SAN ANTONIO — April Gonzalez didn’t attend a Spurs game for her birthday in 2020 because of COVID-19. She wasn’t going to let that happen again in 2021.
Gonzalez was one of about 3,200 fans who returned to the AT&T Center on March 12. It was a night that was 367 days in the making; an opportunity for fans to reconnect with at least a slice of the San Antonio community.
“Not having our Spurs game, not having Fiesta, it really tore into the San Antonio spirit, so I'm glad to be back,” Gonzalez said.
It did seem like a normal NBA game at times, with the limited fans doing their best to create a home court atmosphere. Other times, the reality of the pandemic was everywhere.
“I wanted to be here early, check out the fan shop, and then see how everything's kind of running,” Gonzalez said.
There were a few hiccups with COVID-19 protocols outside the arena, but most were just small inconveniences for the Spurs faithful.
“We’re both teachers. We're going to, kind of used to this already. But we're just excited finally to be back home,” said Spurs fan Jacob Torres.
Torres and his wife brought their daughter to her first Spurs game.
“Just to have pictures and say hey, this was the first time you went,” Torres said. “It was not the best circumstances, not the best time, but we brought her here to hopefully start her down the path of being a lifelong Spurs fan.”
Hopefully, this is a milestone that begins the final stretch of a pandemic that’s disrupted everyone’s lives.
“I think just being in a routine and knowing that sports is an outlet, especially for us in San Antonio, it's very, very important. It’s finally some kind of normalcy,” Torres said.
A return of good feelings and new memories, at least for one night, at a place that means so much to so many San Antonians.