SAN ANTONIO — With the United States still struggling to break out of the grip of the coronavirus, there's no telling when or if the NBA season will resume. Nobody knows.
If we had never heard of COVID-19 and were gathering with family and friends on another beautiful Easter, the Spurs would be hosting the Houston Rockets on Sunday in a game that probably would have had playoff implications.
Instead, the AT&T Center stands dark and empty, as it has since the NBA season was suspended on March 11. That came a day after the Silver and Black beat the visiting Dallas Mavericks. A month later, that night seems so long ago now.
"I miss going to the AT&T Center and seeing my friends and the fans at Spurs games," Rudy Herrera said Sunday. "I also enjoy meeting people, like media from other cities. I get to see concerts and a lot of performers."
Herrera, who turned 69 on March 27, works event security as a part-timer at the AT&T Center and the Alamodome.
"I got to work at the Cowboys' training camp at the Alamodome," Herrera said. "That was something else."
Herrera spent much of the Spurs' season stationed near an elevator on the event level of the AT&T Center, checking credentials.
A friendly guy with a disarming smile, Herrera never has met a stranger. He'll strike up a conversation with just about anybody. And if you're lucky, he'll give you a quick rundown on what the Spurs must do to win the game that night.
His most frequent line this season: "They need to play better defense."
No doubt, Herrera is a man after Coach Pop's heart.
Herrera is among the 800 part-time security types, ushers, ticket-takers and other support staffers who work Spurs games and any other events at the AT&T Center for Spurs Sports & Entertainment. That includes the Rampage, who play in the American Hockey Association and are owned by SS&E.
While those are part-time jobs, many of the workers need them to make ends meet. To their credit, the Spurs stepped up after the Spurs' season was suspended and pledged to continue paying their part-time employees.
SS&E established a fund totaling more than $500,00 to ensure the hourly workers get paid.
'I was so happy to see they did that," Herrera said. "That's great. That was nice of them."
A retired H-E-B employee who also draws Social Security, Herrera was more worried about some of the part-timers he works with than himself.
"I wondered how the younger people who have kids would do," Herrera said. "I felt bad for them. I know some of them help their parents, too. It's just tough with all this stuff going on now. It's pretty hectic."
A native San Antonian and 1970 Burbank High School graduate, Herrera expressed confidence that his hometown and the country will pull through the nightmare of the coronavirus.
"I hope this thing blows over so we can get back to normal," Herrera said. "I think people have done a good job of doing what they're supposed to do, like staying close to home and helping out each other."
The Spurs (27-36) trailed the Memphis Grizzlies by four games for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference when play was halted. San Antonio was 12th in the West standings with 19 games left on its schedule.
The Silver and Black have made the playoffs an NBA-record-tying 22 consecutive seasons, all under Popovich, who has led the franchise to all five of its NBA titles.
"I hope they start the season again, so the Spurs can do something and try to get in the playoffs," Herrera said. "It's already April but I think it's possible the NBA will play again this season. I don't think they're going to decide anything until we see how this virus is hitting."
NBA commissioner Adam Silver had said he won't make any decision on the fate of the season before May 1.
If not for the scourge of the coronavirus, the Spurs would have played the Pacers in Indianapolis on Monday and ended the regular season at home against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.
