Farewell from a fan from afar

FlyingArrow · Post #1 » by **FlyingArrow** » Wed Jun 20, 2018 5:24 pm

I grew up in an NBA desert, two hours from any NBA city and not rooting for any team. About twenty years ago, I realized there was a lot for me to like about the San Antonio Spurs. One degree of separation from Tim Duncan (I knew a guy who knew Tim Duncan from St Croix). And I was already a fan of David Robinson and Avery Johnson. So it was late February 1999, the Spurs had a losing record, and I just decided to be a Spurs fan even though I was over a thousand miles away. It's been a fun ride. Most of the players I became a fan of are gone (Robinson, AveryJohnson, Duncan, Ginobili, Daniels, Kerr, Kawhi, even Bowen - Parker's still around but I wasn't a fan of his anyway). Kawhi isn't gone yet, but the way he's gone about this makes me not a fan of him anymore anyway.

Last year I made a switch. With Duncan having retired, with me being near Philly for a decade and the Sixers finally being an exciting team, I decided to root for the hometown team. But I was still rooting for the Spurs as a second team. Now with Kawhi's switch there's not much left to root for. I'll probably still root for the Spurs against the rest of the Western Conference, but with no ties to the area other than being a fan of the Riverwalk, it's pretty hard to care anymore.

Not sure why I felt like posting this. After following the team for so long off on my own just wanted to close the book, I guess.

CIN-C-STAR · Post #2 » by **CIN-C-STAR** » Wed Jun 20, 2018 8:05 pm

FlyingArrow wrote:I grew up in an NBA desert, two hours from any NBA city and not rooting for any team. About twenty years ago, I realized there was a lot for me to like about the San Antonio Spurs. One degree of separation from Tim Duncan (I knew a guy who knew Tim Duncan from St Croix). And I was already a fan of David Robinson and Avery Johnson. So it was late February 1999, the Spurs had a losing record, and I just decided to be a Spurs fan even though I was over a thousand miles away. It's been a fun ride. Most of the players I became a fan of are gone (Robinson, AveryJohnson, Duncan, Ginobili, Daniels, Kerr, Kawhi, even Bowen - Parker's still around but I wasn't a fan of his anyway). Kawhi isn't gone yet, but the way he's gone about this makes me not a fan of him anymore anyway.

Last year I made a switch. With Duncan having retired, with me being near Philly for a decade and the Sixers finally being an exciting team, I decided to root for the hometown team. But I was still rooting for the Spurs as a second team. Now with Kawhi's switch there's not much left to root for. I'll probably still root for the Spurs against the rest of the Western Conference, but with no ties to the area other than being a fan of the Riverwalk, it's pretty hard to care anymore.

Not sure why I felt like posting this. After following the team for so long off on my own just wanted to close the book, I guess.

Personally I still see plenty to root for. Pop, Manu, Patty, Kyle Anderson, Danny Green, even Aldridge who showed a lot of heart last season -- all quality people who are worth supporting imo.
But I respect your decision, and for sure the shine on the San Antonio spur is losing some of its luster. It's hard to see us competing without Kawhi.

Ballings7 · Post #3 » by **Ballings7** » Sat Jun 23, 2018 1:51 am

Honestly, this'll all be funny if Kawhi willingly stays

FlyingArrow · Post #4 » by **FlyingArrow** » Sat Jun 30, 2018 6:10 pm

Ballings7 wrote:Honestly, this'll all be funny if Kawhi willingly stays

Even funnier if he winds up with the Sixers and I wind up rooting for him like I rooted for Tony Parker... not really liking the guy but wanting him to do well on the court.