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While the Palace of Auburn Hills crowd had the Detroit Drummer Boys to pump up the crowd with its steady percussive beat, in San Antonio, the SBC Center was filled by the sounds of the mariachi band Canpanas de America (Bells of America) led by Juan Ortiz. They greeted the fans with Mexican melodies floating on strings and horns, and breaks in their music was punctuated with shouts of 'Go Spurs Go.'

"We've been around 25 years," said one of the horn players, "and we have been playing at Spurs' games all season. We really enjoy it and so do the fans."

One of the youngest Spurs fans had a retort to one of the most recognizable Pistons' slogans.

Aidan Marks, the 22-month old son of Spurs' center Sean Marks, with a set of golden, curly locks wore a black t-shirt with the words, "Fear This Fro."

"I saw enough of the 'Fear the Fro' up in Detroit," said Marks. "But my wife Jennifer and Aidan just flew in from California for tonight's game and I hadn't seen him in a few weeks and I saw all the hair and I said 'why not.'"

"I was not sure what it was all about," said Jennifer, six-months pregnant with the Marks' second son. "But everyone seems to get it."

When it comes to comprehending it, especially when it comes to basketball, the next subject gets it.

Hall-of-Famer Rick Barry is here to see his son Brent Barry, who is in first season with the Spurs.

"I'm here hoping and rooting for Brent to play well and be a part of a championship team," said Barry. "I know what the feeling is like to win a championship."

Rick Barry led an underdog Golden State Warriors to the 1975 title.

"Brent really deserves it after so many years on bad teams and he has kept at it," Barry said. "But the bottom line is if that they can't win one of the next two games, they don't deserve to win."

While Brent Barry just started playing in San Antonio, the Baseline Bums have been here since the Spurs inception with the ABA in the 1973-74 season.

Juli Blanda, the Bums' president, says that the name stems from when the Spurs played in the HemisFair Arena and a group of rowdy fans located on the baseline was tagged with the name. Now, the group is situated up off the floor behind one of the baskets.

"But we have grown from a bunch of drinkers to a group that one can be proud of," says Blanda who in her "other job" is a senior manager of community relations with Grande Communications in San Antonio.

The Bums made the move from the HemisFair Arena to the Alamodome in the 1990s but membership dwindled down to about 25. However, prior to the move to the SBC Center, the group worked with the Spurs management to get the best available seats to continue the tradition. The membership now stands at 160.

"We also do a lot of community related things like coat and blanket drives," said Blanda.

Blanda, a big fan of the Oakland Raiders and of its similarly black and silver clad fan group, the Black Hole, lists the requirements of membership in the Baseline Bums:

1. Bleed silver and black
2. Be a season ticketholder
3. Support the team on and off the court
4. Participate in community activities