Twenty One - A Tim Duncan Tribute
https://soundcloud.com/adrian-ac-567388668/twenty-one-a-tim-duncan-tribute
First Quarter
Nineteen Ninety Seven, I remember it well
A young kid from Cali doing time in summer school
Riding the line between studious and cool
As the class buzzed about the Lakers
Sitting in the back with the LA Times paper
As he opened up the sports page
He heard the bounce of a ball
Echo from the hall
From an island it called
Well, it must have been fate
How a growth spurt came late
And a hurricane, blew, and blew
The roof off, all that he knew
As the sunrays unveiled the debris
Little remained on the scene, not even fear
This was back in Eighty-Nine, and
Where one dream died, another one grew
Reeled from the reef to the park to escape the sharks
Maybe just to play past dark,
A young kid, picked up a ball and heard a call from afar
A tale of a legend who gave his all -
For the love of the game this kid practiced late
And a quest for his best, never let him rest
And so, good led to better and a scholarship letter
To learn, as a Demon Deacon
The rest is history as I’m speaking it
Could have skipped like most but he chose to stay
As he flipped the script on the NCAA
Refined the rudiments to the tune of a degree
A promise he kept in the Caribbean Sea
Well-rounded fundamentally sound
We know it well now in the year twenty-one
I knew it then, as I heard David Stern
Dreams can come true (right out of the blue)
And so
Tim Duncan
Made his name
In the mind of a young kid
From Cali
Just trying to find his way
2nd Quarter
What went down in this town is well-known
As the sound of the fans filled the Alamodome
Timmy D brought the Id without the Ego
Never withered in the heat, never lost hope -
Team first, from the instant he arrived
Insisted only to grow and a chance to thrive
The wins came steady as a by-product
Rooted deep in the work, double-doubles by the half
Banked off the glass, automatic -
Smothered the paint quite modestly
Trajectory at the right angle like geometry
Defied gravity by remaining on the ground
Fools jumped up to get beat down
And Pop calling "Four down" in the fourth had me believe
Like we had something up our sleeve, and
Maybe I was just naïve -
Because it really was all up in the air
Nervous times, biting the nails
Weathering the runs, one, then another
Good times, to share with a brother
And never could imagine,
Driving down the highway to San Antone in 2003
On the way to the Alamo to give thanks the Admiral
Crossed the desert on a Honda with no AC
Come to think we were crazy but we were just free
At the Riverwalk, we reveled in the magic
To understand this, we got to rewind the clock a bit
Halftime
In the land of the bright light’s
Flashy moves, alley-oops, on the highlights
What da ya know? Shaq’s on the move to Hollywood
And it’s all good, the odds never seemed stacked
Cuz every year we had a crack at it
Down the wire all was fair
In that moment
You must decide with a blank stare
You side with the group or the inner guide
The key is to believe, en let it fly
Nineteen, Ninety-Nine, Tim Duncan, Finals MVP!
Man that championship elation brought timely affirmation
To this young kid, as he witnessed the first of five
Like a breath of fresh air, a gift from the sky
A sign on the road, you’re in the right place
At the right time, in the right state of mind!
Listen now, it’s more than a game
You win some, you lose some, what did you gain?
Learn from the losses, in the quest for the battles
In the end, family is all that mattered
We remember Mamba, undeniable in his will
From the fire he lit as a rival the sparks fly still
Forever on the perpetual path in our heart
To be better -
As we pounded the rock
Till there was nothing on the clock
But point four –
No minute restrictions,
No final score, can make sense in this
Relentless pursuit to your limits
Regions, I can’t reach with my lyrics
Just a blink, the time it takes for a heart to sink
And one lucky shot deserved another
You brought out the best in each other
4th Quarter
Nineteen journeys sewn in the soul
One thread all around the globe
As a teammate, none more consistent
Helped this kid, in times, when he was socially distant
And even when, the shots clanked point-blank
On Diop or Battier, what I remember
U never flopped or passed the blame
Distilled the pain into a purpose
We’d be back again, and you’d assure it
Back from defeat to reach a new peak
As you guaranteed to the team in 14’
"We’ll do it this time" (that’s true)
I witnessed this sipping chamomile tea
From a mountain in Peru
Now the ride continues where we stand
Making this map from the beginning
A new day to leave it all on the floor
Only now I know it’s not about the winning
It’s about the LOVE in what you do
Thank you Timmy D (for real)
From the post to the bank, to the mid-range jumper
Hall of Fame, still can’t contain, what I feel
Reppin Spurs on my Bumper!