Thursday, September 10th, 2009...6:27 am
Robinson’s Cultural Legacy: A Personal Interpretation
I have a love/hate relationship with off-the-court affairs, whether it the good or bad kind. Like any cultural activity, basketball does not exist in an impervious vacuum that is separated from the racial, economic and political crosscurrents that define our day. Not surprisingly, the men of the NBA are often affected by and work to affect those crosscurrents. To act is if the league, or sports in general, somehow functions (or should even aspire to function) above those realities strikes me as misguided.
But the truth of the matter is, I am not interested in human interest stories or in breaking scandals. Both athlete-sponsored charities or steroid-driven federal investigations are non-starters for your humble author. I love basketball because I love off-the-ball screens and sealing the baseline. In short, I am hypocrite: I wish for basketball to exist in an impervious vacuum, separate from the previously mentioned realities.
In some ways, that’s an odd sentiment for an observer of the Spurs to feel. Covering the off-the-court activity of the team should a pleasure at best, a breeze at worst. If you covered the New York Knicks, or Portland during the “jailblazer” era, I could understand wanting to set the drama aside and get back to discussing the game in-and-of itself. But for two decades, the Spurs have been populated almost exclusively by upstanding citizens. It seems spoiled to overlook a culture that is defined by organizations such as the Carver Academy and the Bruce Bowen Foundation.
And yet, I remain unmoved. With a few exceptions, I am not interested in athletes as cultural figures or agents of change. I am interested in athletes as workmen, the fruits of whose labor I enjoy. What I love most about Spurs culture is that it is so absent of scandal that I need only address it when I choose.
My last remark was not a throw away line. I mean that quite literally. I deeply appreciate the fact that Spurs culture is composed in such a way that I don’t have to spend my time reflecting on DUIs or drug charges. I can focus on the high pick-and-roll and the low-post iso.
In a very personal way, this is why I value of the cultural legacy of David Robinson.
By no means am I saying that Robinson’s efforts in the community should be ignored by either the media or by fans more generally. The dignity with which Robinson has carried himself on and off the court deserves all the praise it receives and more.
I am merely being frank about my experience: As someone who was raised in Austin, not San Antonio, and has not lived in Texas for six years, there has always been a literal distance between the effects of Robinson’s efforts in the community and myself. I cannot speak to the numerous ways in which he has made San Antonio a better place (although, again, I have no doubt that he has).
What I can speak to is a cognitive placidity that he has always provided. The culture of professionalism and service that defines the Spurs predates the arrivals of Tim Duncan, Gregg Popovich or Peter Holt. It was born in the heart and mind of David Robinson. He is the cornerstone.
For many, the effects of Robinson’s hard work are blessedly demonstrable. But his effects on my life have been quieter and more elusive. While many fans are forced to wade through the turmoil that surrounds their teams, in the hopes of stumbling across the game they love, I have always been able to watch the Spurs in peace, knowing that the threats of scandal and distraction are nowhere to be found.
In some ways, David Robinson and his legacy have forged the vacuum I spoke of earlier. His inspiration and leadership have afforded us the opportunity to relax and just enjoy the game of basketball.
11 Comments
September 10th, 2009 at 6:52 am
[...] A good read on David Robinson and his cultural legacy. Just good stuff on a great guy. [...]
September 10th, 2009 at 7:06 am
Great post. I hope Spurs fans realize how lucky we are to be able to just enjoy the game and not worry about much else. I’ll be honest, it’s something I take for granted sometimes, but it makes you appreciate Holt, Pop and RC’s commitment to bring in character guys.
September 10th, 2009 at 9:20 am
I am also a long distance fan living in California. I have not lived in San Antonio for almost 20 years although I have been back a few times to catch games. My Spurs roots date back to the Iceman era. The rings didn’t come until Duncan, but the culture changed with Robinson. Not that the previous teams had bad character players, but Robinson’s character dominated the team. He raised the character or expectation of everyone else on the team and initiated a winning culture that with the addition of Duncan has led to a decade and more of championship caliber basketball. The right culture and enviornment leads to team chemistry and selfless play. Take Stephen Jackson playing for the Spurs and then with other teams. I think as long as there is someone on the team who will carry on the tradition, the Spurs will be in perpetual contention for years to come because of what Robinson started.
September 10th, 2009 at 10:52 am
A bit off-topic, but the Painted Area just put up a solid discussion of Robinson’s status as a statistical freak of nature. Very good (even if it does include too many Hakeem videos!).
http://thepaintedarea.blogspot.com/2009/09/was-admiral-in-big-os-class.html
September 10th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Whenever talk comes up of David Robinson’s character and personality, I always drift back to one memory.
When the Spurs were winning the title in 2005 and I was a freshman in college, I was watching the clinching game (Game 7 vs. Detroit) at my dad’s house.
As the game ended they showed David Robinson sitting a couple rows back celebrating and my dad was walking by me to go to bed.
I was sitting on the couch and he stopped and said, “If you can be a quarter of the man he is, you’ll be doing alright for yourself.”
And every since then, those words have stuck in my head.
September 11th, 2009 at 12:54 am
David Robinson was a perfect fit for the Spurs. But I’ve always been under the impression that the city chose him (and Pop, and Tim), and not the other way around. From a cultural perspective, San Antonio is a unique market in the NBA. The Spurs’ style of basketball depends largely on a series of personnel decisions that recognized the hometown crowd, and conformed to Larry Brown’s own basketball ideologies. I’m not doubting that even for the Spurs talent is always the major criterion for players, and success (or familiarity with the system) for coaches, GMs, etc.
Nonetheless, all three dudes that have defined the Spurs for the past twenty years are character guys. And they were character guys before they ever donned the black and silver. Two of them even have a military background. I like to think that the front office considered _all_ of these qualities, and particularly how they might play to San Antonio.
They considered this when they used their first pick to draft an athlete who wouldn’t show up in the NBA for two years (before you bring up Tiago Splitter parallels, etc., keep in mind that David Robinson was not playing full seasons of professional basketball while serving).
They considered this when they put an assistant coach (and Air Force Academy graduate) in charge of the front office.
Not to detract from Robinson - he was absolutely the cornerstone of the Spurs. But I think he was most important as an early validation of the Spurs philosophy that was already developing in the late 80s, rather than the impetus for the same.
September 11th, 2009 at 7:51 am
[...] 48 Minutes of Hell: "The culture of professionalism and service that defines the Spurs predates the arrivals of Tim Duncan(notes), Gregg Popovich or Peter Holt. It was born in the heart and mind of David Robinson. He is the cornerstone. For many, the effects of Robinson’s hard work are blessedly demonstrable. But his effects on my life have been quieter and more elusive. While many fans are forced to wade through the turmoil that surrounds their teams, in the hopes of stumbling across the game they love, I have always been able to watch the Spurs in peace, knowing that the threats of scandal and distraction are nowhere to be found. In some ways, David Robinson and his legacy have forged the vacuum I spoke of earlier. His inspiration and leadership have afforded us the opportunity to relax and just enjoy the game of basketball." [more] [...]
September 11th, 2009 at 8:05 am
[...] 48 Minutes of Hell: "The culture of professionalism and service that defines the Spurs predates the arrivals of Tim Duncan(notes), Gregg Popovich or Peter Holt. It was born in the heart and mind of David Robinson. He is the cornerstone. For many, the effects of Robinson’s hard work are blessedly demonstrable. But his effects on my life have been quieter and more elusive. While many fans are forced to wade through the turmoil that surrounds their teams, in the hopes of stumbling across the game they love, I have always been able to watch the Spurs in peace, knowing that the threats of scandal and distraction are nowhere to be found. In some ways, David Robinson and his legacy have forged the vacuum I spoke of earlier. His inspiration and leadership have afforded us the opportunity to relax and just enjoy the game of basketball." [more] [...]
September 11th, 2009 at 9:27 am
Well-said. I tend to agree, the off-court stuff gets in the way too often. With the Spurs, that doesn’t happen. Robinson was/is a class act.
September 12th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
[...] 48 Minutes of Hell: "The culture of professionalism and service that defines the Spurs predates the arrivals of Tim Duncan(notes), Gregg Popovich or Peter Holt. It was born in the heart and mind of David Robinson. He is the cornerstone. For many, the effects of Robinson’s hard work are blessedly demonstrable. But his effects on my life have been quieter and more elusive. While many fans are forced to wade through the turmoil that surrounds their teams, in the hopes of stumbling across the game they love, I have always been able to watch the Spurs in peace, knowing that the threats of scandal and distraction are nowhere to be found. In some ways, David Robinson and his legacy have forged the vacuum I spoke of earlier. His inspiration and leadership have afforded us the opportunity to relax and just enjoy the game of basketball." [more] [...]
June 14th, 2010 at 9:11 pm
[...] the Spurs in peace, knowing that the threats of scandal and distraction are nowhere to be found. 48 Minutes of Hell. His basketball existence wasn’t defined by any one thing. He did it all. [...]
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