20-Second TO: Keep It Quiet

[TMTTRIO]

http://www.nba.com/spurs/timeout/20secondto.html
Keep It Quiet
by Bill Schoening | November 5, 2007

When I broadcast road games for the Spurs Radio Network, my statistician is usually a resident of that particular town, and usually is a fan of the hometown team. You've probably heard the rule about "no cheering" in the press box, and that is also true for press row. Even though those of us with a vested interest in the outcome of the game will pull for our respective teams, we also must refrain from outwardly rooting.

The reason I bring this up is because Josh McDirmad did a good job crunching numbers for me in Memphis last week, but during a break in the fourth quarter he admitted that he "couldn't stand" Manu Ginobili. How could he possibly say anything negative about Manu? Isn't Ginobili one of the fiercest compe ors in the NBA? Doesn't he have three NBA championship rings and an Olympic Gold Medal? Then I allowed Josh to finish his thought, "but if he played here for the Grizzlies, I'd love him."

Aha, now we're getting somewhere. It's not that fans around the league don't respect the Spurs and their accomplishments in recent seasons, it's just that they want that same success for their team. So try to remember that the next time you get into a "friendly" discussion with your out of town friends who don't have the good fortune to be pulling for the same team as you.

[boutons_]

Jealosy is an ugly, painful emotion.