Tim sets the example

[spurschick]

Timmy's Slouch, Teaches Lesson
By Jaime R. Valdes
July 27, 2005
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=1377

How are you supposed to look when you’re down by 30 in Game 4 of the 2005 NBA Finals? Even more so, how are you suppose to feel, how are you suppose to act, what are your suppose to say? The majority of us will never be in that particular situation. That is unless your name is Tim Duncan and you are the starting power forward for the San Antonio Spurs.

After the Spurs were slaughtered by 31 points by the Detroit Pistons in game 4 of the 2005 NBA Finals, Duncan was highly criticized and to blame. Critics said his demeanor late in the 4th quarter, while he sat on the bench next to Spurs head coach Greg Popovich, reflected lack of effort, enthusiasm and most of all heart. By this time the game was completely out of control, as well as out of reach.

Timmy slouched, Pop talked, the critics had a field day. We can only imagine what went thorough Timmy’s mind, and we can only guess what encouraging words of wisdom Pop was revealing.

Although most of us will never be in that situation, if we look deep and hard into our own life, we have all gone through a time when we were down by 30.

When we suffered the loss of a loved one or a dear friend, we were down by 30.

When we were victims of injustice, crime, or any type of wrongdoing, we were down by 30.

When alcohol and drugs grabbed a tight hold around our throat or someone we cared about, we were down by 30.

When we made a choice in life that we wish we hadn’t, we were down by 30.

We slouched on the bench, we were told never to give up, and were criticized. The game was lost, but only for that day. Tim Duncan responded by winning his 3rd NBA Finals MVP award in 7 years. Oh yeah, and he added a 3rd championship to San Antonio’s franchise. For us, we believed, we trusted, we had faith, and never gave up. What ever it was that got us through the fourth quarter of life, is more valuable than a 3rd championship.

In the game of professional basketball, Tim Duncan may never be down by 30 again. In the game of life, we may be down by 30 tomorrow. But by the way we respond, we can start our own collection of MVP awards.

[TheTruth]

When we suffered the loss of a loved one or a dear friend, we were down by 30.
:stfu

[MaNuMaNiAc]

Badly written article. His analogies are so off, its not even funny! Sorry Spurschick, :(

[xcoriate]

Yeah that was pretty poor. Horrible, horrible metaphors.

[Notorious H.O.P.]

When we suffered the loss of a loved one or a dear friend, we were down by 30.

When we were victims of injustice, crime, or any type of wrongdoing, we were down by 30.

When alcohol and drugs grabbed a tight hold around our throat or someone we cared about, we were down by 30.

I know this article was meant to be inspiring but this guy is a world-class moron if he thinks that these situations can be equated to "down by 30". Tim's resiliency is fantastic. He can shake off a bad game and still not quit and prove to be the victor. But trying to say that the death of a family member, being the victim of murder or rape, or substance abuse problems are like being "down by 30" is sheer idiocy. This guy needs an open-handed slap in the mouth like no one I've seen in a while.

[ca®lo]

not even close to what hes trying to tell.

with an article like that... LOOKS LIKE HES DOWN BY 30! hehe

[Spurologist]

wtf was that. I just wasted one minute of my dear life for that. :cuss.

[1Parker1]

when I had to gas up yesterday, I was down by 50.


:lmao :lmao :lmao


I can't believe this guy is trying to compare death, crime, and OD'ing to being down by 30 points in a basketball game.........:rolleyes

[spurschick]

:lol :lol :lol
Geez... I only posted it because I thought that some people might think it was cool that this guy was attempting to use Tim as an example. It certainly ain't Pulitzer Prize winning stuff, but I credit the guy for acknowledging Tim's resilience after he looked like someone killed his dog at the end of game 4.

Sorry that it pissed everyone off so much.

[ObiwanGinobili]

When we suffered the loss of a loved one or a dear friend, we were down by 30.

When we were victims of injustice, crime, or any type of wrongdoing, we were down by 30.

When alcohol and drugs grabbed a tight hold around our throat or someone we cared about, we were down by 30.

Whaaat The Fuuuuuuck???????
:pctoss :flipoff :flipoff :pctoss

idiot. what an idiot. and he had to drag timmy's good name into his piece of shit article. God this is such an embarassment for Spurs fans.
I can't believe he seriously wrote that shit.
I'm sure Tim was sitting there thinking "man this is just like when my mom died of cancer" :rolleyes :rolleyes

[GoSpurs21]

dont worry Spurschick, it sounds like once again the thin skinned Spurs fans are blowing things way out of purportion
the article is not as bad as everyone here is making it out to be

lighten up people

[SWC Bonfire]

Sorry that it pissed everyone off so much.

SHOOT THE MESSENGER! SHOOT THE MESSENGER! :lol

[Kip Fanatic]

I know you meant good. Its not the best work, but I think I know what the guy was trying to say. He just didn't write it the way he should have. I'm not offended by it or ashamed. Tim got his name out there at least. Maybe not the way he would want to, but...

[ObiwanGinobili]

Sorry that it pissed everyone off so much.


I'm not made at you SC! :angel

I'm just stating that i think this guy was an idiot.

[angel_luv]

I just read the article Spurs Chick. I loved it.

I always am happy to be offered hope, regardless of how fancy it is or isn't packaged.

Thanks for posting it! = )

[Notorious H.O.P.]

I'm certainly not mad at you Spurschick. I enjoy reading every piece of press the team gets and I'll take the bad with the good. But tearing things to shreads is what we do around here. I understand that is was supposed to be inspirational but this jerky just totally boned that one up. I can imagine him reading it to himself and being very satisfied over what he accomplished.

Say it with me....
blah, blah, blah,..."we were down by 30"
this and that,...."we were down by 30"
don't pay attention to what I say here, ...."we were down by 30"

It sounds good if you don't really pay attention to what he wrote. But if someone is trying to equate the death of a family member with being down 30 in a basketball game, then I have to call bullshit on them. And if that is supposed to make me "thin skinned", then I call bullshit on that too.

[SWC Bonfire]

I just read the article Spurs Chick. I loved it.

I always am happy to be offered hope, regardless of how fancy it is or isn't packaged.

Thanks for posting it! = )

Awww, how nice.

http://images.usatoday.com/life/_photos/2005/02/02/inside-flanders.jpg

You're the goshdigglelydog best!

[angel_luv]

The point of the article, IMO :
Despite our poor choices or the odds stacked against us, there is always hope for a comeback so long as we believe and are willing to work for it.

As for the down 30 symbolism, I think the author was just trying to give people a point of reference.

[HotAssComic]

Oh Please... so tired of everyone making Tim Duncan better than he really is. Don't get me wrong... he's a good, solid player... but no superstar.
He has way too many subpar games where he can't even break the 20 point mark... he's a liabilty at the Free throw line... and never really puts the team on back and steps up in the playoffs. He's a good cornerstone for this team and has a great supporting cast that makes for a championship team... but he's no Jordan, Magic, Bird, Shaq or Kareem. They never had a subpar playoff game... that's why they were payed... that's why teams were built around them. You never saw Jordan have a subpar playoff game and have to get saved by his supporting cast. Let's just say Duncan is lucky to have Ginobli, Horry & Parker on his side.

[samikeyp]

Hey.....Spurschick just posted it, she didn't write it. Not her fault.

[slayermin]

Trying to meet a deadline but your computer crashes, that's being down by 30.

Losing one of your parents would be more like having a limb amputated or losing your vision.

[zeleni]

Oh Please... so tired of everyone making Tim Duncan better than he really is. Don't get me wrong... he's a good, solid player... but no superstar.
He has way too many subpar games where he can't even break the 20 point mark... he's a liabilty at the Free throw line... and never really puts the team on back and steps up in the playoffs. He's a good cornerstone for this team and has a great supporting cast that makes for a championship team... but he's no Jordan, Magic, Bird, Shaq or Kareem. They never had a subpar playoff game... that's why they were payed... that's why teams were built around them. You never saw Jordan have a subpar playoff game and have to get saved by his supporting cast. Let's just say Duncan is lucky to have Ginobli, Horry & Parker on his side.

:drunk Man, you are cracking me up! :lmao :lmao :lol

[spurschick]

:lmao
WOW!!! I appreciate all the nice things everybody has said, but I was never upset by anyone's reaction to the article. It would be difficult for me to get upset considering I didn't write the thing. It just seemed to really piss some people off, i.e. all the :flipoff smilies, so I was simply apologizing if my posting it ruffled some feathers. We obviously read bad journalism often and take pleasure in ripping them up - I just thought it was nice to see a non-sports related guy in a non-San Antonio market use Tim as an example.

Personally, I'm down 30-minutes of sleep and need a nap... :sleep

[mookie2001]

work on spurschick.com

[Dex]

Oh Please... so tired of everyone making Tim Duncan better than he really is. Don't get me wrong... he's a good, solid player... but no superstar.
He has way too many subpar games where he can't even break the 20 point mark... he's a liabilty at the Free throw line... and never really puts the team on back and steps up in the playoffs. He's a good cornerstone for this team and has a great supporting cast that makes for a championship team... but he's no Jordan, Magic, Bird, Shaq or Kareem. They never had a subpar playoff game... that's why they were payed... that's why teams were built around them. You never saw Jordan have a subpar playoff game and have to get saved by his supporting cast. Let's just say Duncan is lucky to have Ginobli, Horry & Parker on his side.

You apparently didn't watch Jordan, Magic, Bird, Shaq, or Kareem play a whole lot. No single player was a hero every time he stepped on the court. They all had their bad games, missed some big shots, and had their days when things just wouldn't go their way. Sure, the bad far outweighed the good, but so it does with Tim Duncan.

For any of those players, I could name a supporting crew that had to bail them out every now and then. That's the reason basketball is a team sport. No one player wins it alone, ever. Ask Kobe Bryant.

Lowlights don't go down in the history books like highlights do, which is why everyone thinks that these guys were absolute Gods of the basketball court. The fact of the matter is, just like any one name in the cast you presented, when all is said and done, people aren't going to remember Duncan's bad games either. They are going to remember him for his Hall-of-Fame legacy, and the handful of rings he'll be walking away with. And he's already well on his way.

Duncan not a superstar? Come back when you understand what a superstar is.

[GoSpurs21]

Oh Please... so tired of everyone making Tim Duncan better than he really is. Don't get me wrong... he's a good, solid player... but no superstar.
He has way too many subpar games where he can't even break the 20 point mark... he's a liabilty at the Free throw line... and never really puts the team on back and steps up in the playoffs. He's a good cornerstone for this team and has a great supporting cast that makes for a championship team... but he's no Jordan, Magic, Bird, Shaq or Kareem. They never had a subpar playoff game... that's why they were payed... that's why teams were built around them. You never saw Jordan have a subpar playoff game and have to get saved by his supporting cast. Let's just say Duncan is lucky to have Ginobli, Horry & Parker on his side.and just when you think you have heard it all...some clown comes out and just spews all kinds of pathetic rhetoric

[Tobias]

Hey, let's not forget Duncan "responded" by sticking his tail betwixed his legs in the last two of regulation game 5

[HotAssComic]

For any of those players, I could name a supporting crew that had to bail them out every now and then. That's the reason basketball is a team sport. No one player wins it alone, ever. Ask Kobe Bryant.


Hence the reason I didn't mention Kobe... he's a ballhog. Name one Finals game Tim Duncan scored 65 points... or one game where he shouldered the burden of his team... or better yet name one Finals game Jordan scored 14 or less points (like Duncan)... name one game any of the above mentioned did... and I'll give Duncan his superstar credit. Reason we didn't win Gold in the Olympics: Brown wanted Duncan to be the nucleus of the team... he's not and never will be... He's a good cornerstone. Not a Superstar... Don't get me wrong... I would pick him on my team... but wouldn't make him the Franchise... don't believe the hype. You put him on a shitty team... you'll see there are no more rings.

[TheTruth]

Hence the reason I didn't mention Kobe... he's a ballhog. Name one Finals game Tim Duncan scored 65 points... or one game where he shouldered the burden of his team... or better yet name one Finals game Jordan scored 14 or less points (like Duncan)... name one game any of the above mentioned did... and I'll give Duncan his superstar credit. Reason we didn't win Gold in the Olympics: Brown wanted Duncan to be the nucleus of the team... he's not and never will be... He's a good cornerstone. Not a Superstar... Don't get me wrong... I would pick him on my team... but wouldn't make him the Franchise... don't believe the hype. You put him on a shitty team... you'll see there are no more rings.
You lost all credibility when you said Timmy wasn't a Superstar.

They guy won a freaking ring in '99 and then won another one 7 years later with an ENTIRELY different team. That my friend is the definition of a "cornerstone" player.

[samikeyp]

Name one Finals game Tim Duncan scored 65 points... or one game where he shouldered the burden of his team.

Game 6 2003 finals...two blocks short of a QUADRUPLE double.
Game 7 2005 finals...Duncan put the team on his back in the 3rd and carried them home.

Oh Im sorry....that's TWO. :fro