http://www.youtube.com/v/VckyCBOyfIg?hl=en_US&version=3If you got a chance to see the San Antonio Spurs play at HemisFair Arena, apparently it was quite the treat. I never did. I was eight when the Spurs played their last season there, and my family didn’t go to too many NBA games when I was growing up.
But hearing stories of HemisFair makes me wish I could go back in time and see what it was like. Hearing about how the arena was “The Noisiest in the NBA” and such a big part of San Antonio life makes me wonder how it compares to today’s loudest NBA arenas.
Apparently, to hear the “old” guys tell it, HemisFair was a huge part of San Antonio culture.
“I don’t know how to phrase it, but San Antonio wasn’t a city then,” said Denver Nuggets coach George Karl, who played with the Spurs in the ‘70s. “It was a town, a big town, and the Arena got to be like a party. It was the thing to do. It was a celebration of San Antonio nightlife at a basketball game.”
San Antonio billionaire Red McCombs has some fond memories of the old arena as well.
“I’ve been involved in a lot of things that were significant for San Antonio,” said McCombs. “But when people ask me what was the most important, the answer is easy — the Spurs. It put us on another level, and it wouldn’t have happened without HemisFair Arena.”
Again, it makes me wish I could have been there.
Were any of you lucky to catch a Spurs game at HemisFair?
