More Than Just a Game 7, Tonight Means More

by

There’s a strangely tense feel in the lead-up to this Game 7 — not that the win-or-go-home stakes of nights like these aren’t normally tense. San Antonio’s been to two straight finals and three consecutive conference finals, and the dominance with which they ended the LeBron James era in Miami should be icing on the magnificent cake that has been the Tim Duncan, Gregg Popovich era. Repeat or no, the Spurs dynasty has placed itself into the pantheon of greatest ever, and whatever happens next is just gravy.

But that’s why this anxiety is more than just the idea of a season ending. The ‘whatever happens next’ part is what makes tonight nerve-wracking.

I remember where I was when Duncan played his first preseason game, and I don’t remember many specific moments from when I was 12 years old. I remember where I was when Ginobili wreaked havoc on his first playoff opponent, ushering in the next Spurs core that would stay around Timmy for more than a decade. Since then, it’s mostly been basketball nirvana.

Every spring, Fiesta begins in the Alamo City, and with it the celebration of the start of the NBA Playoffs. For nearly two decades, the Spurs have entered with a chance to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy — some years better than others, but always a chance, nonetheless. And that’s because of the players involved. As great as Popovich and R.C. Buford have been building rosters, it’s been about Duncan and Ginobili and Parker, and now Kawhi Leonard.

Things feel tense, because it feels like more than the end of a season is at stake. It feels like the end of an era, the end of a lifestyle, the end of a constant part of our lives is at stake. The end of something we’ve loved unequivocally for as long as we can remember.

I don’t mean to make this sound like a eulogy. It isn’t. The Spurs tend to play really well when the pressure is highest. I believe they’re going to win tonight.

This is intended only to say, enjoy this. As much as you possibly can. It’s going to be stressful. It’s going to be painful. It may take years off your life.

But if all of this — the late nights, the anxiety, the high times, the low times — is what takes years off our lives, it was all worth it. The last (almost) two decades have been a delight, and we’ve been spoiled beyond any imaginable measure.

And it’s not over yet. Go Spurs Go.


  • http://icarusburning.com/ Wes

    Go Spurs Go.

  • Senorglory

    It’s not a “dynasty” without a repeat.

  • Emil E. Matula III

    Epoch might be a better word. They’ve been better for longer than many of your flash in the pan “dynasties”.

  • John T

    Right…I tend think of the Spurs as something greater than a dynasty more like an era because they actually outlasted two Laker dynasties and the Heat dynasty in addition to great teams like the Nash suns, Dirk and the mavs, Webber and the Kings. You’re absolutely right there is no word to really describe the transcendent level of excellence the Spurs achieved the last 16 years. They did it without ever really have large cap space…have had only 1 top ten pick since 1997, I think dynasty just seems beneath what this team achieved.