Spurs Fans - Who are you standing behind?

I had one additional point to the long comment thread “Pull it together, people” by JRW, but didn't want to piggy back it onto a previous comment of mine. So I started typing a new comment, only it was way too long for a section in a thread, so I'm using it as my first Fanpost. I know there has been some recent discussion about fact vs. opinion, so just take this post as some personal thoughts from a guy who loves the Spurs and the organization.

I've been a Spurs fan for a long time and this has been one of the most frustrating seasons I can remember. I live in Ohio, so in the past, I could only catch the Spurs when they were on National TV and when the major online outlets would write articles about them. But for the past year or so I've been reading PTR and 48MOH and it has allowed me to follow the Spurs in a more in depth fashion. I now have daily articles to read and I can finally interact with Spurs fans who are just as passionate about the team as I am. I have so much more knowledge and information at my finger tips that I look forward to checking these sites each day. I loved all of the off-season conversation and Summer League coverage that I just could not wait for the season to begin. I, like most Spurs fans, went into this season with hopes of another Championship and another parade down the Riverwalk.

But as much as this new information and excitement have been a blessing, they have also been a bit of a curse. With heightened excitement and anticipation, came heightened expectations. Each play has become more crucial. Each game more of a life or death situation. Each loss weighing more heavily on me and affecting my mood. All because the moves we made this offseason were supposed to make this "our year." And, as we all know, this hasn't been the case.

We have all been frustrated with the inconsistent play. We have all been frustrated with the injuries. We have all been frustrated with the seemingly minimal relevance of "impact" additions. We have all been frustrated with Pop's rotations and lineups and recently the lack of a trade deadline deal. The frustration level has continued to build all season because we've seen this team's potential. We know what they can be. We know what they have been. And more importantly, what we expect a Spurs team <em>should</em> be.

In years past, I've told my wife to not let me really start caring about the Spurs until February or March. Not because I've been less of a fan, but because that's usually when the Spurs turn things up and play like the Spurs. Why let an early season loss to Sacramento kill my mood when at the end of the year, that game probably won't mean much. Will the Spurs turn it up this year like in years past? I honestly don't know. People can provide an opinion on whether we can or whether we can't and that's cool. But I know where I stand.

I'm a Spurs fan. And I always will be. I've been spoiled with one of the best 10 year runs in professional sports history. Read that again and take a second to think about it. What other sports team would you have rather been rooting for this past decade? We have had one of the best coaches, an organization/front office that has been the envy of the league, and two, first ballot, Hall of Famers. Not many other franchises can say that. I'm not under the impression that the Spurs can't be criticized or are without fault. But before you rip them, just think for a second about your expectations. And realize that maybe we are partly to blame. Have our expectations become so high that we can't allow the team a "down" year without having to fire the coach or trade the guys who got us here?

At any rate, I'm standing behind these Spurs. Win or lose. Because honestly, who else would you rather be standing behind?