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***Wrote a different intro. Replaced three paragraphs with one, and then a bit of clarafication at the end. Hope this one is better.***<br>
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Despite my aggressive, cocky, and often times unfunny attitude on here, I am generally a laid back person. It’s not that I don’t care about things (sanitation of my room, for example. By the way, does anyone know where I can rent a front-end loader?), it’s just that I’ve realized situations don’t magically get better because you’re in a bad mood about them. Cursing a bad driver won’t make him move over to the right lane- nothing does- just as calling the people at fast food restaurants idiots because they messed up your order. Three times. And then refuse to comp you on your third attempt. Even after you explained to the manager that your sister threatened legal litigation if they did not give her a beef taco plate without the beans… does not make them any more intelligent.<br>
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My point is, there’s no reason to get worked up over something that you can’t change. All it’s going to do is put you in a bad mood. It won’t change. It won’t get better. It’s unnecessary negativity, and it’s something that can so easily be avoided. Which brings me to the Spurs. <br>
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As Duncan went down with a sprained ankle, the entire city of San Antonio seized up in post-cataclysmic shock. “The Spurs are going to be awful. The season is a wash. We’ll never break 30 wins at this pace. Kiss our championship goodbye. It’s first-round exit city, baby!” Oh heaven forbid we don’t do well in the PLAYOFFS. Is there no way we can accept anything less than a 60-win season and first place in West? Can we not allow ourselves to be anything less than the best? San Antonio, it’s time for a lesson on prospective.<br>
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The Spurs have been a playoff team since David Robinson and a championship team since Tim Duncan. Yeah, that’s right. 8 seasons of being able to contend for the title. It took a mere two years for the newly Duncan-infused franchise to win their first NBA championship. Anyone want to leave a message with Danny Ainge? His Celtics haven’t won a title since Larry Bird. This isn’t to say it’s Danny’s fault. His shining moment was resigning Antoine Walker and he’s only been with the team since 2003. Their franchise player is also Paul Pierce, the same player who has consistently guided them to first-round exits, and not Tim Duncan, as the statisticians would have told you was the most probable outcome. Feel bad about missing out on an NBA finals? How about the playoffs? How about the one player who could guarantee to get you there? Want to ask Boston how if they’d like to have Duncan on their injured list?<br>
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The Spurs were considered the easy favorites to win the title until their MVP touched the court with his ankle. Now they’re the underdogs. Now they’re the after-thoughts, the nagging mosquitoes in the playoffs, and the has-beens. I can deal with this. I am used to not seeing the Spurs get the credit they deserve, and being jettisoned overboard on the Pardon The Interruption lineup. What I can’t deal with, and what is in fact quite sobering, is that the same Spurs fans who loved the newfound publicity are now the ones who are jumping off the bandwagon along with the national media. Everyone make sure to jump at once. I heard we might be able to change Earth’s orbit. <br>
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Really, is it a bad thing to lose a few games? Is it a bad thing to face some challenge, some unforeseen struggle? What good is a king who simply inherited the throne? Phil Jackson made the infamous comment about the Spurs’ first championship deserving an asterisk because it wasn’t a full season. While the length of the season may not have been a valid point of argument, the asterisk wasn’t completely unwarranted. They were able to cruise to a title, losing only two games along the way. They didn’t face any major struggles, any perilous situations. The exact opposite happened during the playoffs of ’03. They cut it close in game 6 against the Mavericks, only to win by a 3-point barrage from who we thought was the Spurs’ towel boy. Again in the Finals, they squeezed out another game 6 victory and championship as a result of an epic comeback involving more heart and raw determination than moving a paraplegic Shaq up stairs. You couldn’t argue the championship in 2003 because the Spurs faced their demons and beat them from behind the 3-point arc. They were challenged, and they prevailed. No victory is as sweet as one you really earned.<br>
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Right now the Spurs are in trouble. The core of their offense and defense has been removed, and the soul of their team is on crutches. I’m not blind. I know what they’re up against. But I’m also not blind to the fact that the Spurs, the fans, can overcome this if they have the right attitude. The remainder of the season will challenge both the Spurs’ abilities and the fans’ patience. There are some obstacles to overcome, but it’s those obstacles which make a title so sweet. It’s knowing that you have tried, you’ve been knocked around, and you came out on top. Without a struggle you cannot truly appreciate victory. They’ll prevail. This isn’t a team to roll over and die, no matter how much the media and fans may claim otherwise. I’ll be laughing as I watch the video of the season, as I look back on the end of March and see how terrifying the movie was. But don’t worry, the good guys always win.<br>
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The Spurs just entered private school, and their- Duncan’s- feet have been knocked out from under then. They know where they are and what to do, but they can’t seem to make ends meet. Ok, so maybe they lost a few games. There’s still time to get themselves back on track, and learn from their mistakes. If they assume that they will make it, if they put more emphasis on the end result and less on the outcome of a single assignment, they’re going to have a much more solid record than if they wallowed in pity after each minor mistake. Sometimes you need to do what’s wrong in order to figure out what’s right. Sometimes it takes messing up in order to make it work. If the Spurs have the right attitude, and maintain their composure, the end results may surprise even the most loyal of fans.<br>
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Or maybe I’m just your class president, saying the right things. <br>
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<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>You can only be young once, but you can always be immature</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> -Dave Barry</p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p204.ezboard.com/bsanantoniospurs62937.showUserPublicProfile?gid=samr@sanantoniospurs62937>Samr</A> at: 3/25/05 4:27 pm<br></i>
