Personal Airwaves: September 2009

If there's one team I have always hated (other than the Lakers), it would be the Spurs.

I hate how they were always so boring to watch. I hate how they always seem to find a way for make their opponents to make a mistake. I hate how organized and disciplined they've always been. I hate how they appear to be a cut above every other team.

The Spurs were the perfect villains. I hated seeing them win. And I loved seeing them lose.

I'd always respected Tim Duncan for his greatness, Manu Ginobili for his willingness to go all the way for the littlest things, and Tony Parker for constantly elevating his game every year. But the one Spur who had always been there since I started watching the NBA, my one constant target of ire as an NBA fan, was Bruce Bowen.

Bowen was no All-Star. He wasn't defended by the best defender on the opposing team. Opposing coaches didn't draw up defensive schemes to stop this guy. But he always found ways to bother opponents, and most times, he didn't do it by putting up big numbers.

Bruce Bowen was the guy who took the assignment of stopping the best players on opposing squads. He spent his best years forcing mistakes out of guys like Vince Carter, Paul Pierce, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, and LeBron James. On offense, Bowen never averaged more than 8.2 points per game, but he remained a valuable asset on the floor because of his skill in hitting that corner 3-pointer.

Most of my memories of the NBA Playoffs involve the San Antonio Spurs. And when the Spurs enter the picture, the memory is often grim, gloomy, and downright frustrating. Well, except for that 0.4-second shot that Derek Fisher hit over Manu. That one was a classic! Did you see the look on TD and Bowen's faces? I hate the Lakers, but I wanted them to kick Spur ass that year.

Anyway, as a fan who grew up watching Bruce Bowen get in the way of the teams I rooted for, I can actually breathe a sigh of relief now that he's gone. He can no longer terrorize the league. He can no longer dish out those flying kicks (most famously those involving Ray Allen and a $10,000 fine in 2006 and another one involving Wally Szczerbiak). He can no longer kick guys in the groin when they pull up for jumpers (see Steve Nash). No more corner 3-pointers that stick it to you like a dagger just when your team's trying to stage a comeback over the Spurs.

But when I think about it, Bruce Bowen was more than just the perfect villain on the court.

He was a teacher of sorts.

While he never even got drafted and had to wait four years after his draft season to make an NBA roster, he showed that patience and hard work can get you very, very far.

While he was notorious among NBA fans and players, the community his team played for loved him because of his loyal service to the people around him.

While he never made a single All-Star game, he proved to us that by knowing your role and by doing it well, you can still make a hell of a difference on the team you play for.

While he never averaged double digits in scoring per game, he showed that there's always a chance to step up when your number is called.

While he never had the type of fan loyalty that superstars like CP3, LBJ or The Black Mamba have, he proved that the more important accolades are the ones that say that you actually won it all, the ones that you win as a team.

Bowen's NBA journey was not a typical one. It is a path not all men are willing to take. It is something that not everyone can appreciate.

But that's what made him special. And in the end, that's what I will always remember him for. Well, that and this awesome flying kick.

Photos from:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/ian_thomsen/06/13/spurs.bowen/

http://theassociation.blogs.com/the_association/2007/03/are_kobe_and_br.html

http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=14990.0

Monday, September 7, 2009

AIESEC UP Diliman Presents: M-150

Bruce Bowen: More Than Just A "Dirty Player"

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