Oh Man. Man oh man oh man. Sometimes I spend nights contemplating why I even follow sports. Actually, the more appropriate question is, "why do I have favorite teams?" Why would I go and become attached to certain team and certain players? Wouldn't it be easier to just be a Chuck Klosterman-esque sports agnostic?
It most definitely would be easier. But alas, against my better judgment, I have favorite teams. The Dallas Mavericks are one of them.
Some back story: The Anderson family move to the DFW Metroplex coincided with young, hotshot billionaire Mark Cuban's purchase of the Mavericks, as well as the arrival of Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash. Before long, the Mavericks were relevant again, and I was on board the revivalist train.
Fast forward to 2006. In one of the best four-week spans in my life, the Mavericks (my Mavericks) shake off big brother San Antonio (one of the most thrilling Playoff series ever, remember) and then thump the Suns to make the finals for the first time. With Dallas leading Miami 2 games to none, and enjoying a comfortable lead in game 3, Dwyane Wade suddenly--and with the help of the officiating crew--took control of the game, and landed an improbable come from behind victory for Miami. The Heat proceeded to blow out the Mavs in game 4, then eeked out two nail-biters in games 5 and 6 to win the NBA Championship.
I will not even attempt to conceal my bias regarding this series. Any of my friends who've been unfortunate enough to bring this topic up around me can/will attest (sorry, in advance, for rehashing it here). I firmly believe (conspiracy theory alert!) that the NBA wanted Miami to win that series, and ordered the refs to promote that outcome as much as possible. My reasons for thinking this are many. Here are just five: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. (And go ahead and add this illustrative video as reason number 6 while we're at it).
My rationale behind the NBA's motives revolve mainly around the Shaq-Kobe controversy, and Kobe's indiscretions in Eagle, Colorado. If you really want to hear the whole theory, let me know. I've got it on autopilot.
Obviously, I am a Dallas fan; so you're thinking "of course you believe this crackpot theory. It would justify your favorite team losing." And of course I can't dispute. But my point is this: As a Dallas fan, seeing the league take away the title from my favorite team was a terrible experience. One that Jazz fans have gone through at least once back in 1998. (I lived in the Chicago area for both three-peats, and while I was thrilled for MJ as an eleven year old, let's be honest with ourselves. There was no way the league was going to let Michael Jordan lose in '98). And only when it's your team on the wrong end of the referee gift giving do you truly understand how absurd it is. Look, if it was the refs jobbing the 76ers and giving a series to the Warriors, I don't think I would notice or even care. But it was my Mavericks, who had the better team, who should have won the NBA championship, but didn't, through no fault of their own.
And now, it's all set up again. Doomsday revisited. Same teams and everything. Only instead of the Mavs vs. Dwyane Wade, it's now the Mavs vs. Dwyane Wade and a LeBron James in full "eff you" mode. Plus the stakes are a little higher. Let me explain.
The Mavericks may be a surprise finalist this year to some, but maybe they shouldn't be. The West was unusually wide open this year, which is taking some time to get used to. My formative years were spent watching the heavyweight slug fests in the Western Conference between LA, Sacramento, San Antonio, Phoenix, Dallas, et. al. But between the Lakers' implosion (pick and choose whichever relevant explanation you would like, there are many), the Thunder being just a hair too unseasoned, and Dirk going Super Saiyan, the Mavericks were the obvious choice in a field desperate for a contender.
Any other season, and I would be thrilled with our chances. But the Heat look mean, and LeBron is unleashing holy hell on anyone who dared proffer that he was, as they say, "not clutch." And on top of the already formidable stress of my favorite team being in the finals, they (the Mavs) actually represent the last line of defense against the evil empire. Consider: The Heat embody everything we hate about pick up basketball. They're the best two, maybe three guys that team up and run the gym for two hours, winning every game and refusing to split up, thinking they're awesome the entire time.
"The Decision" was decried as a cop-out for LeBron, running to Wade's arms since he couldn't win on his own. Everybody swore up and down that three guys couldn't win a title by themselves, at least not right away. We may be kind of cooled off about it now, but this past summer, we were all pretty heated. Now the nightmare scenario--LeBron being rewarded for backing out of Cleveland and forming a super team--is just one seven game series away. And I think they're going to win. My guess is they overwhelm Dallas defense and run them into the ground. Tyson Chandler plays great interior D, but LeBron and Wade pose too many threats from all over the court for Dallas to counter.
Why did it have to happen this way? Why did LeBron have to go to Miami of all places? Why did they have to go to the finals in their first year? Why did Boston side step out of their way in the Eastern semis--a series Boston had a great chance of winning? Why couldn't Chicago's D keep beating up Miami inside like they did in game 1? And most of all why does Dallas (my Mavericks!) have to be humanity's last hope at avoiding LeBron celebrating his decision in South Beach?
So, if everything goes the way I suspect it will, I'll not only have to deal with the gut-punch feeling of another championship round loss for one of my favorite teams, but also the added knowledge that they couldn't stop LeBron from getting the first of those eight titles he promised all those bandwagon fans at Miami's "Welcome the Three Kings" pep rally.
Ugh. Isn't being a sports fan just great?
