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<!--EZCODE FONT START--><span style="font-size:x-small;">Who is this Jurgen Aspers guy? Sounds like a pretty cool Spurs fan-- wouldn't it be great if he dropped by SpursCentral some day? </span><!--EZCODE FONT END--><!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :lol --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/image/emoticons_classic/laugh.gif ALT=":lol"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br>
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<!--EZCODE FONT START--><span style="font-size:medium;"><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=211&xlc=998258">Ken Rodriguez: Love for the Admiral, Spurs a Dutch treat</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--></strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--></span><!--EZCODE FONT END--><br>
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<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>Web Posted : 05/18/2003 12:00 AM </em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br>
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If you want to measure the far-reaching impact of David Robinson's life, look across the Atlantic Ocean, 5,100 miles to the east, all the way to the city of Weert, Holland.<br>
There, in the dead of night, a 15-year-old boy caught the light of Robinson's glow. There, at 2 a.m., Jurgen Aspers watched the Admiral play on television. There, in the flickering light of his bedroom, Jurgen began to dream.<br>
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One day, I'd like to see David play in person. One day, I'd like to meet him face to face. <br>
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It is 10 a.m. and Jurgen Aspers is in San Antonio, all grown up now, boarding a plane for Los Angeles. Now 26, Jurgen is flying west to watch the Spurs and the Lakers in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals.<br>
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He is wearing a silver and black cap, a black shirt, black pants, black shoes, and on his left shoulder, a tattoo of the Spurs' logo.<br>
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"You should see my room in Holland," he says. "It's like a little museum. You can't see the walls anymore. I've got posters, framed jerseys. It's all David."<br>
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Jurgen's fascination with Robinson goes beyond points and rebounds, beyond Hall of Fame numbers. It goes to the heart. It goes to Robinson's love for San Antonio, to the school he built on the East Side, to the example he has set for youth around the world.<br>
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"He donated all that money to the Carver Academy," Jurgen says of Robinson's $9 million contribution. "I don't respect anyone more than I respect David."<br>
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The respect runs so deep, Jurgen's parents think he is crazy. Crazy to quit a good job at a bank in Holland. Crazy to fly halfway across the world. Crazy to spend all his money to watch the final postseason of Robinson's career.<br>
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"They could only give me one month of vacation," Jurgen says of his former employer. "But I knew I needed two months to see it all. So, I quit."<br>
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Jurgen, who is single, arrived here in April to watch Robinson and the Spurs play Phoenix in the first round. He will fly home in late June after the last game of the NBA Finals.<br>
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Maybe Robinson closes his career then with a second championship, and maybe he doesn't. Whatever happens, Jurgen will leave San Antonio with the dreams of his youth fulfilled, with treasured moments that he never could have imagined on the other side of the world.<br>
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Jurgen's journey to meet his hero began in Oakland 16 months ago. There, at a San Antonio-Golden State game, Gary and Rita Pasierb spotted him wearing a Spurs hat and a No. 50 jersey, an odd, passionate voice cheering for San Antonio in another city.<br>
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The Pasierbs, Spurs fans vacationing on the West Coast, saw him later at an arena sports bar. "Hey, where are you from?" they asked.<br>
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"Weert, Holland," he replied, and Rita, a Spurs employee, and Gary couldn't believe their ears.<br>
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Jurgen showed them a special issue of Sports Illustrated, the one that paid tribute to the Spurs' championship in 1999. "I brought it hoping I could get David to sign it," he said.<br>
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Having failed, Jurgen told the Pasierbs he would have to return to Holland without the autograph. "Leave the magazine with us," they said. "We'll get the autograph and mail it to your home."<br>
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When the magazine arrived in the mail days later, Jurgen discovered not only Robinson's autograph, but Tim Duncan's, as well.<br>
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Jurgen sent his profound thanks to the Pasierbs by e-mail. The Pasierbs replied with an invitation: If you ever want to visit San Antonio, you can stay with us. Jurgen has made three trips.<br>
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"I was born in the wrong place," he says. "I've thought about putting my résumé together and sending it to Spurs Sports and Entertainment so I could do something with Spurs basketball. I live for them. I bleed silver and black."<br>
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When he was a center on his youth basketball team, Jurgen saw Robinson on television, playing for the U.S. Olympic Dream Team. Jurgen tried to emulate Robinson's moves. Later, after he stopped growing at 6-foot-1 and realized he had no future in the game, Jurgen tried to emulate other things.<br>
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"Jurgen will quote Bible passages," says Gary Pasierb, 55, a retired military officer, "though maybe not quite as well as David."<br>
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On his first trip to San Antonio, Jurgen visited Carver Academy. He wanted to see what Robinson's money had built. After visiting with students and teachers, Jurgen was invited to speak to the students.<br>
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"I brought posters from Holland so they could see how life is outside San Antonio," he says. "I also brought picture books and Dutch candy."<br>
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On his second trip, Jurgen told Rita that he wanted to meet Robinson. Rita spoke with Robinson's assistant and asked for a meeting.<br>
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In late November, after a Spurs loss to Seattle at home, Rita told Jurgen, "Your dream is going to come true."<br>
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Minutes later, Jurgen met Robinson outside the Spurs locker room. They shook hands.<br>
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Jurgen said he was Robinson's No. 1 fan in Europe. Robinson smiled and asked Jurgen about his trip. Gary snapped pictures.<br>
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"Then I walked out of the tunnel and into the lights," Jurgen says, "and I cried. I did. I am an emotional guy. It was the greatest moment of my life."<br>
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Back home, no one would understand the tears. Just like no one understood why Jurgen has collected 1,100 David Robinson trading cards. Or why Jurgen has invited friends to watch the Spurs play at 2 a.m. Or why he quit his job to follow the end of another man's playing career.<br>
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But that's OK. When Robinson announced his retirement last summer, Jurgen decided he would see the Admiral's final game. So, Jurgen will be at the SBC Center on Monday night, cheering, hoping the Admiral will keep him in San Antonio until another trophy is lifted. <br>
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<p><!--EZCODE HR START--><hr /><!--EZCODE HR END--><!--EZCODE FONT START--><span style="color:brown;font-family:Arial;font-size:xx-small;">"We got our behinds kicked and we got spit on. But that's OK, we ain't dead. We'll be back."<br>
<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>--Malik Rose</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--></span><!--EZCODE FONT END--></p><i></i>
