[SAEN]马刺球迷在25周年纪念日回想起“阵亡将士纪念日奇迹”

By Melissa Renteria, Staff writer | San Antonio Express-News, 2024-05-30 23:15:25

由生成式人工智能翻译,译文内容可能不准确或不完整,以原文为准。

Image
肖恩·艾利奥特(圣安东尼奥马刺队32号)在1999年西部联盟决赛第二场比赛中对阵波特兰开拓者队命中制胜球后庆祝。

格雷格·冈萨雷斯清晰地记得25年前的今天他做了什么。

冈萨雷斯和妻子珍尼斯在西北区家的电视机前坐下,他对圣安东尼奥马刺队的表现越来越失望。

这是1999年西部联盟决赛的第二场比赛,马刺队输给了波特兰开拓者队。他从孩提时代起就一直在忠实地关注这场比赛,马刺队在比赛中一次也没有领先过。有时,马刺队还落后两位数。

正如任何一个真正的马刺球迷都知道的那样,五月底那天,阿拉莫巨蛋球场的情况发生了转机。马刺队的反击以肖恩·艾利奥特命中三分球为高潮,这使得马刺队在比赛还剩几秒钟的时候以一分领先。马刺队以86-85击败了波特兰队,在大比分上以2-0领先。

冈萨雷斯刚刚赶上见证制胜一球。当他在岳父岳母家观看比赛时,他开始欢呼,大喊大叫,最终兴奋地击打着走廊的墙壁。

他说:“当时我妻子告诉我,她知道我是一个疯狂的马刺球迷。”他笑着说。

冈萨雷斯是无数马刺球迷中的一员,他们爱用怀念的口吻回忆起这段被许多人认为是球队历史上最伟大的时刻之一。一些球迷说,这一球被称为“阵亡将士纪念日奇迹”,因为它发生的日期和不可思议的概率,可以说是NBA季后赛历史上最精彩的比赛之一。

莫里·瓦斯克斯说:“如果你当时在世,你会记得自己在哪里,这是那样的一个时刻。”他当时正在为KENS电视台报道这场比赛。

瓦斯克斯不再从事广播工作,他说他和许多坐在阿拉莫巨蛋媒体区的人一时忘记了保持不偏不倚的冷静态度。

他说:“我们很多人都像其他人一样,欢呼起来。”

瓦斯克斯说:“我们就像,‘我们刚刚见证了什么?’”他补充说,他很快切换回了媒体人的模式,想知道他的电视台同事在哪里,以及摄像师是否拍到了那一球。

对于那些对马刺队传奇故事不太了解的人来说,阵亡将士纪念日奇迹发生在1999年5月31日,据报道,当时阿拉莫巨蛋球场有超过3.5万名观众。

根据比赛报告,在第四节后期,开拓者队控球后卫达蒙·斯托达迈尔罚中一球后,马刺队以85-83落后。在马刺队暂停后,比赛还剩12秒,马刺队后卫马里奥·埃利将球传给艾利奥特,后者在边线附近接到了传球。

艾利奥特设法保持脚尖着地,没有脚后跟落地出界,转身投出了三分球。在接下来的几秒钟里,波特兰队未能得分。

圣安东尼奥当地人罗丝玛丽·霍华德在谈到这场大胜时说:“它让我们这个城市团结在一起。我们都感受到了兴奋。”

20世纪80年代初,霍华德是Baseline Bums的一员,这是一个由马刺赛季持票者组成的团体,他们热情地为球队在指定区域欢呼加油。当阵亡将士纪念日奇迹发生时,她正在家里看比赛,但她仍然兴奋地为自己的球队加油。

她在谈到这场季后赛时说:“我当时像其他人一样,坐在椅子边缘。”许多马刺球迷都认为这是球队粉丝群的一个转折点。

瓦斯克斯说:“我们相信。那场胜利让我们相信那可能是我们的一年。”

正如球迷们所知,马刺队横扫开拓者队,首次进入NBA总决赛,并最终赢得了第一个总冠军。这将是马刺队的五个冠军中的第一个,而他们最后一次庆祝夺冠是在2014年。

在1999年的季后赛中,球迷们并不知道艾利奥特当时患有肾病,导致他的肾脏功能恶化。在1999年赢得总冠军后不到两个月,艾利奥特接受了肾移植手术。

对于一些马刺球迷来说,艾利奥特在其身体状况下仍能上场打球,这使得阵亡将士纪念日奇迹变得更加特别。而且,他们说,这为这一绰号增添了另一层含义。

瓦斯克斯说:“我们当时都说,‘他一边处理这些事一边做到那样’,想想都不可思议。”

尽管在1999年的季后赛中还有其他精彩的时刻,但那次季后赛是马刺队连续22次季后赛的第二次,球迷们仍然津津乐道于那个“奇迹”进球。一些人仍然在社交媒体上发布那场精彩比赛的视频和图片,怀念自己当时的处境以及是如何庆祝的。

4月,一名球迷发布了一个视频关于艾利奥特的制胜球,以前称为推特,参与比赛的两名球员分享了他们的想法。

艾利奥特在重新发布 Bexar County Social Apparel发布的视频中[写道]]:“以前从未见过这个角度,相信我,我已经看过所有这些角度了”。

“谢谢大家给我的回忆。”他继续说。

埃利在评论区中写道:“传球的是谁???”

艾利奥特回复道:“那一年我们搭档完成了几次制胜球。当你的队友相信你的时候,你总是会更出色!妙传。”

Image
在马刺队以86-85击败波特兰开拓者队,在大比分7场制NBA西部联盟决赛中取得2-0领先后,圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋肖恩·艾利奥特在离开球场时举起了拳头。## 圣安东尼奥马刺队肖恩·埃利奥特1999年西部决赛第2场的制胜三分球

Image
1999年5月31日,在圣安东尼奥阿拉莫穹顶球场进行的西部决赛第2场最后几秒,圣安东尼奥马刺队的肖恩·埃利奥特投进了制胜的三分球。埃利奥特全场获得22分,帮助马刺队以86-85战胜开拓者队,在7场4胜制的系列赛中取得2-0的领先。电子图片 AFP照片/罗伯特·苏利文(图片版权应为 ROBERT SULLIVAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Image
约1999年在圣安东尼奥得克萨斯州阿拉莫穹顶球场进行的1999年西部决赛第2场,圣安东尼奥马刺队的肖恩·埃利奥特(32号)在开拓者队的拉希德·华莱士(30号)面前投进了制胜球。Mandatory版权声明:NBAE 1999年版权所有(摄影:Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

Image
1999年5月31日星期一,在阿拉莫穹顶球场举行的西部决赛第2场比赛中,肖恩·埃利奥特投进了三分球,赢得比赛,他对此做出了反应。

Image
1999年5月31日,在阿拉莫穹顶球场进行的西部决赛第2场比赛最后几秒,圣安东尼奥马刺队的队友肖恩·埃利奥特让马刺队取得领先后,圣安东尼奥马刺队中锋大卫·罗宾逊做出了反应。圣安东尼奥队以86-85获胜。

Image
1999年5月31日,在西部决赛第2场比赛的最后时刻获胜后,肖恩·埃利奥特拥抱蒂姆·邓肯。

Image
圣安东尼奥马刺队的肖恩·埃利奥特在1999年西部决赛第2场比赛中对阵开拓者队时投进了制胜球,开拓者队的后卫吉姆·杰克逊在背景中请求暂停。

Image
1999年西部决赛第2场比赛中,圣安东尼奥马刺队的肖恩·埃利奥特(32号)在对阵开拓者队时投进了制胜球后庆祝。

点击查看原文:Spurs fans recall ‘Memorial Day Miracle’ on 25th anniversary

Spurs fans recall ‘Memorial Day Miracle’ on 25th anniversary

Image
Sean Elliott #32 of the San Antonio Spurs celebrates after hitting the game-winning shot against the Portland Trail Blazers during Game 2 of the 1999 Western Conference Finals at the Alamodome.

Greg Gonzales vividly remembers what he was doing 25 years ago today.

Settled in front of a television alongside his wife, Janice, at his Northwest Side home, Gonzales was growing increasingly disappointed with how his San Antonio Spurs were playing.

It was Game 2 of the 1999 Western Conference Finals and the Spurs were losing to the Portland Trail Blazers. The team he’d followed faithfully since childhood hadn’t led once in the game. At times, the Spurs trailed by double digits.

As any true Spurs fan knows, things at the Alamodome turned around that day in late May. The Spurs’ comeback culminated with forward Sean Elliott hitting a three-point shot that put the Spurs ahead by one point with seconds on the clock. The Spurs went on to defeat Portland 86-85 to take a 2-0 lead in the series.

Gonzales tuned in just in time to see the game-winning shot. As he watched at his in-law’s house, he began cheering, yelling and eventually hitting the hallway walls with excitement.

“That’s when my wife told me she knew I was a crazy Spurs fan,” he said, laughing.

Gonzales is among the countless Spurs fans fondly recalling what many consider one of the biggest moments in franchise history. Some fans say the shot, dubbed the “Memorial Day Miracle” because of its improbability and the day on which it happened, is arguably one of the top plays in NBA playoff history.

“It’s one of those moments that if you were alive then, you can say where you were,” said Maury Vasquez, who was covering the game for KENS-TV.

Vasquez, who no longer works in broadcasting, said he and many others sitting in the Alamodome’s media section momentarily forgot to maintain their unbiased composure.

“A lot of us erupted in cheers like everyone else did,” he said.

“We were like, ‘what did we just witness,’ ” Vasquez said, adding he quickly switched back to media guy mode, wondering where his station colleagues were and whether the cameraman got the shot.

For those unschooled in Spurs lore, the Memorial Day Miracle took place May 31, 1999, in front of an Alamodome crowd reported to be over 35,000.

According to game reports, it was late in the fourth quarter and the Spurs trailed 85-83 after Trail Blazers point guard Damon Stoudamire hit one of two free throws. After a Spurs timeout and with 12 seconds left in the game, Spurs guard Mario Elie inbounded the ball past a diving Stacey Augmon to Elliott, who caught the pass near the sideline.

Managing to stay on his toes and not place his heels down and out of bounds, Elliott turned to shoot a three-pointer. Portland was unable to score in the few remaining seconds.

“It united us as a city,” San Antonio native Rosemary Howard said of the big win. “We all felt the excitement.”

In the early 1980s, Howard was a member of the Baseline Bums, a group of Spurs season ticket holders who enthusiastically cheer on the team from a designated section at the game. By the time the Memorial Day Miracle happened, she was watching games at home, but still excitedly cheering on her team.

“I was sitting on the edge of my seat like everyone was,” she said of the playoff game that she and many other Spurs fans consider a turning point for the team’s fan base.

“We believed,” Vasquez said. “That win made us believe it could be our year.”

As fans know, the Spurs went on to sweep the Trail Blazers for the franchise’s first trip to the NBA Finals and ultimately its first championship. It would be the first of five titles for the Spurs, who last celebrated a championship in 2014.

During the 1999 playoffs, fans were unaware that Elliott was playing with a kidney disease that was causing his body’s renal function to worsen. Elliott underwent kidney transplant surgery less than two months after the 1999 championship win.

For some Spurs fans, Elliott playing through his medical condition made the Memorial Day Miracle even more special. And, they said, it adds another significance to the moniker.

“We were all like, ‘he did that while dealing with that’ and it’s just incredible to think about,” Vasquez said.

Despite other exciting moments during that 1999 playoff run, which was the second of 22 consecutive playoff berths for the Spurs, fans still talk about the “Miracle” shot. Some still post video and images of the big play on social media, fondly reminiscing of where they were and how they celebrated.

In April, after a fan posted a video of Elliott’s game-winning shot on X, formerly Twitter, two of the players involved in the play shared their thoughts.

“Never seen this angle before and trust me, I’ve seen them all,” Elliott wrote on a repost of a video originally posted by Bexar County Social Apparel.

“Thank you all for the memories,” he continued.

Among the comments on the post was one made by Elie: “Who made the pass???”

Elliott responded: “We hooked up for a couple of game winners that year. You’re always better when your teammates believe in you! Great pass.”

Image
San Antonio Spurs forward Sean Elliott raises his fists as he leaves the court after the Spurs defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 86-85 to go up 2-0 in the best-of-seven NBA Western Conference Finals on May 31, 1999, in San Antonio.

Image
Sean Elliott of the San Antonio Spurs follows through on his game-winning three point shot against the Portland Trail Blazers in the final seconds of game two of the Western Conference Final 31 May 1999 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Elliott finished with 22 points as the Spurs beat the Trail Blazers 86-85 to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. ELECTRONIC IMAGE AFP PHOTO/Robert SULLIVAN (Photo credit should read ROBERT SULLIVAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Image
Sean Elliott #32 of the San Antonio Spurs shoots the games winner over Rasheed Wallace #30 of the Portland Trail Balzers during Game 2 of the 1999 Western Conference Finals at the Alamo Dome circa 1999 in San Antonio, Texas. Maditory Copyright notice: Copyright NBAE 1999 (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

Image
Sean Elliott reacts after burying the three-point shot to win Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals Monday May 31, 1999, at the Alamodome.

Image
San Antonio Spurs center David Robinson reacts after teammate Sean Elliott gave the Spurs the lead during the final seconds of Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals on May 31, 1999, at the Alamodome. San Antonio won 86-85.

Image
Sean Elliott hugs Tim Duncan after a last-minute win on May 31, 1999, Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.

Image
San Antonio Spurs center David Robinson reacts as Portland Trail Blazers guard Jim Jackson calls timeout in the background after San Antonio’s Sean Elliott gave the Spurs the lead during the final seconds of their Western Conference Finals game on May 31, 1999, in San Antonio.

Image
Sean Elliott #32 of the San Antonio Spurs celebrates after hitting the game-winning shot against the Portland Trail Blazers during Game 2 of the 1999 Western Conference Finals at the Alamodome.

By Melissa Renteria, Staff writer, via San Antonio Express-News

1 个赞

99年看球的心情经历再也无法复制!西恩那张三分投篮近照太帅了,曾经的队史三分王不是盖的!