breath away...then i started reading news and watchin highlights of the spurs for anything david robinson related...93/45-95/96 i was a robinson fan...

then tim duncan came along, rest is history....

[Greg Oden]

You all could've told the truth about it and said in 1997 when the Spurs landed Duncan.

[benefactor]

I'm lazy, so here...


I live in Tyler(80mi east of Dallas), so I didn't know the Spurs existed until I became a teenager. The Mavericks and Cowboys are deities around here, so as a kid that is who I rooted for. When I was in high school I was really close with my cousin who is a huge Rockets fan...and with my disdain for the Cowboys and thier fans growing and my family ties in Houston I started cheering for the Houston teams. I watched in awe as the Dream dominated the league through the championship years. This gave me a true appreciation for great post players. But at most, I was still basically a casual fan.

I started following the Spurs a little bit when Duncan was drafted and I was excited for them when they won the title in '99. With my appreciation for great post play, it was natural for me to enjoy both Duncan and Robinson. I casually watched all three Texas teams in the early 2000's but the combination of the run and gun and Cowboys fans pushed me further and further away from the Mavs. I found myself spending more time following the Spurs due to the way they played and how they carried themselves with class. Between the title in '03 and the heartache of May 13th, 2004, I was cemented. For the first time in my life I had become a truly committed fan that lived and died by a team...and it has been that way every since.

[LegendaryFan44]

Silverblk...u r so right about that Bullets series..NBA refs contolled that shit way way before Tim D. exposed it in his book.:depressed

[ohmwrecker]

As a kid, I was always more of a fan of certain players than I was of any one team. I liked the 76ers because Dr. J was my favorite player. I also liked George Gervin because he was so smooth and cool and on a Texas team. I had the "Iceman" poster on my closet door. I am loathe to admit, I also liked the showtime Lakers. My dad was a big Celtics fan and I would root for whatever team was playing against them just to make the game more interesting. Plus, the Celtics were nerds.
As the Lakers/Celtics rivalry fizzled out I, naturally gravitated toward the Spurs. David Robinson was the guy who cemented my commitment. I still liked other teams (mostly the Sonics), but the Spurs became my favorite team and their success and failure effected me the most. That feeling has just intensified over the years as the Spurs have become one of the most successful franchises in sports history. I feel like I have suffered and celebrated with the team as a fan to the point where, for me, the Spurs are the only team that matters. I don't really have favorite teams in other sports.

[wildbill2u]

I became a fan of the Spurs when I first learned how to play basketball.

I am a short statured guy, so obviously it pissed me off when I was always picked last to play. I would spend hours and hours playing basketball, eating enough leather that I would shit a shoe factory every time I went to the bathroom. Sometimes I would come home at 4am during a school night.

I remember my father taking me to a few Spurs games when I was younger and didn't understand the game at all, and I asked him to take me to help me learn the game better. Needless to say the Spurs inspired me and I worked at my game harder than ever. Soon enough, the tasty leather snack became needles thrown right into the eyes of my much taller defenders. From that moment on I respected the Spurs and admired them for inspiring me to do the impossible. The little market of San Antonio was dominating the much larger franchises and it did my heart good. I soon fell completely in love with the franchise.

My stature as a Spurs fan was solidified after I joined the military with my comrades being mostly Lakers fans. Words flew and at the end of the day, the Spurs toppled the 3peat Lakers. Tears of a Lakers fans are glorious to witness. Especially at the hands of the small market team like the Spurs.

Started going to games the first season when they were back and forth and then bought season tickets on floor level behind the bench for $5.00 per game. Those were the days.

[Big P]

Born & live in SA....went to see the Spurs at Hemisfair Arena in 1978 with my dad...since then, I bleed black & silver!

[Anonymous Cowherd]

I became a fan of the sport 6 months ago. I always quite liked the idea of playing basketball, and when it was televised in the Olympics (In the UK that's the only time it's televised before 11pm!) I watched a bit and liked what I saw.

Then I was over in the States because my girlfriend lives over here (in Florida) and saw a bit on TV. I decided I'd try following it and watching it for a while, see if it stuck with me. It did.

So I knew to be a fan I'd need a team. The Spurs were obvious: 1)My favourite player was already Manu Ginobili from seeing him play for Argentina 2)I'm a massive Spurs - the football team - fan.

I didn't even know they'd ever won a championship! In my mind they were a pretty 'small-time' team! How wrong I was

[lotr1trekkie]

Grew up watching Willis, Dave, Bill, Dick and Clyde[and Phil]. Moved to SA. Reminded me of them

[Mrlunt925]

Back in '01 or '02 I flipped on the television one Sunday and they had an NBA game on. Spurs-Mavs. I don't remember much about that game except that Timmy hit a fadeaway elbow jumper over Dirk at the buzzer. Spurs won their division with that shot. Next weekend they played the Lakers and lost a close one. Been a fan ever since. I made it down to San Antonio last summer and had a blast, someday I'll make it down for Spurs game.

[760Spursfan]

Became a fan because of the Admiral back in 91. Watching him dominate and be so humble was breathe of fresh air form me. I always hated hearing commentators say that David Robinson didn't have the "passion" to bring a championship to SA. Never looked back since.

[silverblackfan]

Grew up in Austin with the Ice Man's famous ice throne poster on my wall. Always been a big fan, but David was the the reason I became a fanatic. Been crazy ever since. Wife is a BB Widow 1/2 of the year...

[007nites]

I use to play NBA JAM when I was kid back in 98 and my favourite team to pick was the Spurs and I started watching them play on TV and I just became hooked.

[AVman]

when i was a kid i found a champions denis rodmen jersey at the court. my cusin told me not to put it on. when we got home i received an ass whoopin for wearing something i found on the street. etc

[Flux451]

Watching DROB growing up. Airforce 1's as a teenager. Hometown is SA.

[FromWayDowntown]

The score got really tight, and near the very end the refs made a terrible call against the Spurs. And by terrible, I mean "turrible Kinny". It seemed to me that the deck was just stacked too strongly against the Spurs. It was the first time I was ever really outraged about a basketball game.

The Spurs coach, Doug Moe, looked at the film and it was a truly horrible call. He raised hell about it in the press, and drew a big fine from the league. The Spurs fans came together and collected money to pay the fine, which I thought was great. Then Moe had the bank send the money to the league office... in pennies. That pretty much capped it for me. The underdog team, the loyal fans, and the coach that paid his fine and said "screw you" at the same time. I said, "Thats MY team."

John Vanak -- ironically, he was one of the officials who came to the NBA from the ABA with the merger. Game 7, 1979 Eastern Conference Finals.

As for me, I became a Spurs fan listening to a game during the 1977-78 season and hearing Louie Dampier raining jumpers on someone. I remember having known nothing of an NBA team in my home town and talking with a neighbor's father, who was a basketball fanatic. He fueled my interest and a fan was born.

[Solid D]

I was a Dallas Chaparrals fan as a kid living in the DFW area. I used to listen to Terry Stembridge on the radio. I remember hearing the call one night laying in bed listening to my transistor radio when the Chaps were playing the Indiana Pacers. The Chaps had just scored in the final seconds to go up by 2 when the Pacers inbounded to Jerry Harkness and he heaved the ball 92 feet and won the game.

I can still remember Stembridge saying (as memory serves) "folks, you're not going to believe this but Jerry Harkness just turned and heaved the ball and made it and we're going to over time...no wait a minute, that was a 3-pointer so the Pacers have just won the game." It was the first year of the Chaps and that shot became the longest shot in pro basketball history. I loved the ABA and it's new rules with the 3-point shot and the ball. I painted my basketball red, white and blue, which I thought would be cool but it wore off.

My dad took me to a couple of games that first year down at the Memorial Auditorium. We saw the Kentucky Colonels play the Chaps' Cliff Hagen, Cincy Powell, etc. The Chaps had a player named Maurice McHartley who played with a toothpick in his mouth. I started walking around with a toothpick in my mouth and hooping in the driveway with that toothpick (my coach wouldn't let me do it at practice or games, naturally).

In the 1970's, I ended up moving to SA and naturally followed the Spurs. Terry Stembridge was their radio voice, having moved with the Chaps to SA. The Spurs were always fairly competitive and played at a high pace. The Iceman would score with such ease, you would think Gervin had 20 or 25 points and you'd find out he actually had 40.

There is a lot more to the story, but that's how I became a Spurs' fan. The roots are deep.

[smeagol]

Watching Manu play in 2003

[DirkISaCocLuvinPuSSy]

blood in blood out lol

[LoneStarState'sPride]

Military brat--family got stationed in SA 3 different times. Fell in love with the city and the Spurs. David Robinson was my idol (my mom still has his autograph when he came by Randolph AFB in '89), and I loved the humility of the team. Especially liked the good guy attitude they had, and Timmy.................how can you not like Timmy?

Plus, my dad is a hardcore laker fan. Had to defend the home turf, right?

[Nathan89]

Off topic:

Did I create some technical difficulties with the thread "Equality on Spurtalk"? I know the thread was getting a lot of post per view but damn I did not think it was that much. I did not expect Kori Ellis to be forced to take the thread off the site due to overload of activity. Or was this a deliberate act to silence the voice of the outcast, to further perpetuate the discrimination that the greys have worked long and hard to over come.

[beirmeistr]

Watching Manu play in 2003

Ditto for me. When I saw that Argentine rookie with his unorthodox, original style of exciting play, I switched from a casual Spurs watcher to a dedicated fan.

[nickdaquick]

I've been a spurs fan forever since I grew up in San Antonio but my earliest memory of the spurs was when I went to a game at the alamodome with my dad. The spurs were playing the magic when they had penny and shaq. The game went down to the last possiesion and the magic had the ball. Penny had the ball with Doc Rivers guarding him. He backed him down, turned for a fadeway jumper and Doc blocked his shot and the game ended with a Spurs win. The place went crazy.

[rcnap]

I moved to San Antonio in 1997 just after Timmy was drafted. Although I was never an NBA fan, the hype around Timmy made me interested to see how he would do. My wife and I both became fans as a result.

[TXstbobcat]

I grew up in Austin and the season before David Robinson joined the Spurs my parents took me to a spurs game against Milwaukee. I got hooked at that game and have been a Spurs fan ever since. Even though I live in Minneapolis now, I still follow all of their games on league pass and still come back to Texas each year to watch a few Spurs games.

[George Gervin's Afro]

when I was born

[eyeh8u]

i killed a dude and took his identity so i became a de facto fan

[Chieflion]

For me, It was Manu Ginobili. I am still quite young so my memory is a little blur. I saw him play in Singapore in an exhibition match for Argentina. If I remember correctly, it was in 2006, after the playoffs. Although Manu had a bad game, he only had 5 points, I believe, but I saw the flair in his game and liked him immediately.

P.S, I did see Pau Gasol, Spanoulis, and many others at the 6 team exhibition matches too. Manu just caught my eye.

[baseline bum]

Seriously, I became a fan in 85-86 after going to my first game. It was Alvin Robertson poster night, and was a game against the Bucks. Alvin stayed and signed posters after the game, and I told him he was my favorite player. I also became a huge Terry Cummings fan after seeing him light the Spurs up that night, so it was really weird when my favorite Spur (Alvin) was traded for TC in 89. I HATED losing Alvin, but I had always wanted TC on the Spurs. My family joined the bums for the 86-87 season, and back in the 80s the fans could really get to know the players. We used to go talk to Artis Gilmore, Alvin, Mike Mitchell, Cadillac Anderson, Walter Berry, and lots of other players before and after almost every game. I used to sneak into the teams practices at Incarnate Word sometime, and man, if you thought David was an athletic freak on TV or in the stands, you should have seen this guy practice while sitting 5 feet from the action. I got to meet David many times since my dad and I sold his biography at baseball card shows (we always bought them from his dad, Ambrose). I never knew it was Jake O'Donald who screwed the Spurs in that Washington series; he was by far the most hated ref in the league at Hemisfair when I went to the games (though Mike Mathis was considered dipshit #2 by our section).

[Biggems]

born and raised in SA, been a Spurs fan since I was born, during the ABA days.

[Biggems]

The earliest games I remember were the Spurs vs Denver or Dallas....Fat Lever, Alex English, Ro Blackman, Derek Harper.....

[mexpurs21]

Here's a story a wrote when I first posted in this forum, it has some changes:

I am born and currently live in Monterrey,Mexico, a 5 hour drive from San Antonio, so I started going to SA since I was born, actually my great-grandfather is a San Antonian (and a WWII veteran) so in the year 1999 he gave me an audio cassette that had the commentary and the best moments from the Spurs vs Knicks finals in many languages and many songs related to the Spurs' first title, so I kept hearing that tape all the time, i then lost the cassette and forgot about the Spurs for 2 years, I wasn't a fan then, but 2 years later i got satellite TV and in a 2001 night I saw a team called "San Antonio Spurs" on the programming guide so i watched the game and became very excited with the Spurs and with basketball (i had never watch a basketball game before) so then I told my father if we could go watch a game live in the SBC Center, my dream to watch the Spurs live came true when we bought tickets for the last game of the season, Spurs vs Dallas on April 16, 2003 the game sucked cus the Spurs were already the leaders of the West, Tim Duncan got sidelined but I didn't care much, I got my first jersey, a David Robinson replica, which I still have, its nice to have watched one of the best Centers in the history of the league live, after that game we stayed in San Antonio some more days to watch the playoffs, i saw one of best games ever, it was Spurs vs Suns, remember the game winning 3 by Stephon Marbury? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBS9hH9c4_s), after that i commited to going to a minimum of 1 game every season, I collect Spurs jerseys now, I think i have close to 10 swingman jerseys, I collect basketball DVDs and anything that has a Spurs logo, its hard to be an NBA fan here in Mexico since we dont get much games on TV (and i dont have Sat-tv now), i hope sometime i could go to 1 entire season sometime.

For now, I'm about to have another dream come true, I'm close to getting a press pass for a Spurs preseason game that will be played in October in México City, I feel blessed to have the oportunity to meet my favorite players; by the way, if you have any questions for any player, let me know and I'll try to ask them.

[cornbread]

I was in first grade when D-Rob got drafted. My dad and I watched all the games on tv and I idolized D-Rob until he retired. 20 years later, D-Rob is still my favorite player. Tim is the man but D-Rob's position on the throne is set.

[FilSpursFan]

DRob is my favorite player esp when he won MVP in '95. Too bad Houston and Hakeem won in WCF..

[sasffl]

When Michael Jordan retired,then Tim Duncan and the Spurs appeared

[callo1]

It was coded into my DNA.

I'm 41 years old and can't remember not being a Spurs fan. Yeah, I sat in the Hemisphere behind the pillars in the "obstructed view" sections.

I endured watching the Spurs lose to GS (Run TMC) and Potland in the playoffs, and was even present to see D'Rob get his MVP in '95, only to watch the admiral get no help, and the Spurs lose to the Rockets.

But I have also seen the glory of the '99 championship, as I had tickets for game 1 of the Finals.

I embraced in the '03 championship run while watching Manu, TP and SJax grow up, with the final culmination manifesting itself with Dave getting his second ring and retiring in style.

I watched the Dominance of the '05 team as they ended the Lakers 3-peat in LA.

I celebrated the birth of my daughter in '07 as the "chosen one" was smothered by Bruce's D.

One more run would be nice.

No matter what this team goes through, I will always bleed silver and black.

[jimo2305]

grew up in austin and the only bball teams around were houston / san antonio and dallas.. san antonio being the closest of course..

but i rooted for just about any team in texas in the playoffs.. and i still kinda do.. except for the mavs...

but it was time to pick a college to go to and amongst my choices were UT-Dallas and UT-San Antonio.. i went to UT-Dallas for pre-admission orientation.. it was alright.. checked out the city and i got a smug vibe off just about everyone there.. i hadn't visited san antonio yet but people said negative things about it like there was a lot of gang activity there so that kinda scared me too..

so i was at this pizza place in dallas during that orientation.. having a pizza.. there was a spurs vs. mavs game on the TV.. and i said.. 'well.. whomever wins this game.. that's the city i'll go to for college..'

guess who won :D?

i've lived in san antonio for the past 8 years and i don't want to leave this place.. i love it here.. love the team.. this is my city :D

[PublicOption]

by being born in

San Antonio, Texas

August, 1969 @ Brady Green Hospital downtown.

how else can you become a fan.

[iManu]

26 years ago, my father gave me a Spurs t-shirt and my little brother a Suns t-shirt.

Guess who got the better favorite team out of that deal.

In Lacanian Psychiatry, we call this "name of the father."

[Biggems]

It was coded into my DNA.

I'm 41 years old and can't remember not being a Spurs fan. Yeah, I sat in the Hemisphere behind the pillars in the "obstructed view" sections.

I endured watching the Spurs lose to GS (Run TMC) and Potland in the playoffs, and was even present to see D'Rob get his MVP in '95, only to watch the admiral get no help, and the Spurs lose to the Rockets.

But I have also seen the glory of the '99 championship, as I had tickets for game 1 of the Finals.

I embraced in the '03 championship run while watching Manu, TP and SJax grow up, with the final culmination manifesting itself with Dave getting his second ring and retiring in style.

I watched the Dominance of the '05 team as they ended the Lakers 3-peat in LA.
I celebrated the birth of my daughter in '07 as the "chosen one" was smothered by Bruce's D.

One more run would be nice.

No matter what this team goes through, I will always bleed silver and black.

ok please explain the bold text....cause the 2003 team ended the Lakers 3-peat

[barbacoataco]

I was in high school, living in Tulsa, watching them in the 1990 playoffs and liked DRob, SE, Cummings---- then in '91 I went Trinity University and split Spurs season tickets with some other students. I went to Trinity and graduated in '94 and went to 15-20 games a year during that time. Then I moved to Austin and kept going to games, watching them on TV during the mid to late 90's. Of course those were great, but frustrating, years. Though I now live in Portland, I have been a fan ever since and watch as many games as possible. The 4 championships were great, but I had a lot of fun watching them the years they lost too. My favorite Spurs are Bowen, DRob, Manu. I'll be a Spurs fan even when/if they suck. I have been a Cincinnati Reds fan since birth (lot of family in Cincy) and they have blown balls for years. Loyalty is more important than winning.

[callo1]

ok please explain the bold text....cause the 2003 team ended the Lakers 3-peat

Miscue on my part, as you pointed out, the '03 team did that. iPhone typo.

I remember Kobe and Fisher had tears streaming down there faces. I loved that nasty put back K-Will had in that closeout game.

Good memories:)

[John Terry]

I've been a spursfan since a long time ago when i was hunting foxes in some forests outside of London and suddenly got stung by the strong ascent of a skunk which at the time I misjudged as a fox.

[Trill Clinton]

Born n raised in SA and my family are all Spurs fans. When I was younger I liked individual players on other teams but have always been a Spurs fan.

[spursfan1000]

First because I live in San Antonio, and my sister used to watch Spurs back in 03' so she made me a fan of them, ever since then I have been a die hard Spurs fan!

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Spurs vs Bulls, 1990. First NBA game on Australian TV. Everyone else seemed to become a Jordan fan, whilst I preferred David. And here we are today, 4 rings and 3 RnROS pilgrimages to SA later. :D