This Decker Dog may be the oldest living Spurs artifact in our familiy (exact location unknown) My lifelong love affair with the Spurs... started sometime around when Ron Brewer replaced George Gervin in the starting lineup for three games and scored 123 points in 3 games Welcome to “Getting to know Pounding the Rock’s writers”! During the All-Star break, we thought it we be fun to get to know a little bit more about our writers here at PtR. On Saturday, my wife asked, “Hey, when are you writing your ‘Getting to Know’ article?” and I immediately curled up in the fetal position and said “I’m not ready!” Then she read the other PTR writer’s excellent entries and quipped “well, you may not be able to outdo them, but you should try!” A bit about myself By day (and many nights), I’m a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist working here in the Bay Area. If you’re not familiar with what that is, I counsel individuals, couples, families, and people in group settings. I also pivoted to doing teletherapy (online work) with populations that may not be able afford therapy or have access to counselors. I’ve happily taken on the role of mentor and professor seriously in terms of supporting and educating students new to the career along with teaching classes like Group Therapy, Substance Abuse Assessment and Treatment, and Family Therapy, all while sneaking in as many Spurs analogies and references as are legally and ethically allowable in the PowerPoints. I’m also working on my first book this year — a handbook of mental health for Asian Americans as they are often the most underserved populations in this work and my inspiration for even broaching an endeavor like that is all of the writing that I am privileged to do for PtR. How I became a Spurs fan I grew up in the Nogalitos area of San Antonio and found the most joy in my childhood via shooting baskets by myself on the neighborhood court (with the chain nets!) adjacent to the old Levi’s factory. I’m fortunate that my dad had, instead of buying us kids toys and electronics, plunked down for Spurs seasons tickets since the ABA days, and I had great seats behind the Spurs bench for some of the halcyon days in the early 80s. My earliest memory of Spurs home games (so many of the road games were past my bedtime in the dreaded Mountain and Pacific time zones, that I had to read either the Express News or the Light at my family’s grocery store the next day or sometimes the day after!) was in the 1981-1982 season when journeyman guard Ron Brewer was inserted into the starting lineup for the injured Iceman and put up 39, 40, and 44 points. As a streetball gunner myself, I found Mr. Brewer to be the first of many Spurs’ ‘crushes.’ In my teenage years, I styled my game (at 5’7”) after Sean Elliott... down to the knee brace and the jumpshot that started above his forehead. I also enjoyed mimicking Terry Cummings, David Robinson (lots of airballs - I’m right handed), and Willie Anderson’s shooting motions. Later in my 20’s and 30s, which coincided with the arrival of one Manu Ginobili, I would routinely try (to moderate success) some of his forays to the basket along with the passes that would cause Pop to shed hair. And in my last streetball action in 2016, Danny Green was my offensive North Star, as I practiced the ‘Danny Green’ cut to get myself open in the weakside corner away from the action and shot maybe 29% from three. I often find myself re-watching many big moments in Spurs history, such as the 2003 Game 6 closeouts, Pop’s pre-game 7 (2013 finals) interview, and all the big moments from the 2014 championship run. In fact, I have many fond memories of all the championships. I watched 1999 in sports bar with my sister Lisa, which my dad said was the happiest day of his life (outside of my wedding, of course). 2003 and 2005 were watched with close friends, and 2007 with my sister Susan. My wife and I watched 2014 at a relatives’ place and my sister-in-law just had a newborn, so this was likely the most muted yet extended celebration of the five. I even got to attend the 2023 Hall of Fame Enshrinement. My sister, who was going through a difficult time in her life, came with me to the ceremony, and we bonded over childhood memories and many shed tears. Originally my dad was supposed to come, but he happily accepted a Wembanyama jersey instead. Perhaps one of my fondest memories came last Friday. I spent the night showing the nephew that was born just before 2014 Game 5 (their family lives just outside of Sacramento) videos of a) the 2002 Sacramento Kings and b) Jason Williams (of White Chocolate fame) highlights. When I showed him who made the 2002 WCF Game 4 winner (none other than Robert Horry), I quickly pivoted to showing him the final moments of 2005 Finals Game 5 and he was amazed at Horry’s soaring left hand dunk and game-winning three to put Detroit away. Unprompted, this kid left a handwritten thank you note in my luggage the next morning thanking me for these new memories. How I ended up at Pounding the Rock My best recall of how I ended up doing Final Scores and other (hopefully) edifying pieces for this great site was that J.R. Wilco very graciously asked me to do a holiday piece about our beloved Spurs in 2018, and I happily obliged. Though it’s been some of the most disheartening and dismaying handful of years in my four-decades-long fandom, I’ve come to be grateful for opportunities like this. I have joked around (with some truth) that I have led the PtR staff in “Final Score” losses the last three years running, but in all truth, I’ve really enjoyed being associated with some of the most endearing, funniest, and talented folks here. I even have my favorite shortlist of commenters (whom I can’t reveal at all), but I mostly love going to the site for Spurs content on non-gamedays. More bios: Marilyn Dubinski Bruno Passos Mark Barrington August Bembel JeJe Gomez Tanner Bowen Devon Birdsong Bill Huan Source: https://www.poundingtherock.com/2024/3/ ... -gary-quan