(Some background on myself, and a little props to Pop. Props to you if you read all of it, but
if you don't want to read the personal garbage, skip to the highlighted segment
)
Maybe it's the holiday season, or maybe it just happens to be where I am in my life, but I can't help but be thankful for this team and organization.
I've been a Spurs fan for as long as I can remember, but since the start of the '02 season I've been addicted.(quite literally)
To say that I've had some "issues" in the past, would be putting it mildly. I was pretty much the stereotypical musician, and my life was completely out of control. Drugs, alchohol, women, cars, (unfortunately, sometimes at the same time) you name it, that's what my life revolved around. Maybe more accurately, devolved to.
I hit rock-bottom around '01 and wasn't sure I'd ever recover. So, to be able to look back now, it makes me all the more thankful.
A big part in my recovery happened to be the Spurs.
Like most people with addictions, I needed something to take the drugs place. The drugs may have been gone and out of my system, but the addictive personality still remained. So que the Spurs, and almost eight years later, they remain my only addiction.
Looking back, I was pretty fortunate to emerse myself into this team at the right time. I've literally missed no more than five games (all regular season) since the start of '02 and have been able to see one of the greatest runs by a professional team ever. Three championships since '02, and the best record in all of professional sports over that time? Not too shabby.(He says in his best Sandler voice)
What's really been a priviledge though, is getting to see this particular team and coach go to work over the years. For hardcore fans like myself, you couldn't ask for a better coach/team/organization to learn from. I'd imagine Auerbach's Celtics, Holzman's Knicks, and a couple others teams fans, have had the fortune of really learning the game through their teams during those periods, but it's definitely a luxury not afforded to most. I mean for people like myself, think about how much better an understanding you have for the game and the business since Pop began stalking the sidelines. It's really something that shoudn't be taken for granted.
Which brings me to what (or more appropriately, who) originally inspired me to write this.
Gregg Popovich.
I'm not sure most fans really give the man enough credit. Sure, he was blessed with an unselfish hall of famer at the back end of his career, and a future hall of famer in the form of a heralded rookie, but I'm not sure there has ever been a man that has progressed more as a coach in his time with a team, and at the same time, had a bigger fingerprint/impact on a organization.
I mean think about it, this is Pop's first and only professional coaching job. A job that that he was roundly criticized for "ripping" from Bob Hill,(still hilarious in hindsight) and a job Coach Phil would later basically deem him unqualified for, with his "simulator" blast.(in reference to Pop and his staff's lack of experience coaching or playing in the league)
Fast-forward to present day, where Coach Pop is not only one of the most respected coaches in the league, but considered to be the best, in a poll of his peers. Not only the best coach overall, but considered by some to be the best tactician, x's and o's-wise, out of timeouts and end-game situations there is. (which is a testament to how far Pop has come as a coach, that his one perceieved weakness, is now considered a strength.)
Like Tim, (and maybe some because of him) Pop has gotten better every year he's been here, and added a layer/wrinkle to his repertoire every season. Whether it's x's and o's, managing players, or the way he conducts his self on the sidelines, (go back and watch the tapes from the '99 run, he wasn't always as stoic and non-chalant in big moments. I'm sure Tim had nothing to do with that though
) Pop has come a long way.
He came with a philosophy, built a foundation, created a "program", stuck to his guns, and never compromised his integrity, on the way to bringing the city (and Spurs fans everywhere) more sucess than they ever could have dreamed of.
I'd say, for it being his first professional head coaching gig...
He might just have the hang of it.
Here's to Pop.
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