By Ken Cheng
Throughout this historic, franchise-redefining, season, the only thing Warriors fans haven’t yet seen, it seems, is the exact thing Warriors fans have gotten used to seeing for decades. Here are a few names, chosen randomly, to help paint the picture:
Todd Fuller
Vonteego Cummings
Mookie Blaylock
Tony Farmer
Brian Cardinal
Zarko Cabarkapa
Jason Caffey
Dickey Simpkins
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I could go on and on, but you probably get the point. Warriors fandom has always required a certain degree of fatalism. This is different than the sense of being “unlucky” or “cursed.” Those words imply a belief that good things are always within reach – that basketball redemption can be had if a few lucky breaks go the team’s way. The Giants made it to the World Series in 1989 and seemed poised to challenge the A’s until a massive earthquake changed everything. That felt like bad luck. They made it back 13 years later and were 7 outs away from winning it all until Scott Spiezio happened. Talk of curses seemed plausible then.
That was never the case for the Warriors. No, Warriors fans learned to settle into the team’s existential lot a long time ago and because of it, we reveled appropriately when glimpses of redemption made themselves seen. It was a strangely unifying thing, this unrequited love affair Warriors fans had with an organization that seemed incapable of rewarding its faithful. For many years, we felt a sort of masochistic pride in our ability to remain loyal to such an incompetently run organization. This is, I think, a feeling unique to people who grew up in the Bay Area.
Part of the reason this season – and even the last two before it – feels so gratifying to watch is the seismic shift it’s caused in what it means to be a Warrior fan. We no longer root for a perennial loser. But the other part of what makes this season so special is what hasn’t changed. Namely: the lack of belief outside of Warrior-dom usually reserved for 6, 7, or 8 seeds as opposed to a team that’s wrapping up an historically great season. Whether it’s Charles Barkley poo-pooing the Warriors as a mere “jump shooting team” or national analysts preferring James Harden as their MVP, there remains a collective fanbase scorned, underdog, chip on our shoulders that makes Warrior fans feel part of a larger whole. Even for those who no longer have the privilege of following the team from the comforts of a beloved home city, there remains a feeling of togetherness with those who do.
Whether or not the Warriors go on to the win an NBA Championship in a few weeks will not change that. That’s the beauty of being a Warrior fan. Of course, there will be disappointment – from San Mateo to Shanghai – if they come up short. But the simple fact that we get to spend at least the next couple weeks watching our team chase a ring seems like reward enough. At least right now. Because chances are, we’ll be doing it with other Warrior fans; both friends and strangers alike. In that respect, it seems fitting that the most enduring symbol of the Warriors franchise, over the years – worn on the shirts, hats, and jackets of fans everywhere – is a logo featuring the silhouette of a bridge.