Years from now, when key moments from the San Antonio Spurs' run to the 2007 National Basketball Association championship are replayed, sports fans might realize what they were missing: The men in black and silver were pretty damn good.
But it will have to be in the future. Because right now the Spurs would have a hard time getting arrested outside South Texas after their efficient - hey, any veteran team knows that playoff bonuses aren't paid by the hour - four-game sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
It was their fourth title in nine years and third in five. They're the best basketball team no one cares about.
Even with the presence of LeBron James, in theory the NBA's breakout star, Game 1 of the NBA final was the lowest-rated prime-time championship series opener in history and 19-per-cent lower than last year's Dallas-Miami debut. Game 2 set another record low, the potential audience whacked after going up against the finale of The Sopranos. Game 3 … well, you get the picture, even if you never turned on your television.
The Spurs will need to be part of any argument about the merits of various sports dynasties from here on in. They just won't need to bring a Sharpie when they go for coffee, unless Eva Longoria and hubby-to-be Tony Parker are stopping by for a café au lait.
Pin-pointing why the Spurs have been able to operate in a shroud of secrecy is hardly an exact science, but we'll give it a try:
*They take every other year off: The Spurs have won three titles in the past five seasons, but only in the odd years. The result is that just as the casual fan might tune in and notice Manu Ginobili's growing bald spot (it's way bigger than last year, honey!) he and his teammates hide out in San Antonio for 24 months.
*Nice guys don't sell: Not only can the Spurs not get arrested, they don't. Their only court dates are the ones on the NBA schedule. Outside Bruce Bowen's subtle assaults (okay, his knee to Steve Nash's crotch was not so subtle) on the floor, the next Spur caught for failing to signal while changing lanes will be news.
*They lack a rival: One of the reasons the 1980s are considered the NBA's Golden Age is because Magic Johnson's Lakers represented the West nine times in 12 seasons. Julius Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers and Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics represented the East eight consecutive years before giving way to Isiah Thomas's Detroit Pistons. With the exception of their seven-game duel with Detroit in 2005, the Spurs' Finals appearances have been walkovers against inferior teams.
*They play dull basketball: This is a red herring. Watching Parker break all speed limits is not boring. Watching Ginobili make plays of pure basketball genius is not boring. Tim Duncan? His gifts are a little on the subtle side, but worth watching. Perhaps the problem is what gets passed off as exciting. The Spurs don't have any dunkers in their rotation, so they don't translate well to highlights, which may hurt them as a draw for casual fans.
There are likely other, bigger reasons for the Spurs' relative obscurity. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban would tell you that NBA commissioner David Stern's focus on expanding the NBA's international footprint has been at the expense of expanding the game in North America - thus shrinking the most important fan base - and he might have a point.
There is the possibility that after the Jordan-era Bulls made the NBA the official "cool" sport, like tennis was forever ago and baseball for a while and golf briefly, fans have moved on to something else. Who knows, maybe some of those Manchester United fans walking tall around your office used to follow hoops? Trends come and go.
But the Spurs should be blamed for none of this. In Game 3, Ginobili hadn't hit a jump shot all night, but stepped up and drained two back-breaking free throws with five seconds left when the Cavs were on the verge of sneaking out a home win. It was pure clutch.
In Game 4, Duncan literally threw himself into the crowd to save a loose ball and gain another possession for his team late in an increasingly tight game. Up 3-0 or not, he was lost in the competitive moment, literally laying himself out.
Fans, casual or not, should be able to appreciate that. Maybe one day they will.