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More from BuckHopper
In the Summer of 2005, the Stanislaus Thrust had lost their star center and their coach of 9 years. They were left with Buck Hopper, a brash, young point guard full of skill and ego. When the new coach arrived, the first thing he did was convince the aging Manuel Katz-- a 19-year veteran with 14 Playoffs appearances and 3 Finals appearances-- to sign a new contract with the Thrust. Katz agreed and held off his retirement, pushing his body to keep playing and pushing his patience to mentor the arrogant young B-Hop.
In the Spring of 2009, B-Hop won the MVP. He had led his team to the best record in the FBA and their first Finals appearance in franchise history. There, they met the Huntsville Mayors and played in a brutal series that came down to a 7th game in Stanislaus-- the last FBA game ever to be played in the team's original venue, the Bull Palace. Hopper and Katz played with everything they had, pushing their bodies through exhaustion and injury, fighting for the championship ring that had been denied Katz for 23 years.
They lost by a single bucket, shot over both of their paws.
Katz had announced the year would be his last. Well after the game, when the crowds had gone home, when the reporters had finished asking their questions, B-Hop found Katz cleaning out his locker.
"Please, Manny. Just one more year."
*****
A truly beautiful commission from the incredibly talented
o-kemono!
In the Spring of 2009, B-Hop won the MVP. He had led his team to the best record in the FBA and their first Finals appearance in franchise history. There, they met the Huntsville Mayors and played in a brutal series that came down to a 7th game in Stanislaus-- the last FBA game ever to be played in the team's original venue, the Bull Palace. Hopper and Katz played with everything they had, pushing their bodies through exhaustion and injury, fighting for the championship ring that had been denied Katz for 23 years.
They lost by a single bucket, shot over both of their paws.
Katz had announced the year would be his last. Well after the game, when the crowds had gone home, when the reporters had finished asking their questions, B-Hop found Katz cleaning out his locker.
"Please, Manny. Just one more year."
*****
A truly beautiful commission from the incredibly talented
o-kemono!
Category Artwork (Traditional) / General Furry Art
Species Housecat
Size 834 x 632px
File Size 541.7 kB
Katz's tired, punk. End of story. And it's not like he was a career benchwarmer, right? Even without the cherry on top that's one hell of a big, sweet sundae in from of him.
He is at the point where he can continue to play, and run the very-high chance of looking desperate and incurring thoroughly pointless, crippling injuries, or can bow out now with dignity and honor, spiritually unfulfilled but mentally and physically whole. He's passed the torch to you now, and there's also more, deeper shit to discern here.
(assumes bad Chinese accent)
Look well and learn this lesson, Young Hopper.
He is at the point where he can continue to play, and run the very-high chance of looking desperate and incurring thoroughly pointless, crippling injuries, or can bow out now with dignity and honor, spiritually unfulfilled but mentally and physically whole. He's passed the torch to you now, and there's also more, deeper shit to discern here.
(assumes bad Chinese accent)
Look well and learn this lesson, Young Hopper.
They rented it out. The Bull Palace was older than the Thrust. When the FBA decided to put an expansion franchise in Stanislaus, the Bull Palace was the only venue in the area that could handle pro basketball matches, so the team quickly became a major tenant.
It was old, rundown, and designed mostly for farming equipment conventions and livestock auctions, but it served the early team's needs. It started filling up with Lance Cheval arrived on the team, and then when Buck Hopper showed up, it started overflowing. When Foo-Foo bought the franchise in 2006, she bought the Bull Palace as well, primarily so that she could demolish it as soon as her epic Alpo Arena was ready.
So, a lot of old Thrust fans miss the original venue. It holds a special place in the hearts of Thrust fans who remember that final game when their team came so close to winning it all. Alpo Arena is certainly much bigger, cleaner, fancier and very modern-- but it doesn't have the local charm of the Bull Palace.
It was old, rundown, and designed mostly for farming equipment conventions and livestock auctions, but it served the early team's needs. It started filling up with Lance Cheval arrived on the team, and then when Buck Hopper showed up, it started overflowing. When Foo-Foo bought the franchise in 2006, she bought the Bull Palace as well, primarily so that she could demolish it as soon as her epic Alpo Arena was ready.
So, a lot of old Thrust fans miss the original venue. It holds a special place in the hearts of Thrust fans who remember that final game when their team came so close to winning it all. Alpo Arena is certainly much bigger, cleaner, fancier and very modern-- but it doesn't have the local charm of the Bull Palace.
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