Have San Antonio Spurs Fans Become Spoiled?

Last month, the San Antonio Spurs hit up one of those good old-fashioned east coast NBA road trips. Stops in Boston, Brooklyn & Philly are always fun, historically speaking, from a fan perspective. The Spurs have been making this east coast swing for decades, and man, oh man, have these roadies included some nostalgic memories.

Ice vs Dr. J back in the ’70s, Jason Kidd and Vince Carter during the early 2000s. Any time I see the Silver and Black on the parquet floor in Boston Garden, it is just straight-up awesome. Especially when that is where the best power forward of all time thought he was going on draft night back in 1997.

As we all know, Tim Duncan didn’t go to Boston. He came to the 210 instead. I vividly recall my Uncle, then a Spurs season ticket holder back when the Spurs played in the Alamodome, saying “Move over MJ, Timmy D is here”. I think I laughed at him at the time, but good grief, I think it’s safe to say he nailed that one.

Most Fans Never Experience What Spurs Fans Have

The dynasty that San Antonio Spurs fans witnessed over the next twenty years was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. In the average fan's lifetime, they are lucky to see a single title brought back to their city. Most folks never see one parade.

San Antonio Spurs fans have experienced five championship parades since 1997-- all of them on a river.

In between years the Spurs didn’t win it all, fans were treated to deep playoff runs year in and year out. At the time, I am not sure the fans understood the gravity of what was happening. NBA fans in San Antonio, Texas lived through the birth, establishment, and dominance of an NBA dynasty. The only other cities that can say this are Boston, Los Angeles, and Chicago. That’s it. Ever.

Spurs fans' reactions this season have been confusing. One night, they may be on board with “tanking” the season in hopes of securing a lottery pick. Other nights, they may be hoping for a playoff run, an optimistic point of view, if you will. It seems Spurs fans cannot make up their mind.

For some insight on why this is, let’s look at some fan profiles.

First, we have a kid born in 1997 whose first words are GO SPURS GO as soon as they came out of the womb. That kid would be 25 years old today. From the time he or she can remember, the Spurs are an elite NBA team. The Spurs are Champions. The Spurs never miss the playoffs, and each game is a sellout or close to it.

There is consistently an All-Star in the lineup for San Antonio, not to mention future Hall of Famers taking the court night in and night out. This is the norm. The same experience is shared for the fan, say, ten years older, give or take a few years. This is the expectation.

Today, The San Antonio Spurs have missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons and appear on pace to miss another. The Spurs have zero All-Stars and often play in a half-filled home arena.
That 25-to-33ish -year-old fan today is completely confused, sad, and just lost. This generation of fan does not know how to react to a season like this one simply because it does not happen. They did not know what it is like for their team to not dominate or at least be in playoff contention.

They sure do now.

Next, let’s look at the older Spurs fan who lived through those Hemisfair Arena years and understands what it was like before 1997. Perhaps this type of fan sees things a bit differently. They understand that a team must go through some years of pain and agony to get back in the mix for championships.

Or, on the other hand, they perhaps choose to forget those rough '80s and early '90s seasons, completely erasing every bad memory to make room for the dynasty days. I’m serious, why remember Sir Charles shutting down Hemisfair Arena when you don't have to? Not to mention, the human memory bank only has so much space.

Everyone Handles Struggles Differently

Both fan profiles are uniquely different and include many moving parts. This, in turn, leads to an abundance of opinions, reactions, and emotions ranging from mad or sad to everything in between. The Spurs are rebuilding. Everyone knows this. Choosing to accept it, however, is a different story.

The wide world of Twitter provides some real-life examples in just two simple posts from Spurs fans.

Some fans understand the reality.

Other fans do not.

Like many things in life, the Spurs' current situation is about principles, common sense, and acceptance. If you get caught up in emotion, you fail to see what is right in front of you, which is the simplicity of the game. After all, it is basketball, and it takes time to get good.

Even in the NBA, these things take time. Winning takes time -- sometimes a long time. This requires patience. And in the" give me what I want when I want it now", world many fans simply do not have the increasingly valuable attribute known as patience.

The San Antonio Spurs fan base has always been on a different level than other NBA teams fans. They are loyal and they are true. Is that because of the franchise's success? Probably. Winning fixes everything. The real burning question here is not a question of if Spurs fans have become spoiled because they have been. They are. Spurs fans are spoiled.

What remains to be seen is if all fans will be better when times are tough. Will they rally and support their beloved Spurs no matter what? Or will they continue to live in past glory while taking shots at Spurs players, coaches, and management? Will fans act spoiled, or will they humble themselves?

Ask yourself as a Spurs fan: Can you be patient?

Last month the San Antonio Spurs hit up one of those good ole fashioned east coast NBA road trips. Stops in Boston, Brooklyn & Philly are always fun, historically speaking, from a fan perspective. The Spurs have been making this east coast swing for decades, and man oh man have these roadies included some nostalgia memories. Ice vs Dr J back in the 70’s, Jason Kidd and Vince Carter during the early 2000’s and anytime I see the Silver and Black on the parquet floor in Boston Garden it is just straight up awesome. Especially when that is where the best power forward of all time thought he was going on draft night back in 97.

As we all know, he didn’t go to Boston. He came to the 210 instead. I vividly recall my Uncle, then a Spurs season ticket holder back when the Spurs played in the Alamodome, saying “Move over MJ, Timmy D is here”. I think I laughed at him at the time, but good grief, I think it’s safe to say he nailed that one. The dynasty that San Antonio fans witnessed over the next twenty years was a once in a lifetime thing. In the average fan lifetime, they are lucky to see a title brought back to their city. Most folks never see one parade. 

San Antonio Spurs fans have experienced five championship parades since 1997.

All of them on a river. 

In between years the Spurs didn’t win it all, fans were treated to deep playoff runs year in and year out. At the time, I am not sure the fans understood the gravity of what was happening. NBA fans in San Antonio Texas lived through the birth, establishment, and dominance of an NBA Dynasty. The only other cities that can say this are Boston, Los Angeles, and Chicago. That’s it. Ever.

Spurs fans reactions this season have been confusing. One night they may be on board with “tanking” the season in hopes of securing a lottery pick. Other nights they may be hoping for a playoff run, an optimistic point of view if you will. It seems Spurs fans cannot make up their mind. 

For some insight on why this is, let’s look at some fan profiles.

First, we have a kid born in 1997 whose first words are GO SPURS GO as soon as they came out of the womb. That kid would be 25 years old today. From the jump, said kid, from the time he or she can remember the Spurs are an elite NBA team. The Spurs are Champions. The Spurs never miss the playoffs, and each game is a sellout or close to it. There is consistently an All Star in the lineup for San Antonio, not to mention future Hall of Famers taking the court night in and night out. This is the normal. The same experience is shared for the fan, say, ten years older. Give or take a few years. This is the expectation.

Today, The San Antonio Spurs have missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons and appear on pace to miss another. The Spurs have zero All Stars and often play in a half-filled home arena.

That 25 to 33ish -year-old fan today is completely confused, sad and just lost. This generation of fan does not know how to react to a season like this one simply because it does not happen, they did not know what it is like for their team to not dominate or at least be in playoff contention.  

They sure do now. 

Next, let’s look at the older Spurs fan who lived through those Hemisfair Arena years and understands what it was like before 1997. Perhaps this type of fan sees things a bit differently. They understand that a team must go through some years of pain and agony to get back in the mix for championships. Or, on the other hand, perhaps choose to forget those rough 80s and early 90’s seasons completely erasing every bad memory to make room for the dynasty days. I’m serious, why remember  when you do not have to? Not to mention, the human memory bank only has so much space.  

Both fan profiles are uniquely different and include many moving parts. This in turn leads to an abundance of opinions, reactions and emotions ranging from mad or sad to everything in between. The Spurs are rebuilding. Everyone knows this. Choosing to accept it however is a different story.

The wide world of Twitter provides some real-life examples in just two simple posts from Spurs fans.

Some fans understand the reality.

Other fans do not.

Listen, like many things in life, the Spurs current situation is about principles, common sense, and acceptance. If you get caught up in emotion you fail to see what is right in front of you. Which is the simplicity of the game, after all it is basketball, and it takes time to get good. Even in the NBA, these things take time. Winning takes time. Sometimes a long time. This requires patience. And in the give me what I want when I want it now world many fans simply do not have the increasingly valuable attribute known as patience. 

The San Antonio Spurs fan base has always been on a different level than other NBA teams fans. They are loyal and they are true. Is that because of the franchise success? Probably, winning fixes everything. The real burning question here is not a question of if Spurs fans have become spoiled, because they have been. They are.Spurs fans are spoiled.  

What remains to be seen is if all fans will be better when times are tough. Will they rally and support their beloved Spurs no matter what? Or will they continue to live in past glory while taking shots at Spurs players, coaches, and management? Will fans act spoiled, or will they humble themselves?

Can San Antonio Spurs fans be patient?