Spurs Fans Without Borders Unite
Shi has been a Spurs fan since 2004-05 season, when the Spurs won the NBA Championship against the Detroit Pistons. She’s a dedicated Spurs fan from China and is a member of volunteer translators that help maintain and update websites such as chinaspurs.com and bbs.hoopchina.com/spurs. These sites are devoted to the Spurs and her favorite player, Manu Ginobili, for Chinese fans as they transcribe articles written in English to Chinese.
Zhang is a recent NBA enthusiast and has high hopes for her favorite basketball team.
Shi and Zhang recently came to the United States through a study abroad program and currently attend Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, studying business. It’s always been one of their dreams to watch the Spurs at the AT&T Center. Their dream came true, thanks in large part to Jane Ann Craig, a four-year Spurs season ticket holder from Austin.
Craig met Shi through Manu Ginobili’s website, manuginobili.com, during a photo contest on the website. After the contest, Craig and Shi maintained a relationship on the English side of Ginobili’s website and kept in touch ever since.
When Craig found out the two friends wanted to attend a Spurs game, she offered the girls to stay at her house in Austin, rather than buy a hotel room and use the money they saved to buy tickets.
It was an offer they couldn’t refuse.
Craig and the two girls met in person for the first time in Austin when their flight from Ohio landed at the Texas Capitol.
Craig, Shi and Zhang attended the Warriors and Mavericks games together last week. The excitement was apparent across their faces as they watched the Spurs shoot around during warm-ups. The two friends’ dream night was complete when they got autographs from Tim Duncan, Bruce Bowen and Tiago Splitter.
When asked how excited they were to be at their first Spurs game, the two said “Yes!” in unison, “We’re so excited to be here!”
