It wasn't until I saw a photo from a friend from my bookstore days, posted from the Dallas Mavericks celebratory parade that I actually considered watching from home. As season ticked holders (we buy a partial season with my husband's law firm), we were invited to the special party at American Airlines Center following the parade, but given crowds of 250,000 were expected along the parade route with many thousands crowding into the area surrounding the arena, we had no plans to attend. Frankly, for me, watching the game, the awards ceremony, then ESPN long into the night Sunday night, then listening to various radio hosts talk about the win, I thought I'd had enough of what I needed to move on. I'm glad I didn't.
I started watching the parade from my computer, then moved to the TV within a half hour, and was about to enjoy about 3/4 of the in-arena festivities before needing to leave with Rachael. I did miss Mark Cuban's emotional speech, but I caught it on NBC DFW's website a few minutes ago.
I also found a video the Mavs organization put out earlier this afternoon; I've already shared it on Facebook and Twitter, but here I'll have it for posterity.
But back to the in-arena celebration...it really was great to listen to the coach, the players, and Mark Cuban share their happiness. I discovered Jason Kidd really hates public speaking and that Tyson Chandler, my newest sports crush, is a natural. I left before Peja Stojakovic had a chance to speak, but now that I've found an audio clip of his Q&A at the arena, I've been able to experience all of it.
So now that I've heard from all the players, the coach, the owner...and watched Dirk lead his team in an a cappella rendition of the chorus to We Are the Champions from the AAC's balcony...and experienced the joy of being a fan for a winning team, I'm happy, and for the most part, sated.
I don't need to be pumped up for a repeat next year—capturing lightning in a bottle is ephemeral by nature, and I'm fine with that. I'd actually like to leave it at that.
No comments:
Post a Comment