FromWayDowntown
06-24-2005, 10:48 AM
For some of us old-timers, the anxiety and excitement of last night had to bring up some sense of what if. If you've been around at least since 1989 (and some of us can go back further than that, cough, cough, Washington, cough, cough, but that's another story for another day), with so many of the same characters in the building last night, you had to wonder, I think, what might have been had the Spurs won their last Game 7. You had to wonder what this franchise might look like -- how it would be perceived -- had Rod Strickland's pass found friendly hands in Portland.
Of course, the pass didn't find friendly hands, and I think that's sort of the point here.
When Rodney's pass flew into the ether of missed championship opportunities, the Spurs were, basically doomed to a decade of being perceived as underachievers. I always thought that the "soft" label was inaccurate, but had you looked at the Spurs organization in the late spring of 1990, it was fair to think that the future would hold many championships, or at least many deep playoff runs for the next decade or so. Instead, we got the tease of great regular seasons tempered by the reality of playoff problems. I have always, always thought that had the Spurs beaten Portland in that game, the 1990's would have been very different.
So, along comes last night. . . .
The Spurs found themselves at a crossroads. Win, and they are champions. Lose, and they are considered chokers of the highest magnitude, having been eliminated in back-to-back years after going up 2 games to none.
I'd argue that the franchise's future was in the balance last night -- if not in a physical sense, certainly in a psychological sense.
And when the moment of truth came?
Instead of an ill-thought pass to nobody, we got a thunderous dunk from a flying Argentinian and cold-blooded free throw shooting from a man whose "legacy" was in deep question.
Instead of a capitulation to the pressure of the NBA's biggest stage and single most important game, we got a group of young guys who embraced the moment and found a way to bounce back from as much adversity as any NBA Champion has likely ever faced.
Instead of a decade of what-ifs, spent considering what might have happened had the Spurs just won one more game, we got an epic celebration and a clear view of a bright future.
And all of that from one game.
Of course, the pass didn't find friendly hands, and I think that's sort of the point here.
When Rodney's pass flew into the ether of missed championship opportunities, the Spurs were, basically doomed to a decade of being perceived as underachievers. I always thought that the "soft" label was inaccurate, but had you looked at the Spurs organization in the late spring of 1990, it was fair to think that the future would hold many championships, or at least many deep playoff runs for the next decade or so. Instead, we got the tease of great regular seasons tempered by the reality of playoff problems. I have always, always thought that had the Spurs beaten Portland in that game, the 1990's would have been very different.
So, along comes last night. . . .
The Spurs found themselves at a crossroads. Win, and they are champions. Lose, and they are considered chokers of the highest magnitude, having been eliminated in back-to-back years after going up 2 games to none.
I'd argue that the franchise's future was in the balance last night -- if not in a physical sense, certainly in a psychological sense.
And when the moment of truth came?
Instead of an ill-thought pass to nobody, we got a thunderous dunk from a flying Argentinian and cold-blooded free throw shooting from a man whose "legacy" was in deep question.
Instead of a capitulation to the pressure of the NBA's biggest stage and single most important game, we got a group of young guys who embraced the moment and found a way to bounce back from as much adversity as any NBA Champion has likely ever faced.
Instead of a decade of what-ifs, spent considering what might have happened had the Spurs just won one more game, we got an epic celebration and a clear view of a bright future.
And all of that from one game.