the Miami Sports Dude

I’ve been here from the beginning. In 1988, when the league announced that the city of Miami was going to get its own NBA team, I was no longer a guy who rooted for Magic and Bird and against the Bad Boys on the side. I became a fan. I pledged my allegiance to the Miami Heat.

So …

How do you capture this Heat championship after 18 years of frustration and heart ache? How do you sum up the sheer spirit and emotion of what it feels like? How do you encapsulate this moment after so many years of chasing the elusive dream?

I think you do it with one word: Redemption (Broken down into three parts.)

PART ONE: THE DARK TIMES

I remember rooting for players like Rony Seikaly, Grant Long, Glenn Rice, Rory Sparrow and Steve Smith. There was even Harold Minor. The Heat was an exciting team to root for. The hometown scrubs (and I mean scrubs in a very 'Bad News Bears' respectful way -- a team you WANTED to root for because they were so much fun).

But it wasn’t until Pat Riley arrived from New York that this team made its presence felt in the NBA. He traded away fan favorites Rice and Matt Geiger to the Hornets for center Alonzo Mourning.

The waning years were defined by an unfulfilled promise. In 1995, Pat Riley said he had visions of a championship parade down Brickell Avenue. We had little reason not to believe him. Riley brought his championship rings, his championship swagger, his championship experience. He brought his talents for turning mediocre teams into great teams. And we all bought into it with all our hearts and souls.

But then came the dark times. Mostly at the hands of the Knicks (and Bulls with that one guy who always got "favorable calls" from the refs. What was his name? Oh yea ... Michael Jordan).

1998 Playoffs: Alonzo Mouring and Knicks forward Larry Johnson got into a nasty scuffle that spilled benches and coaches onto the court. Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy hung onto Mourning’s leg like a rabid chiwawa, in a vain attempt to stop the fight. Mourning missed the deciding Game 5 after being suspended. And the Knicks took full advantage, winning the game and the series.

1999 Playoffs: The Knicks' Allan Houston put the dagger into the hearts of the Heat when hitting a jumper with .8 seconds left in the game, giving the Knicks a one point victory. The shot seemed to bounce around the rim a thousand times before finally dropping through the rim, sucking the air and the life out of the Heat and their fans.

2000 Playoffs: the Knicks again beat the Heat by one point in the decisive game. The final straw coming when our supposed go-to player, Jamal Mashburn, passed up the opportunity to take the game winning shot with the clock winding down and the Heat down by one. He passed the ball to Clarence Weatherspoon instead. Weatherspoon missed. Another heart wrenching defeat.

And then in 2001, the Heat announced that Alonzo Mourning had been diagnosed with a rare kidney disorder. He missed 69 games that season.

It seemed as if the spiral into the darkness was dizzying and slow. Cruel and tormenting. Being a Heat fan was like a scourge. It was suffocating.

But hope has a way of bringing light into a dark place.

Hope came because the Heat were near the bottom. Near enough to become a lottery team. And in 2003, boy did this team win the lottery.

“With the fifth pick of the 2003 NBA Draft, the Miami Heat select Dwyane Wade, guard from Marquette.”

Labels: Miami Heat