Why I was cheering against the Spurs

Check it, since 1516 MINDS attacked and overseen
Now crawl amidst the ruins of this empty dream
Wit their borders and boots on top of us
Pullin' knobs on the floor of their toxic metropolis
But how you gonna get what you need ta get?
Tha gut eaters, blood drenched get offensive like Tet
Tha fifth sun sets get back reclaim
Tha spirit of Cuahtemoc alive an untamed
Now face tha funk now blastin' out ya speaker, on tha one Maya, Mexica
That vulture came ta try and steal ya name
But now you got a gun, yeah this is for the people of the sun

Rage Against the Machine - People of the Sun

When both the Spurs and the Suns won their first round series, leading to this match-up, I was super excited for it. It would pit two of the best teams in the NBA going against each other. And for the most part, I was not disappointed. The majority of games were close and played at a high-level. The series featured two MVP caliber players in Steve Nash and Tim Duncan, and several all-star level players (Marion, Stoudamire, Barbosa, Ginobili, and Parker). It featured a contrast in styles (Phoenix's high octane offense vs. San Antonio's defense-first, half-court offense), and two excellent coaches in Gregg Popovich and Mike D'Antoni. Both teams are among my favorites to watch play, and I truly had no vested interest in who won the series. That being said, when the series started I had to support the Suns. Now this was nothing against the Spurs, it was just that I had to support Nash. He's my boy. The man is a joy to watch. He plays the point the way it was meant to be. He's unselfish to a fault, but he'll take over the game if he needs too. And this season he has gained a fire and competitive intensity that wasn't there before. This man honestly cares about every game he plays. And really that's what we want of our athletes. Steve Nash makes me happy to be an NBA fan and he truly is good for the league and how it will be played in the future. So I had to root for him to win a title. Throw in the fact that a large majority of the Spurs team has already won at least one title, and the Suns had to be my pick.
Now I love the Spurs team. It all starts with Tim Duncan, arguably the greatest power forward to ever play the game (and is there really that strong of an argument against him?) Duncan has always been vastly under-appreciated. He's wildly consistent, fundamentally sound, an excellent defender, and he makes his teammates better. What more can you ask for from a player? And unfairly, you always seem to see Duncan criticized in the media for being so stoic. What a load of bullshit. The man goes out there and plays the game like it was meant to be played. He plays hard and he plays to win. He doesn't talk a lot of shit... so what? You always hear the media clamoring for an athlete who performs at a high level without bringing unneeded controversy into the organization. Well that is Tim Duncan! He's the ideal basketball player both on and off the court. And then they lambaste him just cause they can't get a good bulletin board quote out of him? What a crock. Yeah, he may not show the on-court passion of a KG or an Iverson, but I assure you that Duncan cares. He leads more with his play than his words. You don't win three titles by not giving a shit. And I'll take Duncan over KG or AI any day of the week.
After Duncan, there's a lot I like with the rest of the Spurs team. You gotta love the passion and energy of Ginobili and Oberto (it must be noted that I love Argentinian basketball players; they play tough and actually know how to play on a team). Parker's speed and finishing ability make him a joy to watch. And I've been a Finley fan since his Dallas days, and would actually love to see him finally win a title. So I liked the Spurs, I really did. But something weird happened as the series went on. I slowly realized that I was starting to detest the Spurs.
Now I have to admit that the media likely influenced me somewhat, but a lot of it was just a build-up of annoying things. As much as I love Manu and Duncan, they have a nasty propensity to be absolutely shocked whenever they are charged with a foul. Seriously, cut that shit out. It's juvenile and embarrassing. You're both better than that. Be men and accept the consequences of your actions. Continuing with Ginobili, him and Oberto seem to have brought the soccer stalwart of 'flopping' into the league. That shit needs to be cut out before it plagues the NBA. It is one of the things that pisses me off the most about soccer and is a stain on any sport it is a part of. Have some dignity and just play the game right. Then that brings me to Tony Parker. Frankly, he has Eva Longoria and I don't. This pisses me off. He's a pro-athlete and has that accent. How the fuck is that fair? Screw him. Then throw in the random cheap shots that Bowen commits on a daily basis, and it becomes quite easy to hate the Spurs. Yeah, Raja Bell and others do the same crap. Hell, Stockton and Miller built their career's on 'cheap' behavior. But no one seemed to be as infuriating and blatant as Bowen. Obviously, though, the tipping point for me was the Robert Horry foul.
Horry completely laid Nash out. And while he did get suspended two games, Amare and Boris Diaw both got suspended for game five. Neither of those two should ever have been suspended. They didn't throw a punch and all they were doing was standing up for their teammate. Yeah, it's really the league's fault and not the Spurs that both of them got suspended, but what, am I gonna be pissed at the league? I need someone to transfer my blame to and I picked the Spurs. And I'm sure I'm not alone. For a team this talented and with this much class, the Spurs need to cut their whining and flopping out. And Horry and Bowen need to severely curtail their cheapness. It's getting retarded. It's no longer fun to cheer for the Spurs now. They've turned into the bad guy. And not a cool bad guy like Scarface or Magneto. They're more like the Emperor from the original Star Wars. A bastard who was too powerful and used dirty -ass tactics to get to the top. No one liked the emperor. He was just a dick. And he is what the Spurs are morphing into.
It's a shame the Suns aren't moving on (although I guess once I started supporting them that should've been a foregone conclusion). The series was destroyed with one cheap hit. No way the Suns lose that game at home if Amare and Diaw are still in. I'm not saying the Spurs don't deserve to be in the finals, they still would have played a game 7. But the Suns did get screwed. Mostly, I feel bad for Nash. Who knows how much longer he's got playing at a level like this. With his tenacity and never-say-die attitude he deserves a title. Well, maybe next year Nash and the Suns will have a chance without getting screwed over. And maybe by then I'll get back to liking the Spurs again.