Holy guacamole: In the loud crowd of craziness in section 114 at Frost Bank Center, one cowboy hat-wearing Jackal stands out. A superfan who says his birth in San Antonio was marked by a burst of the supernatural.
“According to folklore, my doctor said they didn’t have to spank me when I was born,” said George Garcia, Jr. “Because I came out yelling, ‘Go Spurs Go!’”
Whatever happened in the delivery room 39 years ago, today Garcia is taxing the screaming capacity of his silver and black lungs. As the Spurs stormed past the Portland Trailblazers, 114-95, Tuesday night to clinch their first-round playoff series, Garcia yelled, chanted, stomped, sang and shook, throwing himself into a state of giddy delirium.
The delirium spread from superfan to superfan in section 114, a collection of supporters known as the Jackals. Spurs center Victor Wembanyama created the Jackals fan club in the fall to bring a European-style atmosphere to games. He imagined the NBA equivalent of Paris Saint-Germain soccer fans, known for exuberant chants, coordinated singing and choreographed displays.
The Jackals delivered. From the opening tipoff, they clapped and cheered, danced and banged on drums, lifting the Spurs with out-of-this-world energy and sound. The Jackals never sit during games, remaining on their feet from start to finish.
With their team up, 26-17, the Jackals launched into a favorite chant:
“Olé Olé Olé Olé, Go Spurs, Go Spurs, Olé Olé Olé Olé!”
Seconds later, Julian Champagnie knocked down a jumper to extend the Spurs’ lead to 11 points. Frost Bank Center erupted.
The Jackals are a larger, rowdier version of the Baseline Bums, a fan club that dates to 1973-74, the Spurs’ inaugural season. Seated in section 101, across the arena from the Jackals, the bums consider themselves the elder fan club, one that now coordinates their cheers with the Jackals.
“We don’t want just one side yelling, we want the whole arena alive,” said Pepe Esquivel, president of the Baseline Bums.
The Bums’ numbers have dwindled over the years, from a peak of approximately 120 members in the early 1980s to the low 30s today. Fewer than 20 showed up for Tuesday’s game.
“Our average age is about 57,” said Esquivel, who is 49. “Some of our members have aged out. Some have health issues. We’re not increasing membership. We need to help revitalize the Bums or we’re going to be done.”
Back in the day, the Baseline Bums generated headlines for taunting opposing players and dousing them with beer. Most famously, they exacted revenge on Larry Brown, the Denver Nuggets coach, in 1976. After reading that Brown disparaged their city — “the only thing I like about San Antonio is their guacamole salad” — they waited for him to emerge from the Hemisfair Arena tunnel and pelted him with avocados.
One recent departure from the Bums is Jacob Esquivel, Pepe’s 24-year-old son. He left to become a captain of the Jackals. When Wembanyama issued a city-wide invitation for a Jackals tryout, Jacob told his father he would attend.
“Go do what you gotta do,” Pepe said.
Jacob auditioned wearing an autographed Keldon Johnson camouflage jersey, black sneakers and a face painted Spurs black. Determined to impress Wembanyama, Jacob chanted, yelled, danced and waved a foam finger, doing his best to behave like a fan who’d lost his mind.
He made the cut. So did dozens of others who auditioned in superhero masks, colored wigs and painted body parts. One teenager who arrived in a simple Spurs game jersey prompted a question from Wembanyama.
“How old are you?”
“I’m 14, sir,” the boy said.
“You don’t have to call me sir,” Wembanyama replied with a wide grin. “We’re almost the same age.”
He also made the cut. So did his father. They and fellow Jackals arrived to Game 5 in cowboy hats in honor of Keldon Johnson, who owns a ranch outside San Antonio and was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year.
No Jackal may be more passionate than Garcia, a season ticket-holder who once sat in section 200 before moving into section 114. How fierce was his devotion?
He explained: “One time I got yelled at because we were down by 15 and I was yelling, ‘Defense!’ and there was five seconds on the clock. But I paid for my ticket. I’m going to go down with the ship.”
There was no sinking ship Tuesday night. Wembanyama was one of six Spurs to score in double figures. He dropped 17 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, blocked six shots and added three assists in a 19-point victory.
To celebrate, the Jackals banged their drums, marched out of the Frost Bank Center and revved up the departing crowd in the parking lot, a scene Wembanyama imagined when he formed the club.
“If this group of ultras reaches its full potential,” Wembanyma said in an informational video message about the Jackals, “I have no doubt it’s gonna help us win games in the future for sure.”
Outside the Frost Bank Center, the Jackals climbed into their cars and began honking their horns. They drove out of the parking lot, headed down the road and turned onto I-35, horns blaring, their mission complete.
