For those of you that understand lfe is a journey...

[Embedded]

Tim Duncan never knew what it was like to lose a Finals series. Now that he does, the context of the 4 that he won is different. This may sound corny, blah blah, but Mr. Duncan's life experience is richer having tasted both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat at the highest possible levels in the NBA. It probably doesn't get any closer. We have nothing to be ashamed of. Of course he would have preferred to have won it. I was down for days. But gosh, save for a freakish corner three, we would have been the champions. No blowout. We were THAT close. And Game 7, we were in it to win it, despite the emotional load we were carrying. I fully expected us to collapse in that game, but we were in it to the very end.

[Yuixafun]

There was an interview where Duncan said "Such is Life"

Maybe from 2011.

I understand what you are trying to say,

But my opinion is that...

It would be richer had he tasted defeat first.. and then found victory.

The other way around makes this defeat

Even that much more painful. =/

Especially with him being older and in the twilight.

And with what is happening in his personal life.

[RobinsontoDuncan]

This is the same argument that people use to justify most suffering in the world.

Hey--if no one was hungry and everything was pretty ok for everyone, there would be no beauty in success, triumph, etc.

You know what I say--F that. I hate LeBron James. Tim Duncan deserves a fifth championship. That sucked.

[TXstbobcat]

This is the same argument that people use to justify most suffering in the world.

Hey--if no one was hungry and everything was pretty ok for everyone, there would be no beauty in success, triumph, etc.

You know what I say--F that. I hate LeBron James. Tim Duncan deserves a fifth championship. That sucked.

I wanted the spurs to win that series for so many reasons.

Getting a chance to take down Lebron and the heat.

getting Tim one more ring before the window closes for this spurs team.

staying undefeated with a perfect 5 - 0 record.

To me it is still heart breaking as a spurs fan and it still sucks.

[Rogue]

Mr. Duncan't hasn't known how it tastes to miss the playoffs though, which Dirk and Kobe both have experience. Duncan and the spurs will also miss the playoffs some year within the next 3-4 years when they spot a real badass playing in college and decide to tank for him. By the time he retires he will have experienced everything even including being a cuckold, that's gonna be a rich life experience imho

[dylankerouac]

That's nice for Duncan and all but this team coming back hungrier and continuing to live up to their potential as a team, that's all that matters now.

[Solid D]

No argument. Life is indeed a journey. Everything has its purpose, whether we realize it or not.

[hooperflash]

Life is a Highway, I wanna ride it all night long.

[Budkin]

It doesn't matter if you believe happens for a reason or not. It doesn't take away from the fact that Game 6 was the most devastating loss in Spurs history and belongs in the pantheon of greatest choke jobs ever. Sure that same situation has played out in NBA games before, but never with the le on the line, with the trophy being rolled out to the floor. We should have been holding the LOB, not the ing Heat. God it still makes me sick to think about it. So painful.

[TheGoldStandard]

It doesn't matter if you believe happens for a reason or not. It doesn't take away from the fact that Game 6 was the most devastating loss in Spurs history and belongs in the pantheon of greatest choke jobs ever. Sure that same situation has played out in NBA games before, but never with the le on the line, with the trophy being rolled out to the floor. We should have been holding the LOB, not the ing Heat. God it still makes me sick to think about it. So painful.

Don't worry we got Pendergraph, we're better

[silverblk mystix]

Don't worry we still got Pop, we're better

fify

[LarryDavid]

Tim Duncan deserves a fifth championship. That sucked.

Deserves got nothing to do with it.

[Man In Black]

http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/j/j...es_to_win.html

When you learn to lose
You'll know what it takes to win
Wanna go the distance
With a hunger that never ends
When you want to prove
You're the best that's ever been
They can knock you down
You're on your feet again
'Cause you know what it takes
What it takes to win

[pgardn]

If you did not enjoy the season, you don't really like the game.

Great season. I get to watch basketball as it was meant to be played. Just spend a little time streaming other teams, there is some pitiful stuff out there. We get to watch the best ball movement in the league.

[Yuixafun]

Since every year the Spurs didn't win the Championship is Losing...

I hardly see how this cir stance can be uplifting or rewarding to Duncan from any angle.

No moral victory from this for Mr. Duncan can be attached. Only lifelong regret sadly.

Overcoming this valley will make Timmy grow undoubtedly

And yes it will make the next triumph more savory I suppose, tempered with the bitterness of this experience.

But this is wound will go deep and might never truly heal, just because of all the details surrounding this year.


NVM my last sentence... it's Tim Duncan! He'll recover Obi Wan Kenobi Style. Just in time to help Kawhi Skywalker defeat Emperor Riley and his team of Darths

[Embedded]

I disagree with Game 6 being a choke job. We weren't up by 20, we didn't collapse. That was an unlikely comeback, we've had our share too.

[davidbowie]

life is meaningless

[Knoxxx]

I disagree with Game 6 being a choke job. We weren't up by 20, we didn't collapse. That was an unlikely comeback, we've had our share too.

Good point, recall that we were down 5 late when Parker hit that ridicolous 3. A subsequent choke job the next several plays by LeBron enabled our 5-point lead. LeBron then was very "lucky" to avoid going down as the major goat and choker for the series.

Back to the main topic, if you have been a sports fan long enough you have most likely had your heartbroken. For example, not sure anything for me could beat the 31-30 loss to Miami by my Nebraska Cornhuskers in the 1984 Orange Bowl. All they had to do was kick the extra point to tie, and then they were 12-0-1 and still national champs. Instead they did the "honorable" thing and went for two, failed and lost the game. I spent the next 11 years wondering if I would ever live to see them win a championship, and I wondered the same thing about the Spurs. 10 years later, NU as 17.5 point underdogs completely outplayed Florida St but lost by 2 points on a missed 45 yard FG as time expired, and I drove 20 hours to Miami to watch that in person. Even worse, the game featured a phantom clip on an NU punt return TD and blown goal line fumble call for an FSU TD. Then NU won 3 national les and the Spurs 4 NBA championships. For a Spurs fan, nothing can undo the latter, but I understand how some newer/younger fans can't seem to move on.

With regard to that first NU national le, I drove back to Miami the next year and witnessed that in person. We beat a tough Warren Sapp-led Hurricanes team in their own stadium. Now it is the Spurs turn to rebound and defy the odds. We took the best team in the league all the way down to the wire and gave the entire NBA basketball fanbase a thrilling series. We played down to the last minute of the last possible game of the series. We were America's team and inspired millions.

Appreciate what we accomplished, it was special. The final score is not the only thing that matters in life or sports, it's (as they say) how you play the game and our Spurs are the envy of the entire sports world in that regard.

[Yuixafun]

Good point, recall that we were down 5 late when Parker hit that ridicolous 3. A subsequent choke job the next several plays by LeBron enabled our 5-point lead. LeBron then was very "lucky" to avoid going down as the major goat and choker for the series.

Back to the main topic, if you have been a sports fan long enough you have most likely had your heartbroken. For example, not sure anything for me could beat the 31-30 loss to Miami by my Nebraska Cornhuskers in the 1984 Orange Bowl. All they had to do was kick the extra point to tie, and then they were 12-0-1 and still national champs. Instead they did the "honorable" thing and went for two, failed and lost the game. I spent the next 11 years wondering if I would ever live to see them win a championship, and I wondered the same thing about the Spurs. 10 years later, NU as 17.5 point underdogs completely outplayed Florida St but lost by 2 points on a missed 45 yard FG as time expired, and I drove 20 hours to Miami to watch that in person. Even worse, the game featured a phantom clip on an NU punt return TD and blown goal line fumble call for an FSU TD. Then NU won 3 national les and the Spurs 4 NBA championships. For a Spurs fan, nothing can undo the latter, but I understand how some newer/younger fans can't seem to move on.

With regard to that first NU national le, I drove back to Miami the next year and witnessed that in person. We beat a tough Warren Sapp-led Hurricanes team in their own stadium. Now it is the Spurs turn to rebound and defy the odds. We took the best team in the league all the way down to the wire and gave the entire NBA basketball fanbase a thrilling series. We played down to the last minute of the last possible game of the series. We were America's team and inspired millions.

Appreciate what we accomplished, it was special. The final score is not the only thing that matters in life or sports, it's (as they say) how you play the game and our Spurs are the envy of the entire sports world in that regard.

This guy needs his name bolded.

[Sean Cagney]

Good point, recall that we were down 5 late when Parker hit that ridicolous 3. A subsequent choke job the next several plays by LeBron enabled our 5-point lead. LeBron then was very "lucky" to avoid going down as the major goat and choker for the series.

Back to the main topic, if you have been a sports fan long enough you have most likely had your heartbroken. For example, not sure anything for me could beat the 31-30 loss to Miami by my Nebraska Cornhuskers in the 1984 Orange Bowl. All they had to do was kick the extra point to tie, and then they were 12-0-1 and still national champs. Instead they did the "honorable" thing and went for two, failed and lost the game. I spent the next 11 years wondering if I would ever live to see them win a championship, and I wondered the same thing about the Spurs. 10 years later, NU as 17.5 point underdogs completely outplayed Florida St but lost by 2 points on a missed 45 yard FG as time expired, and I drove 20 hours to Miami to watch that in person. Even worse, the game featured a phantom clip on an NU punt return TD and blown goal line fumble call for an FSU TD. Then NU won 3 national les and the Spurs 4 NBA championships. For a Spurs fan, nothing can undo the latter, but I understand how some newer/younger fans can't seem to move on.

With regard to that first NU national le, I drove back to Miami the next year and witnessed that in person. We beat a tough Warren Sapp-led Hurricanes team in their own stadium. Now it is the Spurs turn to rebound and defy the odds. We took the best team in the league all the way down to the wire and gave the entire NBA basketball fanbase a thrilling series. We played down to the last minute of the last possible game of the series. We were America's team and inspired millions.

Appreciate what we accomplished, it was special. The final score is not the only thing that matters in life or sports, it's (as they say) how you play the game and our Spurs are the envy of the entire sports world in that regard.

Thats all true! Me being a UF fan when your Huskers crushed us that year should know about defeats! NOW THAT one there i had no pride out of and just curled up into a ball lol. The next year we beat our bitter rival FSU though in similar fashion, crushed them! It was worth the wait (Three NC later). Sports are sports, if you play in big games enough you will have one like we just had and it crushes you! Dallas fans can relate to their loss to the Heat in 06, they had it won basically and then the floor fell out from beneath them! Heat in 011 were up huge in game two and basically could have put a strangle on the series, blew the big lead and lost that game two and the rest was history. It happens.

Great post.

[TampaDude]

Spurs Fans: Now Duncan has 5 just like Kobe.

Lakers Fans: So what? He never went back to back.

[Knoxxx]

Thats all true! Me being a UF fan when your Huskers crushed us that year should know about defeats! NOW THAT one there i had no pride out of and just curled up into a ball lol. The next year we beat our bitter rival FSU though in similar fashion, crushed them! It was worth the wait (Three NC later). Sports are sports, if you play in big games enough you will have one like we just had and it crushes you! Dallas fans can relate to their loss to the Heat in 06, they had it won basically and then the floor fell out from beneath them! Heat in 011 were up huge in game two and basically could have put a strangle on the series, blew the big lead and lost that game two and the rest was history. It happens.

Great post.

Appreciate that. For the record, Nebraska has always been my college football team because I lived there back in the early 80s. I stuck with them ever since, and I can remember punching the shower wall after that 84 loss to UM, it was devastating. The next time around it's still hard but you realize much more quickly that life goes on. For most of the time prior to that and again afterwards I lived in San Antonio, and my earliest memories of the Spurs were going to the arena to watch Gervin and co. probably around 1976. I've moved away since 1997, but true fans stick with their teams forever and it's just those two for me, Spurs/Huskers. NFL = fantasy football so whoever is on my team that year is what keeps me interested.

Sometimes you have to be beaten by the best to know what it takes to get over the hump. The Spurs had been gone from the Finals for so long it was almost like a new experience all over again. Assuming the Spurs hold up healthwise and despite their age, they should head into 2013-4 confident and optimistic just like us fans. I always believed in the Spurs and still do.

The beauty of sports is there is always next season, counting the days down here...

[Sean Cagney]

Appreciate that. For the record, Nebraska has always been my college football team because I lived there back in the early 80s. I stuck with them ever since, and I can remember punching the shower wall after that 84 loss to UM, it was devastating. The next time around it's still hard but you realize much more quickly that life goes on. For most of the time prior to that and again afterwards I lived in San Antonio, and my earliest memories of the Spurs were going to the arena to watch Gervin and co. probably around 1976. I've moved away since 1997, but true fans stick with their teams forever and it's just those two for me, Spurs/Huskers. NFL = fantasy football so whoever is on my team that year is what keeps me interested.

Sometimes you have to be beaten by the best to know what it takes to get over the hump. The Spurs had been gone from the Finals for so long it was almost like a new experience all over again. Assuming the Spurs hold up healthwise and despite their age, they should head into 2013-4 confident and optimistic just like us fans. I always believed in the Spurs and still do.

The beauty of sports is there is always next season, counting the days down here...

I agree on all of that. Irving Fryar from Nebraska is one of my fave players of all times BTW! I know he dropped a big pass in that game right? Mike Rozier was solid as well and bolted to the USFL after college. That team was stacked!

The beauty of Spurs like you said is there is another day, well until the big three retire then there will be a different day to look forward to. If you told me in 99 we would have 4 rings I would have said sold! I would have been happy. You get greedy at times though, you want more and more because you are spoiled as a fan. Spurs have been in alot of big games and something bad like .4 and this is bound to happen, 15 years of playoffs will have it's highs and lows.

[poeticism707]

Basketball is journey allright.

And on that journey, Manu and Pop made some unspoken agreement to rob TD of his fifth le, and give it to Lebron instead.

TD being held back by scrubs, as per usual.

[tesseractive]

Tim Duncan never knew what it was like to lose a Finals series. Now that he does, the context of the 4 that he won is different.

This is a stupid argument. Yes, if I got hit by a bus (and survived) it would allow me to savor all the days when I'm not hit by buses. But that doesn't change the fact that it would ing suck to get hit by a bus.