GrandeDavid
05-23-2008, 10:05 AM
If you tasted sarcasm in that header, then your wits are fine tuned. Its only one loss of a game the Spurs were supposed to lose anyway. Nevertheless, as the rage of fandom simmers, the race continues.
When Manu's shot rimmed out and the game was all but over, I told myself to take it in stride; the Spurs have won four championships and I've seen many thrills during this ever so glorious Tim Duncan Era. Who will ever forget the angst-ridden Game 5 of the Finals in Detroit, when the Spurs rebounded from a 31 point dressdown and finally kept it close and gave themselves a chance to win that game. Then to see Tim miss a most simplistic freebie at the rim which led to overtime, only to witness Robert Horry's long ball tickle the twine...I felt privileged.
That is but one snapshot among many clutch playoff performances by the Spurs over the past nine or so years. The Memorial Day Miracle, Steve Kerr and Stephen Jackson bombing Dallas, the 4-1 slamdowns of Denver and Phoenix...ahh, to wax nostalgia.
So as the game officially ended, I killed the Justin TV connection, closed my laptop, took a deep breath, and concluded another anxiously late evening with one final swig of ever-reliable Argentinian Norton 2004 Malbec.
Instead of cursing our beloved Spurs, I thought of lazy airline officials and late-arriving mechanics, and I tried to justify, as an experienced business class traveler, the fact that seats do recline enough to catch some shuteye. I also thought of a grueling playoff series in which the clincher was all but assured to be a New Orleans mini Mardi Gras fest with Chris Paul on David West's shoulders.
Strangely, however, even with the aid of a prior eight mile pre-game training run I could not readily fall asleep. I was too…too…irked…I suppose.
I think I was more irritated at the inevitable rebirth of the Old Spurs talk throughout the national media wires, the dire conclusion that the Spurs are indeed aged has beens. The problem is that I know better. I know that if there is any American sports franchise which is bulletproof to adversity, it’s the Spurs. If there’s any team that would act more casual after beating down a Finals opponent by two dozen, I beg to know which. If there is any franchise over the past nine years which has been there, both suffering and delivering on the grand stage, more than the San Antonio Spurs, I challenge all comers to start listing names.
So I came to the conclusion that I was irritated at the raw act of losing. As a marathoner, I often fall into the common trap of setting time goals, thereby overlooking the most basic truth of marathon survival – either you finish or you don’t. After completing an early morning long distance training run in Sao Paulo this past Sunday, I spoke with an elite runner with years of elite experience championship experience spanning the continents. Feeling post-run, endorphin-fueled invincibility, I told him I intended to complete the Rio de Janeiro Marathon in under 3:25, assuming he would counter with a sub 3:00 goal at worst. Instead, he told me that he's hoping to run around 3:30. Unlike me, he’d run the Rio Marathon several times and that his experience proved that the tropical humidity inevitably play a huge role in altering time goals, and that his goal was simply to finish. I metaphorically scratched my head and reminded him that he had done the Boston Marathon in 2:45 and Sao Paulo in 2:50, but he told me that every race, every challenge is a different circumstance and that you need to be prepared to squelch your original goals at a dehydrating quad’s notice. In actuality, he'll probably break 3:00, but his goal is to become a champion in his heart, not boast about individual accomplisments to others.
The bottom line is that every race or event is a unique circumstance and one must be prepared for the worst of outcomes at all times. You may finish slower, you may feel more pain, or you may feel like you are floating on air, but the bottom line is you are prepared for the infinite devils and angels which carry you or kill you to the finish line.
The Spurs are in a marathon of sorts. The goal is not to win each game by 20 or clinch in a certain number of games, rather to cross the finish line tape. Just as I may discover that I need to decelerate halfway through due to a break in the clouds and pounding sunshine, the Spurs found on Wednesday that to complete their goal they need to recharge their collective effort and fine tune various aspects of the game to reach their goal.
The Spurs’ goal simply cannot be to sweep or pound an adversary into submission or hold every lead in every game. Their goal is to advance and there is a lot of distance to go in this race. The Spurs are are like the Kenyan world distance record holder Paul Tergat of the NBA.They have won many races under many challenging circumstances, having weathered every type of storm. Sometimes they charge out of the gate and open big leads and cruise to victory. Sometimes they encounter a surprise challenger. Sometimes they simply feel like dog mess and have to find a way to grind it out later in the race. But regardless of the many battles in the war, they strategize and persist, they bleed and heal, they weather then ultimately shine. They are experienced champions.
Ask Tergat if he intends to run the upcoming New York Marathon in 2:05 and he may just laugh out of kindness, for only the true champion knows that the bottom line is winning the race.
The Spurs lost Game 1. Game 2 is Friday. If they lose Game 2, then Game 3 is Sunday and they enter familiar terrain. But like the seasoned elite marathoner, the Spurs know they will have many times to draw blood and come out on top.
Spurs in six or sev.....I mean, Spurs in a series win.
:flag:
When Manu's shot rimmed out and the game was all but over, I told myself to take it in stride; the Spurs have won four championships and I've seen many thrills during this ever so glorious Tim Duncan Era. Who will ever forget the angst-ridden Game 5 of the Finals in Detroit, when the Spurs rebounded from a 31 point dressdown and finally kept it close and gave themselves a chance to win that game. Then to see Tim miss a most simplistic freebie at the rim which led to overtime, only to witness Robert Horry's long ball tickle the twine...I felt privileged.
That is but one snapshot among many clutch playoff performances by the Spurs over the past nine or so years. The Memorial Day Miracle, Steve Kerr and Stephen Jackson bombing Dallas, the 4-1 slamdowns of Denver and Phoenix...ahh, to wax nostalgia.
So as the game officially ended, I killed the Justin TV connection, closed my laptop, took a deep breath, and concluded another anxiously late evening with one final swig of ever-reliable Argentinian Norton 2004 Malbec.
Instead of cursing our beloved Spurs, I thought of lazy airline officials and late-arriving mechanics, and I tried to justify, as an experienced business class traveler, the fact that seats do recline enough to catch some shuteye. I also thought of a grueling playoff series in which the clincher was all but assured to be a New Orleans mini Mardi Gras fest with Chris Paul on David West's shoulders.
Strangely, however, even with the aid of a prior eight mile pre-game training run I could not readily fall asleep. I was too…too…irked…I suppose.
I think I was more irritated at the inevitable rebirth of the Old Spurs talk throughout the national media wires, the dire conclusion that the Spurs are indeed aged has beens. The problem is that I know better. I know that if there is any American sports franchise which is bulletproof to adversity, it’s the Spurs. If there’s any team that would act more casual after beating down a Finals opponent by two dozen, I beg to know which. If there is any franchise over the past nine years which has been there, both suffering and delivering on the grand stage, more than the San Antonio Spurs, I challenge all comers to start listing names.
So I came to the conclusion that I was irritated at the raw act of losing. As a marathoner, I often fall into the common trap of setting time goals, thereby overlooking the most basic truth of marathon survival – either you finish or you don’t. After completing an early morning long distance training run in Sao Paulo this past Sunday, I spoke with an elite runner with years of elite experience championship experience spanning the continents. Feeling post-run, endorphin-fueled invincibility, I told him I intended to complete the Rio de Janeiro Marathon in under 3:25, assuming he would counter with a sub 3:00 goal at worst. Instead, he told me that he's hoping to run around 3:30. Unlike me, he’d run the Rio Marathon several times and that his experience proved that the tropical humidity inevitably play a huge role in altering time goals, and that his goal was simply to finish. I metaphorically scratched my head and reminded him that he had done the Boston Marathon in 2:45 and Sao Paulo in 2:50, but he told me that every race, every challenge is a different circumstance and that you need to be prepared to squelch your original goals at a dehydrating quad’s notice. In actuality, he'll probably break 3:00, but his goal is to become a champion in his heart, not boast about individual accomplisments to others.
The bottom line is that every race or event is a unique circumstance and one must be prepared for the worst of outcomes at all times. You may finish slower, you may feel more pain, or you may feel like you are floating on air, but the bottom line is you are prepared for the infinite devils and angels which carry you or kill you to the finish line.
The Spurs are in a marathon of sorts. The goal is not to win each game by 20 or clinch in a certain number of games, rather to cross the finish line tape. Just as I may discover that I need to decelerate halfway through due to a break in the clouds and pounding sunshine, the Spurs found on Wednesday that to complete their goal they need to recharge their collective effort and fine tune various aspects of the game to reach their goal.
The Spurs’ goal simply cannot be to sweep or pound an adversary into submission or hold every lead in every game. Their goal is to advance and there is a lot of distance to go in this race. The Spurs are are like the Kenyan world distance record holder Paul Tergat of the NBA.They have won many races under many challenging circumstances, having weathered every type of storm. Sometimes they charge out of the gate and open big leads and cruise to victory. Sometimes they encounter a surprise challenger. Sometimes they simply feel like dog mess and have to find a way to grind it out later in the race. But regardless of the many battles in the war, they strategize and persist, they bleed and heal, they weather then ultimately shine. They are experienced champions.
Ask Tergat if he intends to run the upcoming New York Marathon in 2:05 and he may just laugh out of kindness, for only the true champion knows that the bottom line is winning the race.
The Spurs lost Game 1. Game 2 is Friday. If they lose Game 2, then Game 3 is Sunday and they enter familiar terrain. But like the seasoned elite marathoner, the Spurs know they will have many times to draw blood and come out on top.
Spurs in six or sev.....I mean, Spurs in a series win.
:flag: