warriors

I have become a fan of the Golden State Warriors.  For about a month now I have checked to see when they would be on television in the Boston area and have cheered them on like a serious follower when I have been able to watch their games.

For those not in the know the Golden State Warriors are two games shy of breaking the record for most games won in an NBA season. They now-as of 530 eastern time--have 71 victories. At 7 eastern time tonight the Warriors play the San Antonio Spurs--the second best team in the NBA. If the Warriors prevail, they will have to defeat Memphis in a few days to have 73 wins and break the Chicago Bulls 1995-96 record of 72-10.

Why am I fan of Golden State?  They are located, for those geographically challenged, 3000 plus miles from where I currently am perched.  So, they are not a local favorite.  Sometime in the early 90s I visited my cousin Joe in California and he took me to a Warriors game. But while I enjoyed the game and experience a lot, that is not what turned me on to the Warriors this season.

It is the way they play. They pass and run and are trying--even though it does not matter in terms of the standings--to break this record.  Stephen Curry is a joy to watch. The guy can shoot from anywhere and works hard to get open. Klay Thompson is a shooter's shooter.  In one game last season Thompson scored 37 points IN ONE QUARTER. IN ONE QUARTER.  I watched the video of that outrageous spree and if you are a fan you have to see it.   Then there is Draymond Green.  I think he is the kind of guy who if he was not on your team, you would hate, but on your team you love. He plays all out every minute of every game.  The benchwarmers on Golden State can shoot the three and pass and rebound.

Unfortunately, I do not think they will tonight. San Antonio is a great team as well. They have a record of their own that they want to protect and that is being unbeaten at home.  The Alamodome will be rocking and probably is rocking right now 90 minutes or so before game time. It will be tough for a tired Warrior team who just played last night in Tennessee to get it up to beat San Antonio tonight.

But it will be fun to watch.  Following the Warriors is an example of what makes sport fun. I get such joy out of watching the games.  I may not be the easiest person to live with during a contest, but it is great to have enthusiasm for a game for no other reason than you are kind of pulling for the good guys.  I am not at all a fan of Tim Duncan--a stud for San Antonio--but I do like some of their other players, Tony Parker for one, and Manu Ginobli for another. And I am crazy about the coach for the Spurs, Gregg Popovich.

I am also a fan of Steve Kerr, the coach of the Warriors.  I liked him when he was a player--ironically a player on the 95-96 Bulls that hold the record the Warriors are trying to break.  I read just moments ago that the result of a back operation he had this past summer left him debilitated and he had to have a second operation to correct the damage from the first. I read that he suffers very painful headaches still. Yet the guy does not complain. He enjoys life and feels blessed to be coaching this great Warriors team.   When he was a freshman in college Kerr suffered a blow that would level most of us, and put some of the best of us in a woe is me mode for the rest of life. His dad, a professor and president of a university in Lebanon, was murdered by crazy jihadists.  As a freshman Steve Kerr got a phone call that informed him that his dad had been murdered.  Kerr's resilience, his take every day as a new opportunity attitude, is something to be admired and emulated.

I won't feel terrible if San Antonio prevails tonight, because I like Popovich and Parker.  But I am pulling for the greatest show in the NBA this evening.  Go Warriors.