The rest of the world knows how humiliating and how painful it is for you guys to have lost that 2006 Finals against Miami Heat. The rest of the world never let you forget that every season thereafter. These doubters and naysayers never stopped mocking you, calling you names; they were your own personal demons that haunted you every single game. But that didn't stop me from being your loyal, die hard fan. I was a fan ever since I was in high school, 10 years from now to be exact (Well, technically, only 8 years because you shared the spot with Sacramento Kings for 2 years). Every season, my love for your team just grew and grew more. With the heat of Lakers and Spurs and all other teams that you battled with over the Playoffs season through the years, I know how you got this close yet so far in winning a championship. I've seen it. Together with your own feelings of disappointment, frustration and pain, I also had mine. I felt what you felt. And trust me, I had cursed a lot of teams and players because of that. But as I grew older, I learned to just hate the game, not the players. I learned to believe in my own team. With you, I also waited patiently for that championship ring and cup to be in our hands and in God's time.
Watching you play during the Playoffs season, I knew you were a different team. Much better than what I had seen from years ago. Portland was a very strong team. They can beat the stronger teams during the regular season so who really expected you would be able to defeat them? Lakers, as history would define, was a legendary team so who really predicted you would be able to win over them with a sweep? OKC was also a good, young starting team. They may be a new team but in the world of basketball, you should never underestimate whoever player you are playing against with. Then lo and behond, you won the Western Conference Finals! Upon knowing that you would be up against Miami Heat, I knew that the Finals season was going to be a laughing matter for the doubters, the naysayers and most especially, the Miami Heat fans. I was scared for you guys, not because I doubted you, but because I know that at the back of their minds their goal was to repeat 2006 but this time with another 2 bad-ass comrades to back Wade up. Who would really step up and be a match for the Heat's big three? Nowitzki cannot do it alone. But as Coach Erik Spoelstra said it himself, just when he thought that his boys should guard Nowitzki and Terry, the rest of the Mavs step in, making him change the script again.
Winning this season, I know, meant everything to all of you. Finally, all the doubts and negative criticisms will finally be put to rest because at the end of the day, you were still able to prove that you deserve that win and you didn't deserve the mean labels and backlashes. You need not to live with those mocks thrown at you anymore. Your team just screamed to the rest of the world that you did not need your own version of Big 3 to win a championship. All you need is one special team comprised of players who believe in themselves and with each other and that can step up and win when Number 41 cannot or is being double teamed. :)CONGRATULATIONS MY DALLAS MAVERICKS! Yes, Dirk, no one will ever take away what happened this season from you and your team.
CONGRATULATIONS TOO, MY FOREVER MVP DIRK NOWITZKI! No Kobe, Lebron, Rose, Rondo, (fill in whoever else you can think of) can ever replace you in my heart. You guys made me one of the happiest fans in the world today that I was almost in tears.
Waiting for that championship to happen is like waiting for your great love story - painful, frustrating. But once it happens, it'll all be worth the wait.
XOXO,
Jana Pondevida, your die hard fan from the Philippines
All photos are courtesy of NBA.com. The picture of Miami Heat winning NBA Finals 2006 is from USATODAY.com
*****
All the smoke and glitter, laser shows and summertime hype generated in this building 11 months ago wasn't enough to overcome the unifying force of energy the Dallas Mavericks unleashed on this night and in this series. In the end, the Miami Heat's Big 3 couldn't overcome the Mavericks' Big Team, from one through 12.
"It feels amazing now to know that nobody can ever take this way away from us again," Mavericks star and Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki said, "and for one year we're the best team that was out there. That feels amazing."
"Dirk and Jet have had to live with those demons for five years," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "And as of tonight, those demons are officially destroyed."
"This is one of the unique teams in NBA history, because it wasn't about high-flying star power." - Rick Carlisle
But it was Nowitzki, playing with a torn tendon in his left middle finger and battling a sinus infection and being clowned on camera by James and Wade about his fever along the way, that shined brightest.
It's the kind of energy they brought to this series, as well. After they lost Game 1 here the naysayers started talking about a potential sweep. Yet the Mavericks persevered, refusing as always to dwell on the doubters. They were down 15 in Game 2 but battled their way back to win that game and even the series before heading home to Dallas, using their trademark balance from the starters and the bench and the big-short artistry of Nowitzki to turn the series around.
"Down 15, we all looked at each other and we continued to believe," Terry said. "We win that game and the rest is history."
"Two totally different teams. You look at what we did along the way, along our journey, getting past Portland. Nobody said we could. Doing what we did to the Lakers. We continued to grind it out, believing in each other, and showed huge resiliency every time we stepped on the court ..." - Jason Terry
Champions at last.From Mavs' Big Team sheds negative labels with team's first title by Sekou Smith.