Jeff Marker lives in Dallas, but he is no Mavericks Maniac.
A Spurs season ticket-holder for 20 years, he bleeds silver and black all across the Metroplex.
Before he ever takes his seats for a Spurs game at the ATT Center, Marker has boarded a plane, rented a car and checked into a .
When he expresses his regret about a 2011-12 Spurs season now seriously threatened with cancellation as the lockout heads to litigation, his first thoughts are for the parking-lot attendants, ushers and concessionaires he and his family have gotten to know over many seasons.
The disclaimer of interest announced Monday by the has put the league on a path to what commissioner called nuclear winter. The chill has resonated for Spurs fans across the globe. Email responses to a feedback request posted on Twitter came from Texas, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Spain.
Marker’s concern for those affected by the cancellation of games was a theme repeated often.
“My heart really goes out to the arena workers that have taken such great care of me and my family,” he wrote. “They are the only ones that are really getting (abused) in this process.”
While empathy for those affected dominates Marker’s emotions about the loss of games and the threat the entire season could be canceled, other Spurs fans are mad as hell.
Some will express their fury with their wallets, including Tyler Remmert, a 24-year-old season ticket-holder who says he has spent literally half his life going to Spurs games at the SBC/ATT Center and Alamodome.
“I bleed silver and black (and in the early years, teal, pink and orange). I’ve personally witnessed both championships won at home, unashamedly crying in 2003 watching The Admiral exit the floor for the last time as a champion.
“It is with this background that I make this promise to you now: So long as retains control of the Spurs, so long as David Stern heads the NBA, and so long as heads association, you will not see me in the ATT Center.
“So long as the avarice-infected money-mongers of this league continue to have no regard for the quality of life for the employees (NOT THE PLAYERS) of this organization, I will not give money to them. It will mean nothing, and if perchance they ever read this they would probably laugh. Who cares, right? I’m just another fan, a pauper compared to the owners and players of this league who have made it their business to insult us by making the difference between 53 and 50 percent BRI seem like life and death.”
Another San Antonian, , made it clear he puts most of the blame on the owners for the ongoing impasse:
“While I am sure there is some blame on both sides, the players were willing to give back (seven percent) of BRI and also appeared willing to compromise on many, if not most, system issues. I have not seen any similar demonstration of good faith or fair negotiation from the owners, who made the decision to lock the players out and jeopardize the season in the first place.
“Additionally, as a San Antonio taxpayer, it is incredibly frustrating that the , which was funded in part by approximately $150 million in local tax dollars, will apparently sit unused this season.”
John Lugo, a 19-year-old student and lifetime Spurs fan, expressed frustration at the focus on arcana in the issues that separate the two sides, especially during a time of economic stress.
“Try explaining system issues to people who are now scrambling for minimum wage jobs,” he wrote.
The common thread among Spurs fans appears to be deep disappointment, even from a continent away.
“I’m a Spanish Spurs fan, have been sleepless thousands of nights through the last decade just to watch NBA games — particularly Spurs games,” wrote , from Madrid. “I’m deeply disappointed with both owners and players, and I really wonder how will be the NBA when this nightmare ends.”
