Getting to know PtR’s writers: Tanner Bowen

A Spurs fan from the East Coast tells his tale

Welcome to “Getting to know Pounding the Rock’s writers”! During the All-Star break, we thought it we be fun to get to know a little bit more about our writers here at PtR.

Where I’m from

I was born and raised in the City of Garfield, New Jersey. Our town moniker is, “The City of Champions,” and more than a few famous people have either grown up in town as I have or have spent time here at some point in their lives. Former Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin is from here. College basketball commentator Dick Vitale is from the City of Passaic right next door but got his first job as a teacher and coach in Garfield. Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Rascals, a prominent band from the mid 60s best known for their #1 single, “Good Lovin’” hail from here. Lead singer Eddie Brigati lived next door to my coworker (himself a local football legend known as “The Purple Buffalo” during his playing days) growing up and would take him along to band practices when he was just a kid.

I have a brother, a sister, 2 dogs and 2 cats! We grew up in a loving household with two great parents and 2 amazing grandparents that instilled in us great work ethics and manners. My father passed away unexpectedly when I was 14 years old, a moment that became the first great obstacle of my life.

Most of my free time is spent playing the guitar, reading, and watching sports. When the days get longer and warmer, a lot of that free time is spent outside on the any number of courts in the area playing pick up basketball. Aside from just getting to play a game I love, I especially appreciate the opportunity it affords me to be able to talk to younger people and kind of see where their heads are at. I love to mentor the young bucks that I come across, trying to put them on the right path if it seems they’re teetering a bit. I’m the big brother in my family and it’s a mindset that is part of my personality. Aside from home, it shines the most on the basketball court. Some of them come and go, but plenty have also become lifelong friends that I love seeing do well!

How I became a Spurs fan

While sports have always been around me, I was always more into music and never really got into watching sports until after my high school years. I started to really fall in love with basketball in the spring of 2012, and my younger brother is the one who actually put me on to the Spurs. This was the lockout shortened season and I can still remember him hyping up a rookie named Kawhi Leonard to me, about how smart a coach Gregg Popovich was and how they had the best front office in the league. He told me all about the greatness of the Big 3 and especially of Big Fun Tim Duncan. We watched close to every game of that 20 game win streak that stretched into the playoffs that year before it all fell apart in the Western Conference Finals.

How I joined PtR

I joined PtR in the summer of 2016 as a social media contributor. I had been a reader of the site since 2013 and it quickly became one of my go-to sites for Spurs content. I sent J.R. Wilco a DM on Twitter with a link to Timmy’s retirement interview with his childhood friend Rashidi Clenance and offered my services should he ever need help.

To my surprise, he had something for me right away! I became part of the live tweeting rotation, eventually being placed in charge of PtR’s social media. I started writing game previews and sneaker pieces not long after that. While I do love the Spurs, I love writing game previews because they allow me to think about the 29 other teams around the league.

I’ve come into contact with so many great people because of PtR, be it with members of our staff or the corner of Twitter that Spurs fans feverishly occupy with a sometimes unhinged passion (lol). I’m in a group chat with Wilco, Marilyn Dubinski, JeJe Gomez, and Casey Coggins that keeps me up to date about new articles posting that need promoting. Perhaps my favorite thing I get to do with PtR is helping Wilco look for new talent for the site when the need arises. It’s so awesome putting people in contact with him and then seeing their work up on the site. If you’ve ever felt like you could contribute to our team here, never hesitate to reach out to one of us, either on our own Twitter pages or PtR’s!

My favorite PtR memory

My sister Presley and I had been to San Antonio in March 2016 before I became affiliated with PtR and caught my first 2 games ever within the confines of the AT&T Center during Timmy’s last season. We returned 3 years later actually knowing people now! Jeph Duarte picked us up at the airport and took us out to eat AND to a Spurs basketball camp for Army members at the AT&T Center before we were able to check into our hotel room. The following day, he had a BBQ at his house for all of the PtR family that could come, which Marilyn picked us up for! Bruno Passos, Trey Felder, MegaMaz and her awesome parents, my Twitter predecessor Dave McGinnis, PtR highlight expert Son Q. Trinh, fellow preview writer and Live Tweeter Devon Birdsong, the man J.R. Wilco himself and others I’m sure I’ve forgotten to mention. My sister and I still laugh about how she (a kitchen manager by trade) ended up manning the grill for a bit! We all took in Spurs-Warriors that night!

I am due for another visit to see you guys very very soon, that’s for sure. Especially in the Age of Victor Wembanyama.

Just throwing this out here to wrap things up, but my absolute favorite writer is the (to me, at least) mysterious Lee Dresie! He is probably the only writer at PtR that I’ve never actually had a conversation with on some medium. If you read this Lee, you rule and I’m a huge fan!

Lee Dresie: Winning after losing is the best feeling

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