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Zealous indeed. That's past dedication. Way past.
Spanning The Globe
Fans around the world show a zealous devotion to Spurs
Ken Rodriguez
Across the Atlantic, 5,100 miles from San Antonio, 33-year-old Jurgen Aspers tools around the city of Weert, Holland with a Spurs decal on the rear windshield of a red sports car. He bares a Spurs tattoo on his left arm, wears a Spurs wristband and owns enough Spurs memorabilia to open a museum.
During the postseason, Aspers sets his alarm for 3:30 a.m. to watch Spurs playoff games. If they're not televised, he listens to them on Internet radio. Then he writes recaps and posts videos on a Dutch fansite of the Spurs. "I am the Webmaster," he says in an e-mail.
Aspers is more than a Webmaster. He is, perhaps, the Spurs greatest ambassador in Europe, a one-man, volunteer marketing operation who delivers Spurs news and solicits online contributions for the The Carver Academy, the private school founded by David Robinson.
Aspers' passion runs so deep he once quit his bank job, flew to San Antonio and followed the Spurs through the 2003 playoffs so he could watch Robinson retire. He's planning another trip for next spring. "Got to be there as it's that uneven number (year) again," he writes. "And the last three times I was there for the playoffs, we won it all!"
I met Aspers seven years ago when I wrote a sports column for the San Antonio Express-News. We sat together during a flight to Los Angeles for a Spurs-Lakers game. At the time, Spurs fans had been e-mailing me from around the world -- Australia, Italy, Greece, Spain, Argentina, France, Germany. Aspers was the only one I knew who'd made a cross-continental trek to watch the Silver and Black. But there may have been others.
Keep reading...
Zealous indeed. That's past dedication. Way past.
There are at least a couple here that have made the trek. RuffnReadyOzStyle and *I think* alamo50 and maybe GrandeDavid?
* Apologies if I'm remembering the wrong people and missing someone. It's a lot of dedication and effort to travel like that to support your team.
Great story
By the way, we should invite him to join Spurstalk
At first I actually thought this article was about alamo50.There are at least a couple here that have made the trek. RuffnReadyOzStyle and *I think* alamo50 and maybe GrandeDavid?
* Apologies if I'm remembering the wrong people and missing someone. It's a lot of dedication and effort to travel like that to support your team.
At first I actually thought this article was about alamo50.
It is about Alamo50!! Jurgen, that's him. He made the newspapers in SA before. Nice article!Go Alamo50! Probably the biggest Spurs fan in Europe
Last edited by Bukefal; 06-16-2010 at 02:34 PM.
I traveled from Uruguay to see them 3 times too
Sweet. Thanks for the confirmation. It's pretty cool to be on Spurs.com.It is about Alamo50!! Jurgen, that's him. He made the newspapers in SA before. Nice article!
great read
yeah, Alamo50!!
I had the great pleasure of meeting the biggest Spurs fan i know of. Live and IN PERSON in 2007
Sticky this thread.
Here they are:
Alamo50 is a HOSS!Yes, he's developed quite a reputation in Europe. Just ask fans of a certain NBA All-Star in neighboring Germany. After San Antonio eliminated Dallas in Round 1, Aspers climbed into his car and drove East into the homeland of Dirk Nowitzki, wearing thick layers of Silver and Black.
"The Spurs logo on the rear windshield of my car," he writes, "did the rest."
Here they are:
Where is he anyway? Havent seen him for a while on ST.
I was just reading about the Pinioy passion for basketball and the NBA, so this was cool to see. Check it out.One devoted fan, Perla Manapol, follows the Spurs from remote villages in the Philippines. Her emotional connection to the team is so strong it showed up during a physical this past spring when the Spurs -- pronounced "Espars" in Filipino -- and Mavericks were locked in a tight playoff game.
She writes, "My physician warned me not to keep track of the game (as if he could, hah!) because each time Dirk (Nowitzki) got free for a layup, my blood pressure went through the hemisphere, or, as the attending nurse said, 'Wow, the needle almost broke the glass (in the sphygmomanometer)! Ultimately, my doctor decided to postpone the rest of the exam; cost me a lot more, but hey, what're we Espars fanatics for?"
Manapol's fanaticism gives new meaning to the term "over the top." During one Spurs' playoff run, she handed her cell phone to a farmer in the Palawan jungle and paid him to climb a coconut tree and look for a signal. In an e-mail Manapol sent me three years ago, she described a promise to the farmer: In the event you fall, I'll pay your family death or disability benefits.
The farmer called down scores to Manapol for more than an hour. And when he announced that her Espars had prevailed? She wrote the following, which appeared in a 2007 Express-News column: "You can imagine the yelps and yahoos that reverberated throughout the jungle on that day most possibly contributing to ecological disturbance."
Oh LOL! I didn't recognize him from the pic because of the beard and long hair. Or maybe I was looking at the wrong person.It is about Alamo50!! Jurgen, that's him. He made the newspapers in SA before. Nice article!
.. go SPURS go ..
Alamo50 is the biggest DRob fan. I was reading his posts on the internet way before SpursTalk existed.
It is me, Jurgen Aspers aka alamo50.
Thanks for the nice comments guys and girl(s?).
Ken and me have been communicating back and forth in between me working in my new house to feed him with info for the article.
He asked me because he was writing an article on the greatest Spurs fans and my name came up first.
Only one error, I didn't set up the PinkDingo account.
Mr. Robinson set it up and I spread the link and info.
And I drove to Germany right the day after we kicked .allas out of the 1st round (lol)!
It was only the 3rd time ever I visted Germany, but it certainly was the best visit (LOL)!!!
Enjoy the summer and be prepared for the drive for five next season!
You the man, alamo.
And I couldn't help but notice that No. 1 hanging on your wall. Always nice to see Hairston getting some love (and just go with it -- we all know that's not Anderson's jersey)!
You're THC as far as I'm concerned.
Hoe is dat mogelijk? Zo dichtbij wonen, en alleen maar drie keer bezoeken.
Well, it is DA's jersey and it has a hughe autograph of him on the back, BUT on front it has all autographs of the complete '00 - '01 Spurs team.
Omdat ik geen fan ben van de Duitsers Mel (lol)!
HEY, ik wist helemaal niet dat jij Nederlands kan spreken!
Hoe dat zo?
LOL, so I was looking at the right pic. Beard and no glasses make you look completely different.
Dat dacht ik. Ik ben ook geen fan van de Duitsers. Ik heb in Rotterdam tussen 88-93 gewoond. Ik was een liaison bij de Nederlandse leger in Gouda. Deze dagen, heb ik bijna geen gelegenheid mijn Nederlands te gebruiken. Hopelijk, ben ik nog steeds verstaanbaar.
Well, it is DA's jersey and it has a hughe autograph of him on the back, BUT on front it has all autographs of the complete '00 - '01 Spurs team.
Omdat ik geen fan ben van de Duitsers Mel (lol)!
HEY, ik wist helemaal niet dat jij Nederlands kan spreken!
Hoe dat zo?Huh, mel? Jij ook Hollander?
Anyway, again, great job Alamo!! Ive read these stories before somewhere on here but I still enjoy
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