I think just about every sports kid dreams of it: You've made it to the highest level of your favorite professional sport, you've spent your entire career with one team, you've become a part of the community, you are tight with the owner, you're a perennial all-star guaranteed hall-of-famer, MVP player. That, my friends, is what all of us sports nuts dreamed of as a kid.
Of course, you might have noticed, one thing is missing: a ring. Now, kids don't grow up wishing they would have to wait until the later part of their career to win a championship, but from a media perspective, it is what fulfills the American dream story through sports. Rare is it that a beloved superstar wins a championship in the second half of his career, rarer still that it is a player who spends their entire career with one team. I think of A-Rod with the Yankees, but of course that was his third team and he is not nearly what one would call a beloved figure. However, the stories that surrounded his lack of a ring definitely bring him to mind anyway. Others that come to mind are Jamie Moyer, winning with the Phillies at age 45 in 2008, and Tim Wakefield getting his first ring at age 37 with the Red Sox in '04. Of course, these guys lack the star power the Nowitzki brings. I liken it to if Yankee great Don Mattingly had managed to win a championship. Going back to the 1950's, I found one player that I felt really fit the same mold as Dirk. You probably haven't heard the name unless you are a something of a baseball historian, but Warren Spahn spent the first 20 seasons of his career with the Braves of Boston and Milwaukee, and he didn't win a championship until 1957 at age 36.
It's the kind of heartwarming story that America loves. Unfortunately, I've been writing as if Nowitzki has already dominated the NBA Finals and has basked in the glory, but this is simply not the case. He has one major MAJOR obstacle left: The Big Three. I'm talking, of course, about Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. Fortunately, Dirk has Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Jason Terry, and Peja Stojakovic to help him give the Heat everything they've got. I consider myself a casual fan of the NBA, but I have a great feeling about this series. It's going to a be a great, heated battle all the way through. It is the perfect matchup of underdog Mavs vs. GIANT, HULKING villains in the Heat.
Whatever the outcome may be, let it be known I'm pulling for Nowitzki. The tall European with the unique style that makes him an offensive force...how can you not root for the Mavs against the team of sell-outs? It's one of the scenarios where my heart tells me the Mavericks have got this no problem, but my head tells me they don't stand a chance against the younger, more powerful Heat. Tune in at 9 PM EST on ABC for game one TONIGHT. (Tuesday)
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