{"id":518772,"date":"2026-06-04T19:12:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T19:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/518772\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T19:12:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T19:12:14","slug":"spurs-fans-in-austin-go-all-out-as-team-aims-for-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/518772\/","title":{"rendered":"Spurs fans in Austin go all out as team aims for championship"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, a sea of San Antonio Spurs fans stood shoulder to shoulder in a <\/b>sports bar decked out in silver-and-black jerseys and Fiesta colors<\/a>. Despite a sudden storm that drenched much of the outdoor crowd, the energy was high.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere ain’t no Thunder, because they ain’t in the finals!\u201d Gabi Perlinger said during the downpour.<\/p>\n

Fans packed venues across San Antonio for the game against the New York Knicks on Wednesday. But this official Spurs watch party was at Chalmers, a bar in East Austin.<\/p>\n

General manager Aaron Amtower said Chalmers has had Spurs fans come for games throughout the season. But the crowd really kicked off as the team outperformed expectations<\/a> and grew in popularity. Then the Spurs reached out to partner with Chalmers for watch parties.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe crowd, I mean, you can hear it from blocks away,\u201d Amtower said.<\/p>\n

These Spurs-sanctioned events are the tip of the iceberg of the team’s involvement in Austin. The Spurs\u2019 roots in the city run deep, and the team has made an active effort to court local fans for years \u2014 from painting murals<\/a> and renovating basketball courts<\/a> to organizing bus rides<\/a> to get Austin fans to games in San Antonio. Now, as the team aims to clinch the championship for the first time since 2014, a loyal group of Austinites is cheering them on from afar \u2014 but not too far.<\/p>\n

\"Jade<\/p>\n

Jade Scott, left, and Peyton Brewster attend the Chalmers watch party. Hundreds of people came out to the bar for Game 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is crazy, the Austin level of support,\u201d said Perlinger, who also lived in San Antonio for a few years. \u201cThe fact that this many people showed up for Game 1 in the rain \u2014 I feel like they’re gonna have a huge turnout in Austin for each game of the finals, no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n

A.J. Dimas, who came to the watch party with Perlinger, his co-worker, said he appreciates that the Spurs play a couple of games a year at Austin\u2019s Moody Center. The local games, dubbed the Spurs\u2019 I-35 Series, started in 2023<\/a> with the goal to \u201cpurposefully engage and celebrate the Spurs entire fan base, extending from Mexico to Austin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really benefits working people,\u201d Dimas said. \u201cWe’re both teachers, so it’s really hard for us to ask off for something like that. And so for them to be here on a Friday night, and we teach here in Austin \u2014 boom, we can get off of work, go get ready and then head down here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dimas said the students at his school also attend games for the Austin Spurs, the team\u2019s minor league affiliate based in Cedar Park<\/a>. Multiple players on this season\u2019s roster \u2014 Julian Champagnie<\/a>, Keldon Johnson<\/a> and Carter Bryant<\/a> \u2014 have spent time on the G League team, and San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson helped lead the Austin Spurs<\/a> to a championship in 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey really enjoy it, and some of them actually get converted into being Spurs fans,\u201d Dimas said.<\/p>\n

\"Hundreds<\/p>\n

Chalmers will also host the official Spurs watch party in Austin for Game 2 on Friday.<\/p>\n

Game 1 was a close matchup, but the Knicks ultimately took the lead in the final minutes, winning 105-95. The loss dampened the atmosphere at Chalmers at the end of the night, but fans were already thinking ahead to the rest of the series.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The Spurs] went this far this young. They deserve everything they’ve done so far. So I really hope they\u2019re going to make it,\u201d said Santos Jaimes, whose family has been Spurs fans for decades.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Roberto Nu\u00f1ez Luna watches the game as the New York Knicks are ahead against the Spurs.<\/p>\n

When it comes to the Spurs, Jaimes said the two cities are tight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever you meet like an Austin local, they’ll say, oh, I got family in San Antonio. You go to San Antonio? Oh, I got family in Austin. Both of us visit each other’s cities,\u201d Jaimes said. \u201cI feel like we\u2019re like family at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Spurs and Knicks face off again on Friday night in San Antonio. Chalmers is hosting watch parties for every home game in the finals, while its sister bar, Armadillo Den, is hosting watch parties for away games. Find details ahead of the games on the Austin Spurs\u2019 social media accounts<\/a>.<\/p>\n