ajh18
05-28-2007, 12:19 PM
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/marty_burns/05/28/memorial.day/index.html
'Touch of home'
Brother of Spurs trainer keeping tabs on team in Iraq
It's Memorial Day, a time to pause and give thanks to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. Everybody, it seems, has a relative or loved one who died in World War II, Vietnam, Korea or, now, Iraq.
For me it was an uncle whom I never got to know. My mom's brother, George Hay, died in World War II when a kamikaze struck his navy ship, the U.S.S. Bush, during a battle in the Pacific. He was 18.
War means death. Always has. Always will.
But even for those who come home in one piece, war means sacrifice. Soldiers are away from home and loved ones. They miss out on weddings, graduations and little league games. Maybe even a beloved basketball team.
For Air Force Capt. Greg Sevening, currently stationed in Iraq, that's certainly the case. He's a huge Spurs fan. Maybe it's because his brother Will is the team trainer. Maybe it's because Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is an old Air Force guy himself.
Ask Sevening what it means for him and his comrades to be able to follow the Spurs these days and the 30-year-old father of two will tell you it's as important in its own way as a Kevlar vest and an armored Humvee.
"Having played and been around sports all my life, I know just how valuable it is to have an 'outlet' like playing a pickup game of basketball or watching the Spurs to escape from the stresses and difficulties that come with being deployed," Sevening said by e-mail. "I miss my wife and kids, my family, my friends and America. It is that 'touch of home' that I get while watching the Spurs that takes my mind off the stresses."
The types of media available to U.S. soldiers serving overseas varies from location to location. In the Green Zone, where Sevening is currently deployed as a contracting officer, NBA playoff games are shown live on Armed Forces Network. He can watch the games on a TV in his room, a laptop in his office or at a community room in one of the U.S. buildings. If he wants to read about it, he can log on to sports Web sites or pick up a copy of the military newspaper, Stars and Stripes.
The toughest part, Sevening said, is the eight-hour time difference. For Saturday night's Spurs-Jazz Game 3, he worked until midnight then set the alarm for 4 a.m. before getting back in his uniform and hiking over to the U.S. Embassy. There he watched it on a large-screen TV under a stairwell in a nook.
While it's not as much fun as watching at his Florida home, with his 3-year-old son running around in his No. 20 Manu Ginobili jersey, Sevening said he and his comrades are grateful.
Understandably, when a group of soldiers from all over the country has to share a TV in the heat of the playoffs, there's bound to be plenty of ribbing between rival fans.
"We have been told to keep it down often, because it gets so loud," Sevening said. "From me defending [Bruce] Bowen's 'clean' and 'aggressive' defensive skills to [rival fans] calling him "DIRTY!"... I had to hear it all throughout the Phoenix series."
Fortunately, Sevening has no trouble finding fellow Spurs fans in his unit. Everybody loves a winner. Plus, San Antonio is home to several military bases, and has a coach in Popovich who played his college ball and later coached at the Air Force Academy.
Sevening also brings to his comrades a special connection to the Spurs through Will, who has been San Antonio's trainer since 1998. They communicate often by e-mail, and Will has sent Spurs towels and other memorabilia to Greg and his co-workers.
"I got a bunch of Spurs stuff hanging up proudly in the office," Greg said.
As we celebrate Memorial Day here at home, amid family and friends, at the beach, at barbecues or in front of TV sets watching games, it is worth saluting our war dead. But it's also worthwhile to think about those like Sevening too. Those stuck halfway around the globe, far away from loved ones, just trying to do their jobs and make it home alive.
"Not many people know what we are going through day in and day out, especially the [troops] roaming the streets of Iraq, rooting out the bad guys," Sevening said. "They are unbelievable people."
Sporting events such as an NBA playoff game might seem trivial amid the death and carnage, but they clearly mean a lot to Sevening and his pals in Iraq. Even if it's for just a few hours in the wee hours of the morning, it brings them closer to home
'Touch of home'
Brother of Spurs trainer keeping tabs on team in Iraq
It's Memorial Day, a time to pause and give thanks to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. Everybody, it seems, has a relative or loved one who died in World War II, Vietnam, Korea or, now, Iraq.
For me it was an uncle whom I never got to know. My mom's brother, George Hay, died in World War II when a kamikaze struck his navy ship, the U.S.S. Bush, during a battle in the Pacific. He was 18.
War means death. Always has. Always will.
But even for those who come home in one piece, war means sacrifice. Soldiers are away from home and loved ones. They miss out on weddings, graduations and little league games. Maybe even a beloved basketball team.
For Air Force Capt. Greg Sevening, currently stationed in Iraq, that's certainly the case. He's a huge Spurs fan. Maybe it's because his brother Will is the team trainer. Maybe it's because Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is an old Air Force guy himself.
Ask Sevening what it means for him and his comrades to be able to follow the Spurs these days and the 30-year-old father of two will tell you it's as important in its own way as a Kevlar vest and an armored Humvee.
"Having played and been around sports all my life, I know just how valuable it is to have an 'outlet' like playing a pickup game of basketball or watching the Spurs to escape from the stresses and difficulties that come with being deployed," Sevening said by e-mail. "I miss my wife and kids, my family, my friends and America. It is that 'touch of home' that I get while watching the Spurs that takes my mind off the stresses."
The types of media available to U.S. soldiers serving overseas varies from location to location. In the Green Zone, where Sevening is currently deployed as a contracting officer, NBA playoff games are shown live on Armed Forces Network. He can watch the games on a TV in his room, a laptop in his office or at a community room in one of the U.S. buildings. If he wants to read about it, he can log on to sports Web sites or pick up a copy of the military newspaper, Stars and Stripes.
The toughest part, Sevening said, is the eight-hour time difference. For Saturday night's Spurs-Jazz Game 3, he worked until midnight then set the alarm for 4 a.m. before getting back in his uniform and hiking over to the U.S. Embassy. There he watched it on a large-screen TV under a stairwell in a nook.
While it's not as much fun as watching at his Florida home, with his 3-year-old son running around in his No. 20 Manu Ginobili jersey, Sevening said he and his comrades are grateful.
Understandably, when a group of soldiers from all over the country has to share a TV in the heat of the playoffs, there's bound to be plenty of ribbing between rival fans.
"We have been told to keep it down often, because it gets so loud," Sevening said. "From me defending [Bruce] Bowen's 'clean' and 'aggressive' defensive skills to [rival fans] calling him "DIRTY!"... I had to hear it all throughout the Phoenix series."
Fortunately, Sevening has no trouble finding fellow Spurs fans in his unit. Everybody loves a winner. Plus, San Antonio is home to several military bases, and has a coach in Popovich who played his college ball and later coached at the Air Force Academy.
Sevening also brings to his comrades a special connection to the Spurs through Will, who has been San Antonio's trainer since 1998. They communicate often by e-mail, and Will has sent Spurs towels and other memorabilia to Greg and his co-workers.
"I got a bunch of Spurs stuff hanging up proudly in the office," Greg said.
As we celebrate Memorial Day here at home, amid family and friends, at the beach, at barbecues or in front of TV sets watching games, it is worth saluting our war dead. But it's also worthwhile to think about those like Sevening too. Those stuck halfway around the globe, far away from loved ones, just trying to do their jobs and make it home alive.
"Not many people know what we are going through day in and day out, especially the [troops] roaming the streets of Iraq, rooting out the bad guys," Sevening said. "They are unbelievable people."
Sporting events such as an NBA playoff game might seem trivial amid the death and carnage, but they clearly mean a lot to Sevening and his pals in Iraq. Even if it's for just a few hours in the wee hours of the morning, it brings them closer to home