MadMonk
05-03-2010, 09:46 AM
Great article!
Durant belongs with Thunder, and Thunder belong with Oklahoma - NBA - CBSSports.com Basketball (http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/13336982/durant-belongs-with-thunder-and-thunder-belong-with-oklahoma?tag=pageRow;pageContainer)
Game 6 ended in the most shocking way possible, with the Lakers stealing victory from defeat when Pau Gasol tapped in the game-winning shot with less than one second to play. That ended the game and the series ... and the Thunder's season. And do you know what the Thunder crowd did next? It stood and cheered, and this is where I'm getting goosebumps as I remember it. The season was over, the Thunder was crushed -- Kevin Durant, earnest like a college player, collapsed at midcourt at the final buzzer -- and the damn crowd was giving them an ovation out of appreciation for a sensational season.
When it happened, I started looking around for the reason. Is there a fight? Why are they cheering? NBA crowds don't cheer at this time, or with this much passion. This wasn't half-hearted, over-the-shoulder applause by fans who were headed for the exits. This was 16,000 people standing and staring at the court and loving a losing team. This lasted almost five minutes. A half hour after the game, Brooks said the crowd's response had torn up his team, in a good way.
"They're pretty emotional in there," Brooks said of his players in the OKC locker room. "Because of the crowd."
Durant belongs with Thunder, and Thunder belong with Oklahoma - NBA - CBSSports.com Basketball (http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/13336982/durant-belongs-with-thunder-and-thunder-belong-with-oklahoma?tag=pageRow;pageContainer)
Game 6 ended in the most shocking way possible, with the Lakers stealing victory from defeat when Pau Gasol tapped in the game-winning shot with less than one second to play. That ended the game and the series ... and the Thunder's season. And do you know what the Thunder crowd did next? It stood and cheered, and this is where I'm getting goosebumps as I remember it. The season was over, the Thunder was crushed -- Kevin Durant, earnest like a college player, collapsed at midcourt at the final buzzer -- and the damn crowd was giving them an ovation out of appreciation for a sensational season.
When it happened, I started looking around for the reason. Is there a fight? Why are they cheering? NBA crowds don't cheer at this time, or with this much passion. This wasn't half-hearted, over-the-shoulder applause by fans who were headed for the exits. This was 16,000 people standing and staring at the court and loving a losing team. This lasted almost five minutes. A half hour after the game, Brooks said the crowd's response had torn up his team, in a good way.
"They're pretty emotional in there," Brooks said of his players in the OKC locker room. "Because of the crowd."