jarrett jack (Photo: via @letsgowarriors Instagram account)
Time to take a trip down memory lane, which was not too long ago. Take yourself back to Game 6 of the 2012-13 Western Conference Semifinals. The Golden State Warriors got eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs, but do you remember what else happened? A lot!
Like, a Poor Man’s Willis Reed entrance for David Lee, Harrison Barnes hitting the floor with his head, and… Jarrett Jack‘s staying on the court to say thank you to #Roaracle.
Probably the best home loss in the history of the Warriors’ franchise.
Let’s some excerpts from this Poor Man’s Commish character. I hope he doesn’t sue me for copyright infringement, but oh well. It was a post entitled, “Hey Roaracle, You Are A Wild One”. (If you have, like, an hour, go ahead and peruse.)
PRE-GAME
Cue the Dance Cam on the jumbotron. Flo Rida’s “Wild Ones” track starts with the piano intro and Sia Furler wails, “Hey I heard you are a wild one, oooohhhhooohhhh…”
.
Imagine 19,500 people now standing and cheering in euphoria, most of those fans wearing their yellow playoff t-shirt, most of those fans nodding to that increasing “Wild Ones” beat, most of those fans dancing in their seats, and the best of those fans being captured on the giant LCD screens atop the middle of Roaracle.
.
By the second verse, more and more people are getting into the groove, happiness spreads as the jumbotron shows a kid making up moves on the fly, some patrons start pointing to the video as it transitions to a normally calm adult bespectacled professional, who gets it on with his own jerky movements, the sleeves on his dress shirt now rolled up, waving the yellow t-shirt as if it were a rally towel, the top button of his dress shirt now unbottoned to reveal the white t-shirt underneath — the abandonment of ensemble that used to represent his cool, calm, collected 9-to-5 self.
EARLY ON
The game started out ugly for the Warriors as they displayed simple ineptness down low, coughing up not one, not two, but three (possibly four, my memory escapes me!) interior possessions. To make matters worse, When Steph hit his first trey in Danny Green’s grill, it was clear he had much more confidence on this night than in Game 5, when he had passed up a few shots. Pop called a timeout almost before the ball splashed through, but it was way too early to bust out Flo Rida. Again, a masterful use of the timeout as defense by the Spurs’ sage. David Lee made an early cameo and, lo and behold, the Warriors had their starting five that should’ve been had Lee’s injury against the Nuggets not occurred: Steph, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Lee, and Andrew Bogut.
HARRISON BARNES HITTING THE HARDWOOD WITH HIS HEAD
We pick things up late in the 2nd quarter:
With three minutes to go, a trey by Steph assisted by a hustling Beans on the oreb, followed by a Jordanesque take by Barnes, followed by a superstar non-call travel on a layup by Steph (Tim Duncan wanted the travel but probably fouled Curry) pulled the Dubs to within 36-39. But, once again, like an MP3 stuck on repeat, the Spurs followed with Parker free throws (despite the “Eva” chants), a Timmy bankshot assisted by Manu, and a Green trey where Steph got lost, dazed once again by TP’s lolly-gagging, and not only were the Warriors suddenly down 36-45 with 2:00 to go in the half, but…
.
Ouchie mama! Perhaps the only time you could ever hear a pin drop at Oracle. The diametric opposite to “Wild Ones”. Ugh. A worried “Let’s Go Warriors” chant broke out, but died down quickly. The gravity of the moment, the season on the line and the game’s only consistent Warrior, was just too much, even for Roaracle. If there was any need for a sense of urgency for the Dubs, this was it. Unfortunately, more inconsistency ensued: Lee, torn hip flexor and all, got easily swatted by Timmy, but Steph managed to close the half by going the length of the court with a right-hand scoop. The Warriors were down 40-47 at the half with the entire arena on pins and needles with “Black Falcon Down” (okay, absolute last time I will use that nickname), representing the fourth of five original Warriors season and playoffs starters suffering some kind of debilitating injury
HARRISON AMAZINGLY COMES BACK!
Let’s pick it up in the 3rd…
Just when I thought the worst, just when I noticed Harrison wasn’t in halftime warmups, just as I was checking Twitter constantly and seeing all the somber tweets about him, Roaracle cheered as the third quarter started. I looked up to see Barnes standing at the baseline with his usual calm demeanor, ready to receive the ball from the ref. Amazing! And guess what, Beans was starting alongside Bogut.
……
The Spurs would end the quarter with Hack-a-Zeli, with Festus making 2-of-4 from the charity stripe, and Kent Bazemore getting burn in only the last 20.7 ticks, with Pop and MJ exchanging chess moves with Green coming in, only to be called on what jumobtron replays showed appeared to be a phantom foul while guarding Ginobili. Joey Crawford’s less-than-sterling reputation with Roaracle fans decayed further, as the arena became all but unhinged and what ensued was the loudest “Ref You Suck” chant (largely because it was in unison, for once) I’d ever heard, ranking second only to the “BULL$^&%” chants from the We Believe run.
CRUNCH TIME
The game was actually closer than people remember, and people generally don’t remember how Stephen Curry just needed to nail one of two shots in the same possession. And how a Klay Thompson trey went in-and-out.
Just when it seemed like Game 3 all over again when the Spurs, starting with Duncan, started missing shots apparently due to fatigue, just when Curry hit a pullup J to close the gap to 75-77, followed by a turnover via Duncan pass seemingly intended for ref Crawford, the unthinkable unfolded, even as the wise Pop sat Timmy on the bench. Steph missed an isolation play on the left elbow against Parker. The Dubs even got the offensive rebound and another jumpshot by Steph, this time a stepback, went off iron. Off of Splitter’s outlet, Ginobili came down, Parker went baseline and Jack — not the swiftest of feet — couldn’t get through the screens, and Manu delivered the ball to Tony who drilled the first nail in the coffin: a corner trey. With the Spurs up five and three minutes to go, the Dubs in the penalty and having to play a few perfect possessions in a row, well, they weren’t perfect. The Spurs were. Kawhi hit another trey with a hand in his face, with the Warriors countering with a wide-open Klay trey that went in and out, followed by an offensive rebound leading to Steph rattling his trey in-and-out. With the “#SplashBrothers” unable to halve the six-point lead, Parker delivered the final knockout punch from beyond the arc.
GAME OVER, BUT DON’T MAKE ME CRY, JACK!
Even in defeat, Jack’s actions spoke volumes and gave so much credibility to the Warriors franchise.
My favorite moment at Roaracle is when “Wild Ones” reaches the bridge, when the beat softens and the music dies down a little…
I am a wild one break me in, Saddle me up and let’s begin, I am a wild one tame me now, Running with wolves and I’m on the prowl.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIlaGmyuAhc&w=560&h=315]
(almost captured in this clip I found on YouTube…)That quiet part of the song: you can actually hear the fans bustling because the music isn’t blaring at that particular moment. That’s when you can actually hear the happiness of 19,500 Warriors fans.
“Wild Ones” never played. With 40 seconds remaining, the game was beyond reach.
……
But then as the buzzer blared and Roaracle started chanting, “Waaaarrrriooorrs, Waaaarrrriooorrs”, as the Warriors were officially eliminated and as the players graciously congratulated each other for a well-fought series, another moment that could only happen at Roaracle happened. Jack didn’t leave the floor. Instead, he walked towards the now-empty Spurs bench and pointed to the crowd. He gave them a thumbs up. He wrapped a towel around his head and wiped away some tears.
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