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As most of ya'll know, Alamo50 was here in L.A. last weekend and we saw Games 3 and 4 of the Spurs/Lakers series at Staples Center. I've been wanting to post about it for a week and finally I have time... plus, it's much more fun to reminisce now that we've sent the Lakers packing. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START ;) --><img src=http://www.myezboard.com/projects/ezboard/ezboard_userimages/spursdominion/images/turquoisesmilewinkgrin.gif ALT=";)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> I have too many big pictures to post, so I'll just link to them in this thread. Don't be surprised if Angelfire decides I've exceeded my bandwidth...<br>
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Jurgen arrived on Thursday and immediately took off for the beach with my dad while I was stuck at work. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :p --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/tongue.gif ALT=":p"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> I got to meet him that evening and discovered that in person he's very friendly and a bit lower key than his tendency to TYPE EXCITEDLY IN ALL CAPS WITH LOTS OF EMOTICONS would suggest. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :lol --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/image/emoticons_classic/laugh.gif ALT=":lol"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> He said he'd been on the same flight as a bunch of media from San Antonio and he talked the whole time with Ken Rodriguez of the San Antonio Express-News. Anyone else get the idea that this guy makes friends wherever he happens to be?<br>
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I hadn't had a chance to see the Spurs spank the Lakers in Game 2 yet, so we watched the tape of it together before going to bed early-- I had to get in to work early the next day so that I could leave in time.<br>
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When I got home on Friday I was greeted by my mother squealing, "You're going to be in the paper!" Ken R. had called and wanted to know where Jurgen would be sitting at the game, to take pictures for the story he wanted to do on him. My mom felt like she had a minor celebrity staying at the house, and instructed me to be sure to stick my head into every shot. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :lol --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/image/emoticons_classic/laugh.gif ALT=":lol"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> I could tell that going to the games with Jurgen was going to be a <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>whole</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> lot more fun than going alone.<br>
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I was getting very excited about Game 3-- I'd been to Staples before, but I had never seen a Spurs/Lakers game. And we were up 2-0 in the series, so that was a pretty good feeling. I didn't eat much dinner and Jurgen was too hyped up to eat a bite, so we were soon ready. Both of us were <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.angelfire.com/rings/spurs/game3/5050.html">repping David Robinson</a><!--EZCODE LINK END-->, although <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>my</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> jersey wasn't autographed on the back.<br>
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The drive to downtown L.A. was nasty as usual, but walking into Staples was lots of fun. There was plenty of Lakers gear around, and we were a bit surprised not to see <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>any</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> other Spurs jerseys. Naturally we picked up a lot of flak. The Laker fans saw our jerseys and screamed, "Not tonight!" and other less complimentary things. We had to walk past a big line of them to get to Will Call, and they all started booing. It was great fun. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :D --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/happy.gif ALT=":D"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br>
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Jurgen picked up our tickets-- two seats together, bought for face value at the last minute. We were happy to discover that they were decent lower-level seats, too. Very nice-- I had been planning on buying something at inflated Ebay prices.<br>
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We found our seats and had more than an hour to chill before tipoff. Jurgen called Ken R. to tell him where we were sitting, and I called my mom and talked her through setting up the VCR to tape the game. That was an excruciating process.<br>
Me: "Okay mom, first you turn the VCR on..."<br>
Mom: "Wait! Which one is the VCR?"<br>
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We watched <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.angelfire.com/rings/spurs/game3/warmups.html"> the warmups</a><!--EZCODE LINK END-->-- I've got to get me one of those ropey things that Steves Smith and Kerr are using. They look very handy to stretch with. Jurgen pointed out a few familiar faces, including Tony Parker's girlfriend (who was wearing white and black, but no number 9 than I could see) and <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.angelfire.com/rings/spurs/game3/someguy.html">some guy in turquoise</a><!--EZCODE LINK END-->. I have the picture but can't remember the name. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :lol --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/image/emoticons_classic/laugh.gif ALT=":lol"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> Help me out here, Jurgen. We also picked out a few other Spurs jerseys in the crowd. And good ol' Jack Nicolson was there too, of course. At some point a cameraman from the Express News came by, but I failed to get my head into every shot of Jurgen. Oh well. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :p --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/tongue.gif ALT=":p"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br>
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The group of Laker fans sitting in front of us was nice. One of them told us not to worry because he wasn't the sort to pick a fight over a basketball game, and anyway "We're all Americans, right?" He was so friendly that I decided not to complicate matters by pointing out that one of us was Dutch. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :lol --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/image/emoticons_classic/laugh.gif ALT=":lol"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> The guy right in front of me was a longtime Lakers fan who had had season tickets during the Showtime era, and he and Jurgen talked quite a bit about the upcoming game.<br>
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Finally came <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.angelfire.com/rings/spurs/game3/tipoff.html">the tipoff</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> and it was all downhill from there. The Lakers decided to pay us back for Game 2. That vomit emoticon is too gross for me to use, but ya'll get the idea. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :p --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/tongue.gif ALT=":p"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> Here are a few <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.angelfire.com/rings/spurs/game3/timeouts.html">pictures from the game</a><!--EZCODE LINK END-->-- actually, those are all pictures of the Spurs during timeouts. I didn't want to have a camera to my face during actual play.<br>
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At halftime we had our nice Lakerfan friends take a picture of us, which they gladly did, except that one of them tried to stick his Laker sign into the frame. That's why we're <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.angelfire.com/rings/spurs/game3/laughing.html">laughing</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> and I'm trying to push it away... The fans next to me started chatting with us as well. They were impressed by Jurgen's spur tattoo-- it's cool how they seemed to become more respectful when they noticed it.<br>
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By the end of the third quarter it was pretty clear that the game wasn't going to go our way. In the fourth quarter it was a rout, and we were rather surprised to see the fans leaving in droves before the game ended. Sure, L.A. fans arrive late and often leave early, especially when it's obvious their team is going to lose. But this was a blowout victory for the <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>Lakers</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> and they didn't even bother to stay and cheer! "Oh, our team is definitely going to win? Okay, this is boring-- let's go home." <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :lol --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/image/emoticons_classic/laugh.gif ALT=":lol"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> Jurgen assured me this doesn't happen at the SBC center. All the people around us left early. The woman next to me was sympathetic about the Spurs' loss-- before leaving, she patted my knee and said, "There's always Sunday!"<br>
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We sat through to the bitter end, then made our way back to the car, hearing the usual trash talk along the way. At one point, in the middle of a crowd of Laker fans, I heard a voice say, "Don't worry, we've got your back!" It was a couple behind us, both wearing Tim Duncan MVP shirts. We started talking and they asked Jurgen where he was from. He barely had time to say, "Holland" before they knew who he was. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :lol --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/image/emoticons_classic/laugh.gif ALT=":lol"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> (They knew the people he's staying with in San Antonio.)<br>
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Naturally I got lost on the way home, but eventually we got back safely, ate a very late dinner and went to sleep. The next morning was Saturday and Jurgen called in to the Thompson brothers' radio show in San Antonio before we headed off to Disneyland for the day. It was perfect weather and we had a good time, even waiting in the lines. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> That afternoon we found ourselves in some remote corner of Disneyland where they had a basketball video game set up. It happend to be the Spurs playing the Lakers (albeit slightly older versions of the teams), so Jurgen gave it a try-- but the thing was obviously rigged. Enough about that. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :p --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/tongue.gif ALT=":p"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br>
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We didn't stay at Disneyland as late as we could have because we wanted to get a decent amount of sleep before Sunday's game-- hey, you gotta have your priorities straight. The next day we left early for Staples once again. We both wore <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.angelfire.com/rings/spurs/game4/different.html">different</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> jerseys since the others hadn't brought much luck. Our seats were roughly in the same place and we settled in, looking forward to a Spurs victory. It seemed highly unlikely that they would lose two in a row, especially since all season they've shown a pattern of rebounding very well from bad losses.<br>
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This time I took a few shots of <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.angelfire.com/rings/spurs/game4/game.html">the game</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> itself. And one of <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.angelfire.com/rings/spurs/game4/timfreethrow.html">Tim</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> practicing at halftime. He has the cutest free throw stance. I have no idea why he stands pigeon-toed, but it's fun to watch...<br>
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Game 4 was much better than Game 3, especially when the Spurs built up a 16-point lead. It was less fun when they lost it. Though I suppose the <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.angelfire.com/rings/spurs/game4/fans.html">fans</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> around us enjoyed it... The Staples crowd gets very quiet when the Lakers aren't scoring; Jurgen informs me that the SBC Center crowd is much more rockin' even when the Spurs are behind... But unfortunately, the Lakers gave their fans something to cheer about before the game was over. During one timeout as they were making their run to erase the Spurs' lead, the overhead screens showed a clip of Jack Nicholson screaming, "You can't handle the truth!" Then the cameras focused on him standing courtside. Jack realized he was on camera and started clapping his hands, then made a gesture that meant, "Rip their hearts out!!" The crowd went wild and the Lakers did exactly that. I was slightly worried by the time we left Staples-- the Spurs couldn't actually <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>lose</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> this series, could they?<br>
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As it turned out, no-- those two games that Jurgen and I went to together were the only losses. Bad planning on our part. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :p --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/tongue.gif ALT=":p"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> But we're both glad we went anyway. It was great to represent the Spurs at Staples Center and have the memories of this series. I'm very glad I saw David Robinson a few more times before his retirement. And it was <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>lot</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> of fun watching the games with an obsessed Spurs fan-- who knows when I'll have that chance again? One day I'll go to the SBC Center where the crowd actually roots for the good guys. It feels opressive after a while to be in an arena where everyone cheers the wrong team!<br>
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We relaxed at home for the rest of Sunday. Ken Rodriguez's story about Jurgen was supposed to be in that morning's paper, but it was apparently pre-empted by a column about Phil Jackson's heart. Neither one of us was sorry about that, seeing as the Spurs had lost both the games that Jurgen came to L.A. to see. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :p --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/tongue.gif ALT=":p"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> Didn't want fans in San Antonio thinking he was bad luck or something...<br>
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I drove Jurgen back to LAX on Monday morning, and heard later that on the flight he followed his usual tradition of befriending the media. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :lol --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/image/emoticons_classic/laugh.gif ALT=":lol"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> This time it was a reporter from France. His visit was way too short. You hear that, Jurgen? If you ever take it into your head to come to L.A. again, you know you have a place to stay! I really had fun with you. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> Next time we'll go to Game 6 instead. MAN, was it ever satisfying to see the Spurs finally get their win at Staples Center! Jack sounded so disappointed in the interview he gave afterwards. Whose heart is ripped out <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>now</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->? I gotta hand it to him, though-- he's a true fan. If he rooted for the Spurs I'd love him.<br>
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Seeing the Lakers as they realized that were going to lose Game 6 was the fulfillment of all my hopes. It was unbelievable. I've never seen the Lakers <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>lose</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> when it mattered. I was shocked to see them cry, but that's what brought it home to me. And our Spurs remained calm-- no classless posturing or premature celebrating. It was everything I could have hoped to see.<br>
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And furthermore, there were brownies waiting for the me the next day at work. This is now the third time that my hapless Lakerfan co-worker been forced to bake for the entire lab-- one of these days he'll learn not to bet against the Spurs!<br>
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Ah, the sweet, chocolately taste of victory.<br>
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GO SPURS GO!!! <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :rock --><img src=http://www.myezboard.com/projects/ezboard/ezboard_userimages/spursdominion/images/rock.gif ALT=":rock"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END-->
<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>
