Still here

[romsho]

First off, the Duncan Era really has masked the amount of fair-weather, bandwagon fans that help to make up the San Antonio fan base. It's been rearing its ugly head for a few years now but it's getting comical at this point -- can't help but laugh seeing all of the roaches come out donning the opposing teams colors at the AT&T now that the Spurs have gone a few years without a le and are on the downside of their dominance.

That little observation aside, I tried to convince myself this team was legit, that maybe they'd find a way to win a le when they really had no business doing so (see: Heat), but that's just part of being a fan -- never much fun when there's no room for hope. But, alas, it is what it is ... they are who they are.

The Spurs played over their head, ac ulated wins and a high seed by taking advantage of their good fortune -- a home-laden early-season schedule and an unheard of amount of health. But it was/is nothing more than a housing bubble.

Had Splitter been given minutes and become more important than Bonner or Blair in the coaches' eyes, maybe that changes; had James Anderson been given the same time and not suffered injury, maybe he's the Courtney Lee of '09 and he and Splitter could have been the upgrades the Spurs needed to bring home No. 5.

But this team isn't much better than they were last year. Healthier? Yes. More offensively talented? Yes, that too. But they're only good enough to come up short and disappoint as things stand. The expectation going into the season has been thrown out the window in light of all that has transpired. Namely, winning.

Really, the Duncan Era ended in '07, officially. 2008 was a tip of the hat to the team that won Coach Pop his fourth, not a reinforcement of belief or talent the following year. They stood pat, and they gave it one of a run -- and maybe they even get it done had they been given the good fortune of health and a functional plane.

But '09 officially began the Pop Era. 2009 is when Tim Duncan legitimately became a center and the franchise's workhorse was finally given too much work ... too much of a defensive burden. The offense picked up, the defense started to slide -- and slide and slide.

It's not Bonner's fault. He is who he is -- a nice player asked to be something he's not and do more than he's capable. He was never gonna be what Duncan needed in a frontcourt mate. This team is a champion so long as Duncan can be Duncan or he and his frontcourt help can combined to produce Duncan's dominance of yesteryear.

Blame the front office for not opening the wallet soon enough. Blame the coach for getting bored and trying to reinvent the wheel. Blame injury, blame planes, blame officiating, blame Jobu ... or not.

Six losses in a row sucks. u

But for those of us who have rooted for the Spurs for over 20 years, it comes with perspective.

You can't take 4 rings off the scoreboard and you can't truly know how good that is to know without going through rough patches like this -- genuine fandom will outlive every player and coach donning the Black and Silver today.

Hopefully I'll be able to root for them as the team from San Antonio and not Kansas City or Seattle. But I know that's a very distinct possibility -- the AT&T is already having a hard time selling out and Holt's not profiting all that much, if any.

My hometown team has a lot of fair-weather, bandwagon fans. Here's hoping they're nowhere near the majority.

Well said. Thanks for that.

[ManuBalboa]

Just because some of us are capable of being objective and knew the truth for months now as we have seen the same story play out for multiple seasons now, does not mean we will not be watching every single game and rooting for them to win.

I would follow Ginobili to the gates of !!!111

[Bill_Brasky]

This has most definitely been the suckiest part of the season. They have simply been on the wrong end of close games because of some of the most idiotic plays I've ever seen a Spurs team make -- turning the ball over when you are up 3 with 30 seconds left is the most unforgivable thing, ESPECIALLY when it leads to a loss. If they don't get their together for the playoffs, we are first round fodder and there is nothing anybody can do about it.

[Trill Clinton]

Spur fan since 82' checking in

[TXstbobcat]

Win or lose, I'm still I'm still going to follow the spurs. I've got my playoff tickets for games 1 and 2 of the 1st round and I'm traveling over 1,000 to miles to come home to Texas to see the spurs in the playoffs.

[rr2418]

Spursfan since the ABA days checking in. Like so many posters have wrote, at least I've seen the Spurs win 4 Finals. It's really sad to see Tim Duncans last few years he has left go to waste by the front office. Whether they did try to get help, we'll never know. I think what's difficult to swallow is the huge lead the Spurs gained on the whole league, then to see it crashing down.

[Dex]

Awesome post.

[romsho]

5-4 Kobe must be interminable for Spurs Fan.

It is what it is. Kobe is one of the greatest of all time, and has benefitted from the fact that the Laker front office has put the players around him to take advantage of that window of time..most recent being the Pau Gasol addition. The number of championships Kobe wins doesn't change what the Spurs have been able to accomplish in Duncan's career. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending how you look at it, for the Spurs organization and the fans, that has been 4 les.

What you are failing to understand, or just can't grasp, is most of us are only concerned with the plight of the Spurs, the team we actually root for in here. You, on the other hand, seem to care alot more about the Lakers compe ion than the Lakers themselves. Again, the question remains, why? You must either really be bored, or you're like 12 years old. Probably the latter.

[Giuseppe]

It is what it is. Kobe is one of the greatest of all time, and has benefitted from the fact that the Laker front office has put the players around him to take advantage of that window of time..most recent being the Pau Gasol addition. The number of championships Kobe wins doesn't change what the Spurs have been able to accomplish in Duncan's career. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending how you look at it, for the Spurs organization and the fans, that has been 4 les.

What you are failing to understand, or just can't grasp, is most of us are only concerned with the plight of the Spurs, the team we actually root for in here. You, on the other hand, seem to care alot more about the Lakers compe ion than the Lakers themselves. Again, the question remains, why? You must either really be bored, or you're like 12 years old. Probably the latter.

It's true. I hate more than I love.

But, don't ever intimate that I like 12 years olds.

[Dex]

I think what's difficult to swallow is the huge lead the Spurs gained on the whole league, then to see it crashing down.

Exactly. The current struggles are exaggerated because the casual Spurfan was flying high before this crash. The higher you are, the further you will fall.

I said it in the Game Blog last night and I'll say it again; the Spurs have almost completely erased all of the good they have done over this entire season in the past 10 games. If they somehow end up in the middle of the pack, then this will have been just another average season by their standards.

Not to say that all is lost, because had we been asked during offseason, any one of us would've taken a 2-game lead on the Lakers for first seed at this point. The Spurs have still done an amazing job this season, and should be in good position regardless.

It's still just a stark difference from being ahead of the pack by 6 games, and it's coming at a time of year that the Spurs are normally getting their acts together. I think that is the main fuel for the meltdown...plus the fact that this forum has never experienced a 6-game losing streak.