sneakerbeast

This morning, after hanging up my Adidas Star Wars Stormtrooper Superskates on my bedroom wall, while slipping into and admiring my laser-etched Jordan V’s and glancing over at my Olympic-colorway Jordan VI’s, Space Jam “Hare” Jordan I’s, exclusive-colorway Kobe IV’s…I realized that I’m NOT a “sneakerhead” — even after scanning through all the ridiculous prices for each shoe on ebay. (I, of course, bought them for much cheaper…mostly at the store.)

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Why Manu Is the Man

All right, after my 2200-word post about the Spurs, I feel a need to write more about them. This one will be about my favorite player in the NBA, Manu Ginobili.

Tim Duncan may be the player I respect most on the team (and the league), and it feels like Tony Parker is my really talented kid brother or something (even though he’s older than me), but Manu…he’s the guy I look up to the most. I want him to succeed so badly because he wants to succeed more than anything else. Everything he does on the court is driven by a pure desire to win…for his team to win. I’d even say his drive is on par with the one and only Michael Jordan.

He has the drive, but he hasn’t been blessed with the genes. He doesn’t have the 6’8″ 274(!) lb frame of Lebron. He doesn’t have the 50-foot vertical of Vince Carter.

You know what? My friends over at PtR (they’re not really my friends) wrote an awesome post about this guy a few months ago, after the Spurs were eliminated by the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. It was inspiring. It brought tears to my eyes. And I’ll quote from it right now:

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At Season’s End, Spurs Deserve Praise

(Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE/Getty Images)  It’s okay Tim, you’re still the best player of the past decade…and counting

This week, my San Antonio Spurs lost in the Western Conference Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers. Yes, I was thoroughly disappointed and am just now recovered enough to write a post about it…partly as therapy. I need to sort out this rollercoaster-ride of a season for myself no matter how many paragraphs it takes.

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San Antonio Spurs a Dynasty?

I said my first post on here would be about the San Antonio Spurs, so here it is, even if it bores you (or annoys/angers you).

There has been much talk in the media about whether or not the Spurs are a dynasty.

On one side you have the people who say they should be considered a dynasty based on their 4 championships in 9 years, which is more than all but 3 franchises: the Celtics, Lakers, and MJ “the GOAT”-led Bulls. They also point out the Spurs successful run over the past decade (most successful in the past 10 years out of any team in the 4 major sports).
On the other side, you have those who say the Spurs are not a dynasty because they have failed to do what all the dynasties have done: win consecutive championships. The Spurs have made a habit of winning ‘chips in only odd-numbered years and have failed to defend their title every single time.

As with all things, context is of importance here. I think that in this case, context is VERY important. And after the context is taken into proper account, a decision can be made.

Even if they haven’t won consecutive championships, who says that is a prerequisite for being considered a “dynasty”? As a fan of a beloved sports franchise in ANY city, in ANY sport, if I had a choice between winning 3 straight and blowing up into oblivion, a la the Lakers of the 2000’s (whose dynasty-status is also debatable. I was referring to the Magic-led Lakers of the 80’s earlier), or winning, for the most part, every other year for 9 years while being legitimate championship contenders every year in between, save but one season….as a fan, I would choose the latter without hesitation! I love the fact that I am able to carry the hope year in and year out of the Spurs winning it all — and having that hope be concretely realistic and not delusional.

And yes…the ideal team wouldn’t force you to choose between the two (a brilliant burst of 3 short years or a sustained excellence of 10 years) and instead give their fans all they could dream of, like the Celtics and Showtime Lakers or the MJ Bulls of the 90’s. Although, it should be pointed out, those 80’s Lakers kind of did the alternating pattern like the Spurs…except…they made it to the finals those other “off” years

But, as mentioned by a few sportswriters and fans, in this era of free agency and salary caps? In this era where it’s so difficult to find players who would put the TEAM and winning before contracts and personal glory? In this era where it’s difficult to pay players enough and keep them while staying under the salary cap, even if the players have relatively good attitudes? To be able to be legitimate contenders for the championship, if not the champions, for an entire decade in this era of the NBA is truly incredible. There is no doubt in my mind that this Spurs team we have in front of us is a dynasty.

We Spurs fans really have it great. It is such a great decade to be a Spurs fan–and it looks like it will continue to be a great time for at least a handful more years, championship or no championship. What this Spurs team has done, what it will continue to do for at least a few more years, put in the context of the current era of the NBA, is deserving of a spot by the DYNASTIES of the 80’s Lakers or 90’s Bulls. (That Celtics run from ’57-’86, no matter what you say about the number of teams, era, whatever, seems pretty untouchable.)

But seriously, I don’t think people will realize or appreciate this fact until a decade or two down the road…and that’s a shame. I for one will choose to recognize and appreciate this fact RIGHT NOW!

I love these Spurs. Not to mention these guys are classy, intelligent, well-spoken, and talented. People who say otherwise need to spend some time in San Antonio (my former home) where these guys get much more exposure and are able to be seen for who they really are: DYNASTIC CHAMPIONS (ha!) as people, role models, as an organization, and as a superb basketball team.

Song of the Day:

Queen – “We Are the Champions”

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