As a sports fanatic, it is a little strange to find myself defending a longtime, on-court nemesis.
I grew up a Spurs fan. I watched the Tim Duncan-led teams and celebrated the team’s NBA championships in 1999, 2003, 2005, and 2007 — and spent years generally cheering on all things San Antonio.
Then, Oklahoma City got an NBA team in 2008, and as an Okie, making the switch was a no-brainer.
The Thunder came to town, and what had once been my team became my least favorite franchise in professional sports over the years.
I loathe the Spurs, and that is putting it mildly. The fans drive me nuts. I root against their team every time they take the court because they are one of my own team’s biggest rivals.
That’s why I can speak honestly about those same people ahead of Saturday night’s game in San Antonio.
I know Spurs fans because I used to be a big one. I lived among them when San Antonio beat New York in the 1999 NBA Finals, and I have spent most of my life around great Texans.
Have you been following this year’s NBA Playoffs?
Yes: 25% (1 Votes)
No: 75% (3 Votes)
I can confidently tell you that nobody is going to be beaten in the streets by gangs of thugs roaming around San Antonio on Saturday night, regardless of who wins.
The Spurs, down 3-1 after their loss in New York on Wednesday, could force a Game 6, or the Knicks could celebrate their first championship since the Nixon administration.
Either way, New York players and fans will leave San Antonio safely and without being menaced.
That is not the compliment to the Spurs faithful that it might sound like. I am not praising people for doing the bare minimum, which is not behaving like animals.
This is an indictment of New York.
After each of New York’s two games at Madison Square Garden this week, video has shown Knicks fans chasing down and assaulting people, destroying property and businesses, and engaging with riot police — not to mention targeting Spurs players.
When I think about San Antonio, I think about a city where people celebrate wins and complain about the box score after a loss. Then they go home and pay their taxes at some point, just like most fans do.
When I think about New York in the Year of our Lord 2026, I think about a city that is itching to set itself on fire.
Years of failed leadership and declining expectations for acceptable human behavior have made New York City a Third World hellhole.
What is New York’s cultural identity at this point, if not violence, chaos, and unpredictability?
The city spent centuries earning a reputation for toughness, ambition, and the marvels that can result from a resilient American attitude.
But New York is now an example of what a managed decline looks like, and that includes the decline of the values of many of those who inhabit the place.
Saturday night’s game is going to showcase the cultural divide between two very different versions of America, whether anyone intends it to or not.
A city and state that values civility will host an ultimate-stakes NBA Finals game and will remain peaceful regardless of the outcome.
Meanwhile, I expect to see fires on my television screen from New York regardless of the outcome of Saturday’s game.
The Knicks’ storybook season has been a success that the players earned, but they also, unfortunately, have succeeded in highlighting the cultural rot of the city they represent.
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