The Spurs’ epic Game 4 loss hits close to home
It was the winter of 2017, and the unthinkable was actually happening. I’d grown up in Atlanta, and my geographically-assigned NFL team, the historically hapless Atlanta Falcons, had somehow blown out the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game, earning a coveted spot in Super Bowl LI.
It was unbelievable, but at the same time, it felt as though Atlanta’s sports fortunes might finally be turning, in part because the entire city was having a run. The television show “Atlanta” had just won an Emmy award. Migos had the number one album in America. Even the Super Bowl matchup would be against the evil New England Patriots.
I was working for GQ at the time, and I wrote a column about how the Falcons should be considered America’s team, which went a bit viral—as it turned out, everyone hated the Patriots. I was invited on “Good Morning Football” to talk about the column. I got a note from someone letting me know then-Falcons head coach Dan Quinn had read it and appreciated it. I will drop an even bigger name here: I received word from a mutual that Jon Bon Jovi had read my column, and while he disagreed with my premise (JBJ is a Belichick guy), he understood where I was coming from.
Still, the craziest thing came about a week before the Super Bowl, when I got a call from someone at one of the NFL’s biggest corporate partners inviting me and a friend to attend the actual Super Bowl. Um, sure? Houston, here we come!
You know what happened next: Shortly following Luke Bryan’s national anthem, the Falcons roared out to a 28-3 lead. I kid you not, at that point I went out into the concourse to use the restroom, where I stood next to a fellow grizzled Falcons fan. We glanced at each other and shared a nod of disbelief. Out in the hallway, Falcons fans were hooting and hollering, chanting “MVP!” in honor of Matt Ryan. The guy next to me shook his head ruefully and said something along the lines of, “They must not know what usually happens.”
I nodded, because I knew. The Falcons could have been ahead by 100 points, and I still would have been nervous. As it turned out, rightfully so. Worst fears realized: The Falcons completely mismanaged the rest of the game, and the Patriots came back to tie it up in regulation. When the teams walked out for the overtime coin toss, my friend Dave turned and said, “There is no way the Falcons will win this coin toss.” They did not.
The Falcons didn’t win the game either, losing 34-28. I stood there in equal parts disbelief and total understanding, trying to sort all the thoughts running through my head. We filed out and boarded the bus back to the hotel, and out of all the work I’ve done in my career, the column I wrote that night was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to write, just because of the sheer absurdity of the situation.
So, here is where I can say, with some certainty, that after seeing the San Antonio Spurs blow a 29-point lead to the New York Knicks in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, I feel your pain, Spurs fans. I honestly do. Not many people know what it’s like to blow a 25-plus point lead in a championship game. BUT FALCONS FANS DO! I DO! I’ve worn those shoes, I’ve rocked that jersey, I’ve dried those tears.
It’s embarrassing. It’s unbelievable. It hurts. It’s hard to move past. Did that really happen? Why didn’t we… if only we… what if that play had…
It never ends. You’re left with fragments of thoughts and answers and ideas, and it sucks. It’s a hollow feeling, and despite everyone telling you it will eventually heal, it never really goes away, at least not completely. As fans, that kind of loss messes with your DNA. It’s always there, a PTLD (Post-Traumatic Loss Disorder) that sneaks up on you whenever your team has what feels like a comfortable lead. It infects organizations as well: The Falcons have won just one postseason game since that loss.
Perhaps the Spurs will manage to overcome this epic stumble. It wasn’t in a Game 7, after all, which I suppose would be the NBA equivalent of a Super Bowl. The Spurs are also an impossibly young team, anchored by a 22-year old Victor Wembanyama, so they have room to grow. And it’s also not like the Spurs haven’t been close in all of these Finals games – they’ve had a lead in the last two minutes of every game, but have only managed to win once, which I suppose says as much about their inexperience as anything.
My hope for the Spurs and their fans is that this is nothing more than a learning opportunity. Scars are lessons that have been absorbed, and this should leave a pretty healthy scar right down the spine of the entire Spurs nation.
We’ll know within a few days if the Spurs are able to bounce back in this series.
Does it leave deeper scars than that on the team? Too soon to tell.
Will it stick with Spurs fans forever? Yep.
But it’ll get better. Eventually. Probably.
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