You Lucky Bastards

A lot of folks have been sharing stories of how they met this San Antonio player or that Spurs coach, whether it be in Summer League, random restaurants, or playoff games in Phoenix.  Not to be outdone, I here recollect my own Spurs experience.

When I was in high school, there was an event in a nearby mall, where NBA superstar (okay, exaggerating there) Grant Hill autographed and handed out posters to fans, as well as to onlookers who neither knew him nor cared to find out.  A couple of friends tipped me of the "biggest NBA event in the country," so I scurried to the shopping plaza.  Characteristically late, I arrived 10 minutes after he had left.  I blamed the traffic, but it was really because it takes me approximately 3.5 minutes to shift from the sitting-comfortably-watching-TV position to the standing position.  So when I reached the mall, all I saw were flyers that promoted the event.  Luckily, I saw a friend of mine who had obtained a life-sized poster, and he allowed me to touch it.  You wouldn't believe my excitement, knowing that I was standing right next to a friend of mine who actually stood right next to an NBA player.  From then on, I was afforded the luxury of staring at the All-Star forward's poster every time we were at my friend's house.

Sure, Grant Hill never played for SA, but he is old and often injures his ankles, so he could've been a Spur. Plus, he has a celebrity wife, so he and Tony can hang out and talk about movies and music.  But wait, the San Antonio connection doesn't end there: take a peek into his last name, and presto!--Hill, just like our reserve ball handler.  What are the odds of an NBA player who could have been a Spur and has a connection with SA's two best point guards coming to our country and signing a poster that my friend owned?  I know, right?  Even if the incident in question happened a good number of years before both guards played a single professional basketball game, that's a mind-boggling probability. 

But that's not my only Spurs encounter.  About a week ago--and this is still fresh in my memory, so I might get teary-eyed as I recount this--Kobe and Eric Spoelstra (probably some bench player I never heard of) were in the country.  I saw them on TV, take note, in full color!  They looked a lot more realistic when interviewed by the local media.  I mean, when I see them on NBA TV, they're in the US, so they look so far away!  So that was definitely life-changing.  They play (or coach) against the Spurs, so that counts as my Spurs experience too.

I know this is a long post as it is, but there are more Spurs experiences to share.  Oh, the memories!  When we vacationed in California a few years back, we drove from Santa Rosa to LA.  From the car window, I actually saw the facade of Arco Arena and Staples Center.  That's the home of three NBA teams that face off against the Spurs every season.  Three!  It could have been four, but I just didn't know where the Warriors' complex was.  Plus, while walking around Staples, I swear I saw a footprint that could have been Tim Duncan's.  Maybe Manu's.  Or Parker's.  I don't really know.  I was too far to say for sure.

I feel so lucky to have had these experiences.  I just wanted to share how those astonishing moments really reinforced my love for the Spurs, and instilled in me a feeling of awe and wonder of the greatness of the San Antonio Spurs franchise. Go, Spurs, Go!

[By the way, just so you know, in Los Angeles, my dad (yes, I travelled with my parents, goddammit!  We visited my sister, so shut it)...my dad invited me to go see a Lakers game.  (I say "see," not "watch."  They were almost horrible at the time).  It was the Lakers' last regular season game, so I figured it would be a four-quartered garbage time.  Besides, I already saw Kobe almost-in-person (see above).  I passed on the game and we instead watched old family videos while munching on Krispy Kremes.  That Lakers game, I believe, went into double overtime.  Just my luck.]