The Coronation of Miami

This one is special.

I’ve never felt like this before.

I’ve never loved a team so much that was hated by so many.

I wasn’t around in the ‘80s when the Hurricanes were stomping on college football tradition, but this is what it must have felt like.

The triumph of the Miami HEAT was more personal than any other sports triumph in my life.  The swirl surrounding this team created a bunker mentality for all of Miami. It became us against the world.

We listened to you, Simmons, Wilbon, Barry, and Bayless. We heard your unfair criticisms. We watched you slide the scale of greatness on LeBron, time and time again.  We listened to you tell us that this team was fatally flawed, that we were stupid, and that we didn’t deserve this.

And now we’re holding the trophy.

This was the first time in my life, I didn’t want a team to win for me, I wanted this team to win for LeBron.

It has just been unfair. He has taken all the blame. People took potshots at him for two years because it drove ratings, but in the process, they created a rabid mob of naysayers and basketball trolls and it got personal.

But now LeBron answered all the critics. He did everything you wanted him to do. He kept meeting your standards, and now he deserves your respect. The conversation is changing, but it’s still a work in process. You’ve recognized that he is great. Now he’s going for the greatest.

It’s unfair to call someone mentally weak from so far away. To say that he can’t do it because he’s never done it. To hate him for being great but not already being the greatest ever. To love a rapist for his “killer instinct” on the court and hate an unselfish superstar, who took less money to win, for one prideful television show that raised millions of dollars for the Boys and Girls Club is just asanine. I wanted him to win so that this stigma would be lifted off of him. So that he would get the credit he deserved for his work, and that this good guy would no longer be a joke.

Not only did I want this team to win for LeBron. I wanted a championship for all the other guys I’ve come to love.

Has there ever been a nicer star than Chris Bosh? He is always willing to talk to reporters. He is open and honest about everything. He rises above all the jokes and criticism and still makes those goofy faces. He sacrifices stats and reputation to win. He played the best defense I’ve ever seen him play, in the Finals, and proved his worth to the team when he was hurt.

And Mike Miller! Broken Mike Miller, who I’ve watched and defended for two years. I’ve clamored for patience. We’ve seen him hit those shots before. And even if the amnesty train got out of control, everyone wanted to see him hit those shots again. To see him hit those shots in that moment was special.

If the hate wasn’t ingrained into people. If basketball fans weren’t told to hate Miami, they might grow to love this team the way I do. I love watching Mario Chalmers make an impossibly difficult lay up through traffic, then throw the ball out of bounds and get yelled at by LeBron. I love watching Norris Cole come into a Finals game and take shots with no fear or hesitation while rocking a high top fade. And I love watching him speed up the court when the rest of the team falls into a lull and is looking for a spark.

I’ve loved watching Shane Battier get rewarded for all those effort plays he made throughout the year. The countless shooters whose eyes he covered. The countless charges he took in the paint. All that was rewarded when he caught fire from three in the Finals this year. His smart basketball play and huge vocabulary, how do you not love this guy?

I even enjoyed watching the bench. I’ll remember Ronny Turiaf’s wild sideline dances, Juwan Howard’s veteran tricks, and Terrel Harris’ great rebounding in limited minutes. I feel good that Eddy Curry got a second chance, and a ring. I feel good that James Jones got to win one in his hometown. And I will always be grateful for Joel Anthony’s hard work and defense. My homer bias can even redeem Dexter Pittman and see his elbow as a misplaced display of toughness and solidarity.

I understand that it is easy to hate the HEAT, but you should understand why us fans are so prickly about it. Because its not just about LeBron leaving. If he would have gone to New York, you all would have loved him for taking on the challenge. It’s because he decided to play for my hometown. The underlying theme of this hate is a hatred of Miami. You don’t think very highly of us, and you don’t think we deserve this team. But my civic pride can’t take it.

More than anything, I wanted to watch this team win for my city.

To hate this team, is really to hate my hometown. You don’t think we deserve this, but you’ve never been here. You never met the people in the 400 level, and you don’t really know this city. So you generalize about how we are soul-less, all fame, flash, and sizzle. No substance. We’re fake, plastic. Somewhere you’d want to visit, but wouldn’t want to live.

And in a lot of ways you’re right, but this city has a heart.

That’s why I was surprised that I was most happiest for Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem. I thought I would only care about LeBron winning a ring, changing the narrative, getting the respect he deserved. But Wade and Haslem have become Miami, and the heart of this team. And their victory really felt like Miami’s victory.

Dwyane Wade is our adopted son. He has been our precious gem, his shine largely unnoticed by the world before and after Shaq. I remember watching the HEAT go on a nine game winning streak to close the season and make the playoffs in 2009, and Sportscenter didn’t even mention it. Now Wade has a proper stage for his talent and it’s been immensely rewarding to see the world once again recognize his game. And to see him take on the veteran/older brother/leader role in the locker room was great theater. Even if I know LeBron could have won us the title without that, he might not have done it without Wade. I loved the redemption of getting through #withoutwade, #tradewade, and that 5 point game, to a great all around performance in game 5. A small reminder of vintage Wade and how great he can be. I guess I was so happy for Wade because it looked like he was more happy for LeBron than himself. And that is nothing but endearing.

But I may have been happiest for Haslem. That’s our heart and soul. He is our native son. Born in Miami. A product of Overtown. Came up in Miramar. He is Miami, through and through. Having him on this team is the perfect representation of the city itself. The Big 3 get all the attention, and UD does the dirty work that helps them succeed. He’s a great rebounder and tough as nails. Just like Miami. South Beach gets all the attention. But it is the greater South Florida that supports it.

To me, UD reminds me of the Miami I know and love. No, I didn’t grow up in the hood like he did. But I didn’t grow up in the Miami that you think of when you see it on TV. Downtown Miami is breathtaking. A beautiful city on the water full of beautiful people. But it is the people behind the scenes that make it work. It is the repairman and electricians and clerks that make it all possible. These are the people that surround that beauty, and support it. These are the same people that surround this team, and support it. The celebrities might get courtside seats, and spend the game on their Blackberry, but real Miami sits in the 400 level screaming for this team. My mom is not a model and my dad is not a TV director. No one sold cocaine or opened a nightclub. I grew up in the everglades. My dad is a blue collar worker. I may prop up the glitz of Miami and play up the stereotypes from time to time. But that’s just me being good natured and embracing your labels. Sure Downtown Miami may have been built on cocaine, but the real Miami is like Udonis Haslem. That’s the heart and soul of the fan base that breathes life into this team. They are hard working, regular people, that love their hometown and love their hometown team.

This championship reminded me why I love sports. Because I don’t really love sports as much as I love people.

I guess what I’m trying to say is, I was happy for LeBron, and I was happy for the team.

But most of all, I was happy for Miami.