19th May 21:30
David Robinson's Jersey Retirement
I thought that was awesome. Unfortunately, the Bulls/Nuggets game wouldn't
end so I couldn't see the whole thing. I saw Sean (he was MC), Malik, and
Max Lucado. Also there was Texas Governer Perry, and all of the Spurs. I
think Steve Kerr was there, as Dave made a gesture to him.
Everyone was making references to God, so I am sure that people
uncomfortable with that didn't like it as much. I can't see having anything
like this without it becoming spiritual in the religious sense, since that
is such a major part of Robinson's life. He always seemed to me to be that
person who lived it more than talked about it.
I didn't see any of his competitors there. Not even the retired Hakeem,
Ewing, or Jordan. Maybe they weren't invited because they aren't in his
closest circle, maybe they were there but weren't part of the show. I can't
imagine his career without the people he played against. I guess some of
them played tonight, like Shaquille and Malone.
Dave talked about his teammates. The funny part was when he forgot Tim until
the end. I could tell it wasn't planned, he must have been embarrased about
that. I didn't see any of his old coaches or teammates (like Terry
***mings), although he did talk about what John Lucas did for him.
I got choked up, even though it seemed long and Malik forgot what he was
going to say. Probably because he has been the signature of the Spurs. He
was someone that I was not embarrassed to be a fan of when they lost to
great teams like the 95 Rockets and the 98 Jazz, or even the crappy 93
Warriors. If someone had a kid and that kid turned out as good as Robinson
without any of the basketball skills, they'd be proud. I can't think of
anyone who's Jersey deserves retirement more.
And in spite of the his MVP, ROY, DPOY, scoring title, rebounding title,
blocking title, 7 first defensive teams, 7 first NBA teams, some people
would argue he isn't the best center ever.