The Hurt Of A Miami Heat Defeat: The Big 3 Era
So why am I so invested in the Miami Heat? The story’s, kind of, interesting.
I had been a LeBron James fan and felt bad that when he was still with the Cavs, as he couldn’t win a championship. Then he joined the Heat and Dwyane Wade, along with Chris Bosh.
This excited me. It was like the Justice League or the Avengers had just been formed. Plus there was Eric Spoelstra, a fellow Filipino to root for.
The anguish and uproar over Lebron leaving the Cavs made being a Miami Heat fan that much more special. Many were hating the Heat for getting Lebron to bring or “take” his “talents to South Beach.”
Then there was the anguish of the NBA Finals loss to the Dallas Mavericks. We all thought it would be a repeat of the first time, but instead, it was dejection and loss for Miami.
But this actually helped intensify the fandom of Miami Heat fans. Believe it or not, this actually made us more loyal: we were going to hang in there.
We weren’t going to be some fair-weather friend who’ll only be there if the Heat were winning. And our faith was restored and our emotional investment was repaid a hundredfold when the Heat won back to back titles.
Added to the Heat fan treasure trove were the hilarious Obama White House championship visits with the funniest digs by the first black President. There was also the black championship trophy covenant the Heat players signed as a commitment to each other to be a band of brothers.
There was the 27-game winning streak. The Ray Allen curse at the ropes and 3-point dagger.
All of that was special. That really deepened the bonds between the team and the fan.