I hope you'll find this an interesting read.
You all are going to think I'm crazy for making such a big deal out of this, but I made what I consider a pretty big accomplishment today: I beat the Spurs at the Alamodome in NBA 2K6 on Superstar mode, 88-78 (a low NBA score, or an unbelievably high score for six minute quarters, take your pick). Anyone who's played 2K6 on Superstar mode knows that this is quite a challenge. Anyone who's been following have probably known that my video game travels have not always ended in such glory, to say the least. I've lost to such mediocre teams as Seattle Supersonics, etc.
But the reason I'm posting this is to describe HOW I won. During the beginning of the game, I stumbled out of gate. Brad Miller missed two point-blank layups, and the refs were calling seriously phantom fouls on the Kings (even in video games!!).
But then, my fortunes turned. I know the exact moment this happened. It was during the 1st quarter of the game. It was when I thought to myself, "The Spurs are a better team than the Kings, I'm going to have try much harder to stay competitive." But then, immediately after that thought, another thought struck my head: "Wait a minute, who says the Spurs are a better team? And why do I care what they think?? What do they know?? (the answer: Nothing!)" And then immediately after that, I thought, "I'm just going to play the best I can with the team I have, and completely forget that I'm playing the San Antonio Spurs."
And I really, earnestly followed through with that thought throughout the game. I completely kept out of my mind what I felt should be the probable outcome, and just focused on playing the best I could. The refs kept making phantom foul calls (at one point, I had 8 team fouls to the Spurs' 0). I laughed it off (instead of throwing the controller). I literally just took it one play at a time (cliche noted), finding the open man, setting picks, making sure I was relaxed when I shot a 3, and aggressive when driving to the hoop. And for every Duncan floater, Ginobili 5-footer, and Parker lay-in, I took it in stride, and countered. Bibby 3. Bonzi slam. Miller layup. I couldn't contain the Spurs, but the Spurs couldn't fight me off either. Too much offensive firepower.
But what I'm most impressed with was the endgame. After heading into the 4th down by 5, the Spurs eventually caught up to me, and were tied up with under 2 minutes to go, and I could feel my nerves creeping up. Oh no, I've been through this before. And I'm playing as the Kings. Against the Spurs, of all teams. Is this going to be another meltdown?
But something different happened today. I remembered what I had promised myself, and I knew that if I was nervous, I wasn't going to play my best, so I didn't let the nerves get the best of me. And when I got things under control, good things happened. Bibby steals from Parker at midcourt, and drives in for the uncontested layup. Bibby steals from Parker again, uncontested layup. Before I know it, I'm up by 5. The Spurs panic, Duncan shoots a 3, which misses badly, rebound Thomas, a sequence of fouls and Spurs shots, and before I know it, I'm up by 7 with the ball on the last possession, and Artest swishes a 3 at the buzzer just for good measure. Ball game.
The win was satisfying, but, to be honest, not surprising to me. Because I made a decision not to get swept up into thinking the Spurs are better, and I know that with the talent that they have, that the Kings can beat the Spurs. And I knew with the mindset I had, that I would giving my team the absolute best chance they could to win. And that's what happened.
Anyway, y'all probably think I'm crazy for making so big a deal out of a Playstation game. I'm not sure how well this applies to the real Kings, but I just know that, by completely blocking out what I expected to be the outcome based on the public reputation of both teams, and simply focusing on playing to my team's potential, and not letting the referees or the Spurs' potent offense or the end-game pressure get the best of me (a rarity, I can assure you), I did something that I thought previously to be highly improbable, and I did it fairly and convincingly. Take what you want out of this.
You all are going to think I'm crazy for making such a big deal out of this, but I made what I consider a pretty big accomplishment today: I beat the Spurs at the Alamodome in NBA 2K6 on Superstar mode, 88-78 (a low NBA score, or an unbelievably high score for six minute quarters, take your pick). Anyone who's played 2K6 on Superstar mode knows that this is quite a challenge. Anyone who's been following have probably known that my video game travels have not always ended in such glory, to say the least. I've lost to such mediocre teams as Seattle Supersonics, etc.
But the reason I'm posting this is to describe HOW I won. During the beginning of the game, I stumbled out of gate. Brad Miller missed two point-blank layups, and the refs were calling seriously phantom fouls on the Kings (even in video games!!).
But then, my fortunes turned. I know the exact moment this happened. It was during the 1st quarter of the game. It was when I thought to myself, "The Spurs are a better team than the Kings, I'm going to have try much harder to stay competitive." But then, immediately after that thought, another thought struck my head: "Wait a minute, who says the Spurs are a better team? And why do I care what they think?? What do they know?? (the answer: Nothing!)" And then immediately after that, I thought, "I'm just going to play the best I can with the team I have, and completely forget that I'm playing the San Antonio Spurs."
And I really, earnestly followed through with that thought throughout the game. I completely kept out of my mind what I felt should be the probable outcome, and just focused on playing the best I could. The refs kept making phantom foul calls (at one point, I had 8 team fouls to the Spurs' 0). I laughed it off (instead of throwing the controller). I literally just took it one play at a time (cliche noted), finding the open man, setting picks, making sure I was relaxed when I shot a 3, and aggressive when driving to the hoop. And for every Duncan floater, Ginobili 5-footer, and Parker lay-in, I took it in stride, and countered. Bibby 3. Bonzi slam. Miller layup. I couldn't contain the Spurs, but the Spurs couldn't fight me off either. Too much offensive firepower.
But what I'm most impressed with was the endgame. After heading into the 4th down by 5, the Spurs eventually caught up to me, and were tied up with under 2 minutes to go, and I could feel my nerves creeping up. Oh no, I've been through this before. And I'm playing as the Kings. Against the Spurs, of all teams. Is this going to be another meltdown?
But something different happened today. I remembered what I had promised myself, and I knew that if I was nervous, I wasn't going to play my best, so I didn't let the nerves get the best of me. And when I got things under control, good things happened. Bibby steals from Parker at midcourt, and drives in for the uncontested layup. Bibby steals from Parker again, uncontested layup. Before I know it, I'm up by 5. The Spurs panic, Duncan shoots a 3, which misses badly, rebound Thomas, a sequence of fouls and Spurs shots, and before I know it, I'm up by 7 with the ball on the last possession, and Artest swishes a 3 at the buzzer just for good measure. Ball game.
The win was satisfying, but, to be honest, not surprising to me. Because I made a decision not to get swept up into thinking the Spurs are better, and I know that with the talent that they have, that the Kings can beat the Spurs. And I knew with the mindset I had, that I would giving my team the absolute best chance they could to win. And that's what happened.
Anyway, y'all probably think I'm crazy for making so big a deal out of a Playstation game. I'm not sure how well this applies to the real Kings, but I just know that, by completely blocking out what I expected to be the outcome based on the public reputation of both teams, and simply focusing on playing to my team's potential, and not letting the referees or the Spurs' potent offense or the end-game pressure get the best of me (a rarity, I can assure you), I did something that I thought previously to be highly improbable, and I did it fairly and convincingly. Take what you want out of this.
