A few San Antonio residents took to cleaning a nearly mile-long stretch of SW Military Drive after the Spurs won against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, May 15. The honking celebrations apparently leave a trace.
Courtesy of Alex Mercado
San Antonio is nothing if not a city that knows how to party. The proof is in the honking celebrations that take over the city with each Spurs playoff win. However, some have gotten rowdy, ending in arrest, viral videos and even prompting a comment from the organization itself.
In response, some San Antonio residents have taken to cleaning up a portion of SW Military Drive after the Spurs’ unforgiving 30-point defeat of the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, May 15. While some locals lined up for free cheesecake and tacos the following morning, Alex Mercado, Flip Sanchez and Macey Esquivel of 1st Choice Realty South picked up trash.
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Mercado, who recently moved to the Southside, told MySA their office is on Military Drive, “where most of the celebrations happen, so we have had watch parties here, and we’ve stepped outside to also celebrate.” He said, “We’ve noticed how much trash is left behind, and that’s kind of where the idea came about from one of our agents, and we just made it a point to get out here that morning to not only clean the space in front of our office, but the entire block from QT to Don Pedro’s.”
The trio spent about an hour and a half cleaning that nearly one-mile stretch on Saturday morning and filled 10 bags of trash, according to Esquivel. Among the finds were broken bottles and bottles of alcohol, beer cans, food, residue from fireworks, dirty diapers, bottles of urine and even a car bumper. Mercado found a driver’s license and located the owner to return it using real estate software.
Why Spurs honking celebrations are dividing San Antonio
The topic of the honking celebrations has been a divisive one in recent weeks as more chaotic moments have unfolded. Some locals have told MySA they feel it makes the city look bad, while others have said the energy brings people together and is a net good overall. For Mercado, he said he loves “that the city can come together and celebrate the Spurs and show our passion for that, but at the same time, I think we also need to show our passion for the city of San Antonio and just clean up after ourselves.”
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Sanchez echoed that sentiment, telling MySA they feel that the majority of those “making the mess” are fans who weren’t old enough to go honking during the last championship run in 2014, meaning “the way that they’re celebrating, they just don’t know any better, and we’re hoping that we’re inspiring others to just pick up after themselves.”
“It’s okay to celebrate,” Sanchez said. “It’s okay to come join us on SW Military. If you’ve seen videos online, you can see where there’s so much traffic coming in from other parts of town, and so we want to maintain that integrity, that the Southside is a safe place. We know how to have fun, we know how to celebrate, but it’s not just outside people doing this, it’s the entire city coming because we know how to have a good time down here.”
For those who’d like to lend a hand, Mercado says they’ll meet at the 1st Choice Realty South office at 8:30 a.m. on the mornings following a Spurs win and subsequent honking.
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“I’ve seen a lot of negative comments on social media regarding the [Southside’s] behavior, and none of it ever makes me angry,” he said. “It just kind of motivates me that we need to go out there and set an example and be the leaders, and hopefully this does motivate other people to come out and help clean.”
Find it: 1730 SW Military Dr., San Antonio, TX