I am a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan, and have been since I was 5 years old, about the time where I became old enough to know what football was. What attracted me to the team first was the uniform, and then seeing the star on the helmets. By the time I was about 7 or 8 years old, I was able to learn the players' names and actually start keeping up with the team. From that point on, I was a full-blown fan of the team. It's been a little hard to root for the team for the past few years, but I'm still a die-hard fan no matter what. I never thought I would get to this point, but it's hard for me to celebrate and enjoy a win these days. I would give anything to see the team start winning consistently again like they did during the Super Bowl years. My favorite all-time Cowboy/NFL player is Emmitt Smith, who in my opinion, is a top 3 all-time running back. I believe he is grossly underrated, mainly because he gets penalized for the teammates he had. I remember watching some of his games when he was at Florida and hoping the Cowboys could find a way to draft him, but thinking they didn't have a chance. I was ecstatic when the Cowboys made that trade with the Steelers in the 1990 draft (from #21 to #17) to draft Emmitt.....the rest was history. My favorite current Cowboy is Dez Bryant, and history seemed to repeat itself when he was drafted in 2010. He (like Emmitt) had some labels put on him, he slid on draft day, and the Cowboys traded up to get him (from #27 up to #24). One other similarity between the 2 players that not a lot of people notice: a team with a bird as their mascot wanted to draft both of them before the Cowboys took them. The Falcons wanted Emmitt Smith, and the Ravens had their eyes on Dez Bryant. Dez also had the distinction of not being the first player selected at his position, even though he was the best. He was EASILY a top 5 talent, and in my opinion, the prize of the 2010 draft. He was definitely a steal for where the Cowboys picked him. Dez is a once-in-a-generation talent, blessed with extremely rare physical gifts. Even coming into the league, I thought he was the most physically gifted wide receiver in the NFL. He has had some rough patches so far, but I'm very happy with the progress that he's making, and I believe as soon as he learns the ropes that he will be the best receiver in the NFL.
My favorite basketball team is the San Antonio Spurs, and I have been a die-hard fan of them since I was 9 years old. My favorite all-time/current Spur (NBA player) is Tim Duncan. My favorite current Spur other than him is Kawhi Leonard. I became a fan right before David Robinson joined the team, but he was the reason I became a fan. Let me explain: I remember watching a game the season before he joined the team (the Spurs were 21-61 that year), and they showed highlights of The Admiral and said that he would be with the team next year. From that point on, I was hooked, because I was amazed at what I saw in those clips of him at Navy. All I kept seeing was him with those powerful dunks, that leaping ability, blocking shots in bunches, and those muscles. Before The Admiral joined the team, Alvin Robertson was the team's best player. Robertson was known for his defensive prowess, and was one of only 4 players in NBA history to ever put up a quadruple-double in a game. He played 5 years for the Spurs (1984-1989), and then was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks along with Greg "Cadillac" Anderson for Terry Cummings. I remember The Admiral having an instant impact when he first joined the team. The Spurs had a 35-game turnaround from the previous season (a 56-26 record), which was an NBA record back then. Even though I was only in the 4th grade then, I still remember the starting lineup for that season: David Robinson, Terry Cummings, Sean Elliott, Willie Anderson, and Maurice Cheeks-who was traded to the Knicks about midway through the season for Rod Strickland. I remember enjoying watching the Spurs play every year, only to be frustrated in the end when they came up short. I honestly believe to this day that the '94-'95 Spurs were good enough to win it all that year, but Hakeem Olajuwon had something else in mind that year. To me, that's the best team in the pre-Duncan era not to win a championship. (I'm only 33 years old, so I don't know much about the George Gervin era, except that those were some high-scoring teams.)
I was disappointed that things didn't work out with that team, especially with us having to trade Dennis Rodman, because that left us a big gaping hole at power forward. Fast forward to the '96-'97 season, that was a frustrating season to watch unfold, but there most definitely was a silver lining. Injuries piled up that year, and never seem to let up. David Robinson only played 6 games that year because his back started to constantly give him problems and then he ended up breaking his foot, Sean Elliott had tendonitis in both of his quadriceps and only played in 39 games, and the team was a rudderless ship without those 2 players. The best player on that team ended up being 37-year old Dominique Wilkins. He was originally signed to back up Sean Elliott and give the Spurs some depth at the small forward position, but he ended up carrying the team and being the Spurs' lone bright spot, and they finished the season with a 20-62 record. There was very little to cheer about during the season, but it all worked out in the Spurs' favor in the end, because the unthinkable happened: The Spurs won the 1997 draft lottery!!! I really couldn't believe it.....I literally was in complete shock for the rest of the week. I remember watching the lottery at halftime of the Heat-Knicks game, and I remember the Celtics supposedly having the best odds of getting the #1 pick and everybody (especially them) thought they would get it. Then the lottery started, and the next thing I know, I see the Celtics come up at #6, the #5 and #4 picks.......and the Spurs' name still hadn't been called, then I started getting anxious. Then I see the Celtics come up again at #3 (which shocked me), and once I saw the card for the Sixers come out of the envelope, I immediately went into a frenzy and stayed amped up for the rest of the night. I didn't sleep much that night, but after I woke up from the little bit of sleep I did get, I still had that extra spring in my step and on a high from the night before. The biggest reason why I'll never forget this particular NBA Draft Lottery is because it was my first time witnessing my favorite team winning the #1 pick and knowing exactly who they would draft, and that was also the first time the Spurs drafted the player I wanted. When the Spurs won the lottery 10 years earlier for the right to draft David Robinson, I was only in the 1st grade, so I wouldn't have been aware of what was going on. I remember watching a lot of basketball on TV, but I hadn't become a Spurs fan yet. Anyway, mostly all I could think about for the next week was that the Spurs would be drafting Tim Duncan.
I remember watching Wake Forest games every chance I got, and seeing the battles that Tim Duncan had with Rasheed Wallace, Marcus Camby, and Keith Van Horn. If I wasn't able to watch a game, I would check the box scores in the paper the next morning to see how he did. Tim Duncan was my biggest reason for even watching college basketball then, because with the number of early draft entries skyrocketing, especially with high schoolers, the talent pool was become more and more watered down. I knew he was the best player in the nation and was always intrigued by him, so I decided to keep track of him. I first heard of The Big Fundamental when the news came out that he played Alonzo Mourning to a tie in a one-on-one game at 16 years old. Alonzo Mourning was the #2 pick in the 1992 draft (behind Shaquille O'Neal) and an All-Rookie First Team selection, who later went on to be a 7-time All-Star and 2-time Defensive Player Of The Year, one of the biggest young stars in the NBA......got played to a tie by a 16-YEAR OLD Tim Duncan!! A little while after that, I forgot about Tim Duncan for a little while, until my memory was refreshed when I saw him play the first time. I believe he could have left school school after his freshman year if he wanted to, and still been drafted #1, but staying in school did wonders for is development and was the biggest reason he went into the NBA already polished, and was dominant from Day 1. I just knew the Spurs getting Tim Duncan was a pipe dream, especially since they already had David Robinson, and they were already contenders. I, along with everybody else (especially everybody in Boston), was so sure that The Big Fundamental would be a Celtic. He ended up in the best place possible, with the perfect team for him, and I'm ecstatic that things worked out the way they did.
The day the Spurs won the lottery and it was obvious who they would be drafting, Tim Duncan instantly became my favorite player. I will admit that he exceeded my expectations......BY FAR!! I figured he would come in averaging 15 points and 8 rebounds, and maybe average those numbers for his career. I would have never guessed that he would come in and dominate the way he did as a rookie, running away with the ROY award (1 vote away from being a unanimous selection). Never could I imagine him becoming the greatest power forward of all-time, and arguably a top 5 NBA player of all-time. Who would have thought the Spurs would have the highest winning percentage of any major professional sports team over the last 16 years? What about winning 50 games for an NBA-record 14 years in a row? Even to this day with the season he's had so far, he has exceeded my expectations, having the best season he's had in a few years- after everybody thought he was done a couple years ago. This season he's been the best big man in the league. It's just magical to watch him out there on the basketball court, which is his chess board. George Gervin was the Spurs' first superstar, David Robinson saved the Spurs, but neither one of them changed the landscape of the franchise the way Tim Duncan has. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching him play the 4 years he was at Wake Forest and the last 16 years with the Spurs. Tim Duncan is a symbol of my adulthood, meaning he has been in the NBA for my entire adult life. I was a senior in high school when he played his first NBA game. I believe he's the most underrated and underappreciated superstar, not only of his generation, but all-time. I will always appreciate what he's done for the Spurs, and will continue to savor and enjoy each and every chance I get to watch him play.
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