Riverwalk Champs

Ehsan Azad

River walk Champs

          Being a die-hard mavs fan, seeing black and silver just sends chills down my spine. Nothing makes my blood boil then seeing the San Antonio Spurs have any sort of success, especially against my Dallas Mavericks. Yet, I can do nothing but have upmost respect for the most successful organization in basketball in the last decade.

As the Spurs currently have a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals, I think back and ponder how in the world did they get here?  This was an old team last year that got upset in the first round and was thought to have less talent going into this year. The so called analysts and radio hosts thought the Thunder and the Heat were going to be the class of the NBA.  For most of the season the Thunder ran through the condensed season and held on to the top spot.  Then as the season winded down, the Spurs came out of nowhere and stole the top spot in the west for the second straight year. Unnoticed for the majority of the year, the Spurs quietly had one of their best seasons in franchise history.  So how do they consistently win, reload, and win some more?   Here are just a few reasons to respect our Black and silver cousins to the south.

                One of the reasons that age doesn’t ever seem to cause concern for the franchise is that they have an excellent record of drafting quality players. The duo of Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford has built some great teams and they rarely miss during the draft.  Coach Pop built the foundation when he drafted young Tim Duncan to play with Hall of Fame center David Robinson.  He wasn’t done yet, he then added young talent like Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili to an already talented roster. Those additions helped them dominate the NBA early in the decade. But, as age began to set in with the Big Three and Robinson’s retirement in 2003, some began to question if the Spurs can keep going.  They responded to their credits by drafting young talent to mix in with their superstars, some unknown at the time. It seems like every year they find the diamond in the rough in every draft. Guys like Matt Bonner, Gary Neal, Kawhi Leonard, Tiago Splitter, and George Hill. Unknown talent at the time, but the Spurs scouting has uncovered draft steals every year and it helps them stay competitive every year, no matter the age of the team.

                Another reason is that they simply have some of the best players in the NBA who have bought into the concept of teamwork. The big three of Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili are individually some of the best players in the game today. They each could go into a franchise on their own and lead them on deep playoff runs. But, they have a unique quality you don’t see much in today’s NBA, and that’s humility. They rather sacrifice a highlight reel play in order for their team to succeed. They are the ultimate team players. They simply just play the game in front of them and leave the glitzy lifestyle off the court.

But, of all the reasons the Spurs are so damn good, there is simply one that defines why this team is the team of the decade. Gregg Popovich.  Some may call Phil Jackson the greatest coach, but an argument should be made for Pop. Right now the best coach in basketball; he simply knows this game better than anyone and has the stats to back it up. Since 1999, the Spurs have been the most efficient team in basketball in due part to his coaching. He preaches sound, fundamental basketball. Pass the ball, find the open man and shoot. It’s boring and won’t get them on the TOP TEN, but it will get them multiple chances to get a ring. His coaching is some of the best in the game and turns new prospects into great role players.  Game in and out, no coach can seem to outsmart POP and he can get out of jams better than anyone.  He realizes the importance of resting players and will sacrifice a game if they are down big, just to ensure they are ready to fight another day.  He mixed in some great young talent with his aging roster to keep his title window open.  He is simply the best in basketball.

The Spurs make it work year in and out. They outwit the draft, they outwit other coaches, and they continue to outwit father time.  One day they will start to slow down and become a weaker team.  One day Coach Pop and the big three will retire and leave the franchise to an uncertain future. But, today they are up 2-0 in the West finals and it seems that the River walk is going to have another parade.

For the Love of the game

Ehsan Azad

For the love of the game

What makes someone a sports fan? There are countless reasons that people fall in love with sports. Some love it because they are extremely athletic and excel at those games. Others have a deep love because of family bonds that have been passed over generations.  Some are just bubbly girls that fall head over heels for a “hot” player in their hometown. For me, sadly I don’t fall into any of those categories, yet I am madly obsessed and love anything to do with the world of sports. My reasons are more personal and helped me become one of the guys.

Growing up I was never really into sports. I was never that popular in school, so the opportunity to play sports wasn’t always there for me. Plus, being what my mother would call husky, I wasn’t exactly the number one overall pick in the school yard. I did watch football games and pretended to care about football, but never had the passion to even care about what I was watching.  I focused on cartoons and trying to make friends.  I was content with this life and I really didn’t see the need to change.

It wasn’t until I got in to high school when I realized that sports drove how guys lived their lives and what connected most of them.  I was in a new school and wanted to fit in. Luckily for me the leader of the guys was none other than my cousin Mo. He was the all popular kid that is portrayed in those high school shows. Extremely athletic, smart, and charming, I figured I could hang with him and hopefully it will rub off on me. The problem was that he was into sports just as much as the others and I couldn’t relate.  I would sit with the guys watching the Dallas Mavericks Playoff run and being overly confused on what was going on.  The only two topics guys my age would talk about were sports and girls. I knew nothing about the two.  What I did know was politics and anytime I would bravely muster a world about the elections, I was greeted by yawns, confusion, or a blunt shut the hell up. Fun group right?

I decided to play football and try to bridge the gap that way. My lack of athletic ability and low football IQ helped squash that idea.  The guys around me respected the fact that I tried, but honestly couldn’t relate to me.

It was around my junior year that I decided to give sports a chance. I wanted to actually talk about sports with my cousins and their friends and be one of the guys.  So I went online and found every article I could about the Dallas Cowboys. I read about their history, stats, and how the game was played. I started to watch games much more and played close attention to each player’s certain moves.  I learned about certain positions and watched documentaries about past super bowl winners.

At first, it was mentally exhausting to read about a subject I had no care for. The only thing that drove me was the need to be popular and relevant with the kids around me. But, a strange thing happened to me while I did my studying; I grew to like the sport. Football became fun to read about and I actually liked watching the game. I could finally relate what I was learning to what I was doing in practice.  It just became second nature for me to look up about football and other sports.

I slowly impressed my circle of friends with my new found knowledge and I even began small sports debates with Mo. We connected actually and we ventured into other topics like girls and even politics.

I did it; I was one of the guys now. I became better-rounded and soon I began to love sports. I realized it wasn’t just something for people to do when they were bored, but something that connected people and made fast friends. Today, Mo and I still hang out with a bunch of our friends. We have branched out with other topics and interests. Politics is even sneaking in a lot lately.  But, that love for sports is still there and drives our lives.