During the 2006-07 season, Golden State Warriors fans and players came together as a community.
They weren’t treating us like spectators who paid to watch them. They understood that we were watching and waiting for them to make it to their full potential and we were patient.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: This is Part Two. Read Part One here.]In Jason Richardson’s ad/letter that the team signed, he stated, “We are committed to doing whatever it takes this summer to make the 2006/2007 season one that you can be proud of.”
Wow, I seriously get goose bumps reading that letter. But he was being serious; he meant those words and the Dubs made it happen.
It wasn’t Baron Davis’s beard that got the Warriors to the second round of the playoffs, it wasn’t Matt Barnes’s mohawk, and it wasn’t the array of different celebrities filing into Oracle Arena (aka “#Roaracle”).
No, it was Adonal Foyle sitting on the bench soaking in all of the energy of Roaracle.
It was J-Rich wanting to give back to the fans.
It was Paul Wong, the dedicated #DubNation fan who created the “We Believe” campaign.
It was the passion behind the promise that the Warriors made in that letter to their fans. And I guess “Nellie Ball” helped a little bit too… 😉
You may think this is some sappy article, but it’s true. The Warriors were good before, but they knew that they could be better and, well, they prevailed.
They made it to the second round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs despite everyone’s doubts. Yes, Charles Barkley, that includes you -– one of the biggest recent Warriors bandwagon fans.
It’s crazy to think that years have passed since the “We Believe” season. We’ve experienced “We Are Warriors” and “Loud. Proud. Warriors” both of which were amazing.
But for me, “We Believe” will always have a soft spot in my heart.
That was the season when fans realized that when we told people, “It’s just not our year, next year we’ll be amazing,” we weren’t just saying that. It happened. It came true.
The thing about Golden State fans is that the majority of them aren’t bandwagon fans now that they’ve become a remarkable team. The majority of us have been here. We’ve been waiting for this moment and we’re soaking it all up.
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via San Francisco Chronicle)
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