I began rooting for the Dallas Mavericks when I moved to the Dallas area in 1997. They were horrible back then. The Mavs best player was a guy named Samaki Walker...unless you were a Shawn Bradley fan. They had just jettisoned Jason Kidd, Jamal and Jackson and were bottom feeders. But I rooted for them anyway because I was without NBA allegiance.My favorite team, the Kansas City Kings, had ditched KC for Sacramento in 1985. I still hate the Kings for that. KC's last season theme song in 1985 was 'Jump' by Van Halen. When I hear that song today I still get a little ticked at the guys who owned the Kings at the time. They promised 'yes, we're from Sactown...but we'll never move this franchise.' A year later...Boom...they're gone. They took my two favorite players LaSalle Thompson and Reggie Theueus with them.
So my NBA allegiance wandered aimlessly like a 14th-century Japanese Samurai Ronin. I watched with interest as Jordan took the Bulls to the heights of glory. I was intrigued by Shaq and Penny in Orlando. I dug Zo and LJ in Charlotte. But I could not root for any team. I couldn't root for any team because I like to have some connection with the teams I root for...usually a provincal tie.
So when I moved to DFW I clicked and dragged the Dallas Stars and the Mavericks into my support file. The Stars were an easy addition. They were winners. They won the Stanley Cup in 1999...two years after I started rooting for them. The Mavericks on the other hand were a joke. But I was without team...and they needed all the fans they could get.
It was at Reunion Arena with the Mavs playing the Pacers when I asked my future father-in-law permission to marry his daughter. The Mavs have had a special place in my heart ever since. So I am estatic that the Mavs are in the NBA Finals for the first time. I am a "Nowitness." I look forward to the Big German shutting down the Diesel. If only Shawn Bradley was still on the roster it would be so much sweeter. GO MAVS!!!
photo: That's the Mavs sign I have staked in my front yard...taken with my new digital camera.
