Spurs: Bowen relishes look at Cowboys
Web Posted: 10/15/2007 10:30 PM CDT
Mike Monroe
Express-News staff writer
The Spurs returned to their practice court on Monday after a Sunday off that was given to relaxation and the enjoyment of sports other than basketball.
No Spurs player enjoyed Sunday more than Bruce Bowen, an avid Dallas Cowboys fan who got to see his first live NFL game.
Bowen didn’t even seem to mind too much the outcome of the Cowboys-Patriots game, a 48-27 New England victory.
“It was my first time going to a live (NFL) game, and to go see my favorite team, even though the outcome wasn’t as pleasant as I would have liked it to be, it was an awesome experience,” Bowen said. “It’s something I want to take my boys to very soon.”
Bowen managed to snag a sideline pass to get up close to his football heroes.
“As another professional athlete, you’re always interested to see what others do in their preparations,” Bowen said. “It was fantastic. I just enjoyed the whole process. It was a learning process for Bruce Bowen.”
Bowen learned that NBA players may be tall, but NFL players are big.
“That was the thing that surprised me: how big they are,” he said. “It was just fun all over. It brought out the little kid in me, to support my team and see the fan camaraderie.”
Bowen came home a fan of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, especially impressed by his poise.
“It’s something you can appreciate, going into another team’s home field and not getting rattled by anything,” Bowen said.
Bowen played football as a youngster, but said it didn’t take him long to understand his future was in basketball.
“I don’t know if you could call me a quarterback, but my position started with ‘Q,’” he said. “I threw a lot of wounded ducks out there. I was terrible.”
Nobody dared ask Tim Duncan, an avid Chicago Bears fan, about his Sunday of watching pro football.
Who’d have believed it: Spurs guard Brent Barry noted that during last spring’s playoff run that resulted in the 2007 NBA title, several players took in baseball games in Denver and Phoenix.
“(During) the playoffs we had a chance to see both the (Colorado) Rockies, when we were playing the Nuggets, and the (Arizona) Diamondbacks, when we were playing the Suns. Certainly, at that point I wouldn’t have thought that either of those teams would have been in the National League Championships Series, but that’s baseball for you.”
Tickets to go on sale: The Spurs will begin selling individual game tickets for the 2007-08 regular season at 10 a.m. Saturday. Tickets are available for all 41 regular-season home games. Prices range from $10 to $69.
Full season-ticket packages, as well as half-season packages and 10-game and five-game packages, remain available as well.
Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster Ticket Center locations, as well as through Charge by Phone at (210) 225-TEAM, or online at ticketmaster.com or spurs.com. They also will be available at the AT&T Center Box Office. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (on event days only).