Memories of “Friendly” Spurs/Heat Competition

The 2013 NBA Finals was a nail-biter. Going right down to the last few moments in game seven, the Miami Heat overcame the San Antonio Spurs. And my brother, Emery, was there to celebrate his team’s victory. After that great Miami win, Emery invited my husband, Larry, to join him in the Heat arena if the two teams met again in the 2014 finals. To these two die-hard basketball fanatics, a repeat was a no-brainer. So with the 2014 game count being 1-1, my husband graciously accepted Emery’s invitation, and Larry and I flew to Miami where Larry took his mid-court 17th row seat for game three. And memories were made.

The Spurs’ devastating loss of game two in our own arena made Emery confident his team, playing the next two in the Heat arena, would come out champions. On the other hand, Larry’s nerves were a bit frazzled. He had traveled all the way to Miami, and he didn’t want to see his Spurs lose and fall behind in the series.

Along with Jill, Emery’s wife, the four of us kept the pre-game talk light and playful; however, we served slight jabs to each other as we all felt the undercurrent of “my team better win tonight.” As a season ticket holder, Emery took Larry to the pre-game party at the arena where two Miami cheerleaders playfully covered up the Spurs’ name on Larry’s shirt. However, they couldn’t cover Duncan’s number—an omen of things to come? Most definitely!

Larry found the Miami fans who sat around him to be quite friendly as their team went down in flames—big time—111 to 92. And Larry made just as much noise there as he does when watching the game at home—loud and animated.

Meantime, I looked forward to watching the game at my brother’s home on their 72″ TV with Jill, who fell asleep by halftime. With every Spurs’ dunk, my energy grew, and the crowd of one (me) went wild.

When the two brothers-in-law came home, the exhilaration of the Spurs’ win for Larry and the despair of the Heat defeat for Emery filled the air. Still on friendly terms though, they rehashed the game’s high and low moments with Emery believing this was just an “off-night” for the Heat. In fact, that’s what we all thought.

Larry and I returned to San Antonio and watched our beloved Spurs win the next two games to clench the 2014 NBA Finals championship. The whole experience was one neither Larry, nor Emery, will soon forget.

What a great memory to talk about for years to come. A memory that Larry will rehash for a very long time…and one that Emery will try to forget. Write about a time when you experienced a fun competition between relatives and/or friends.