Did San Antonio Do The Fans A Disservice Last Night? (Dime)

[BlackSwordsMan]

Yes they did

[BlackSwordsMan]

sucks for the fans who paid money to see the spurs and they see vaughn and hairston play

[smeagol]

"Worst argument yet" makes it sound like I've made lots of really bad arguments.

I probably have.

Indeed you have.

You suck at arguing!

[Rapper]

Do you think the Spurs did the fans a disservice by sitting Duncan, Parker and Ginobili last night?

Yes I do

[spurster]

don't get this whole notion that Pop and the Spurs owe some obligation to the fans to send the stars out there every night.

So, again, if Pop has this obligation to the fans that you claim, how many minutes must Pop play his stars every night? If he plays them 30 seconds each -- and only 30 seconds -- then sits them for the rest of the night, has he satisfied his purported obligation to the fans?

Again, if you buy a ticket on the expectation that you will see a particular player, you assume the risk that you'll be disappointed for a wide array of reasons. It's insane, IMO, to think that Pop should ever put the desire of the fans ahead of the well-being of his basketball team.

The NBA, Pop, and the Spurs have the obligation to show their best product, which fans ultimately pay millions for. An entertainment industry cannot afford to do less. One might argue that, in the long run, Pop made the best choice or a reasonable choice, but to argue that he has no obligation to the fans is ludicrous. I am surprised to see so many people fail to understand this.

Fortunately for rest of this week, Pop does not have to agonize about "send[ing] the stars out there every night", your second ridiculous point.

Now for your "30 second" and "expectation" arguments, you are making a false assumption that the obligation is on a game-by-game basis rather than season-long or over multiple seasons. In long grind of the baseball season, uninjured star players often sit out games, and the fans attending that game might gripe, but they understand. It is a little surprising that NBA players don't take a night off here and there, especially when it's 4 games in 5 nights, or one of those Texas triangle trips.

Now for this particular case, having nights off doesn't seem to be a major problem with several days between Denver and Boston, and the scheduling before Denver hardly cruel and unusual at all by NBA standards (every other day from Jan. 23 to Feb. 2 and Denver on Feb. 3). As for injuries, Manu was pretty banged up but TD and TP were what? Too tired? So tired they can only play 30 seconds? Sorry, I am not buying that one. I think the lack of reasonable excuses is what has many fans upset. Of course, we can differ on what is reasonable.

[meestahmeestah]

U guys are right, Pop has no obligation to any one but the team and the Spurs brass.

However, I still feel for my Argie friend, who took a job in Colorado Springs, and took his family in their Argentinian color Manu jerseys to watch the game. He and his wife understand why. It's the six and nine year old that don't.

Yeah, that's what I thought too. I think most of the people in this thread feel that Spurs fans in Denver (like me) have a reason to be pissed. I really feel bad for the Argies who bring their flags in and usually go ape nuts the entire game. They were very subdued Tuesday night for good reason. I've also seen Manu and Fab come out before warmups and sign autographs for dozens of fans, and you can tell how much they appreciate it. It's one thing to maybe run into TD at Dave & Busters or something, but when your Argentinian national team heroes only roll through town once or twice a year and you don't get to see them when the Spurs are in town? It's like to21 said. I understand why. I'm sure the 6 year old doesn't.

You may not think there's many Spurs fans in Denver...but every game I've seen since I moved to Colorado, there's been a fairly large crowd supporting the Silver and Black, and they're always loud and rowdy and proud. I've heard a "Go Spurs Go" chant start in the freaking lobby of the Pepsi Center for pete's sake. And the boos Manu generates (Nuggets fans hate him) during the player introductions...it's just so classic. A friend of mine has seats behind the basket and I always make sure I've got enough money to buy his when the Spurs are in town. While there's easily a couple thousand Spurs fans scattered throughout, it's something to experience when you're on the floor level and hearing thousands and thousands boo your favorite team. It's a little bit of a rush. Denver LOVES to hate on the Spurs...it's so fun to hear all the Buttnugget lovers whine and moan as the Spurs beat them down. It just sucks that I got to see a scrimmage instead of another smackdown.

[ambchang]

From a coaching standpoint, Pop did nothing that he shouldn't have done. His ultimate job is to give the Spurs the best chance to win the NBA le, and that is to play to their maximum potential over the course of the season. He believed sitting his stars out during the Nuggets game would allow him to achieve that.

The fans on the other hand, paid money to see the stars, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, just that the two parties have conflicting motivations.

If anything, Pop should be praised for his professionalism in not yielding to pressure to showcase his stars that he believe would be detrimental to his team in the long run. A coach does not have the obligation to entertain the fans. If that is the case, every single coach should have a run-and-gun offense to satisfy the majority of fans who enjoy that style and not concentrate on half-court execution, defense and rebounding.