Just like the Miami Heat, we often act too hastily to celebrate nothing, when we should be waiting like the Mavericks to really party when the actual

Search

Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
34,770
Tokens
http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/06/03/3126804/miami-heats-early-celebration.html

Miami Heat's early celebration one sign of our sad times
Posted Friday, Jun. 03, 2011
By MAC ENGEL
tengel@star-telegram.com

Maybe it is a black/white thing. Maybe it is a German/U.S. thing. Maybe it is an age/youth thing. Maybe it is a Mavs/Heat thing. It is probably, however, more of a generational thing.

The last 7:14 of Game 2 of the NBA Finals serves as a wonderful anecdote to show what has become a bit of a problem in our great country. Just like the Miami Heat, we often act too hastily to celebrate nothing, when we should be waiting like the Dallas Mavericks to really party when the actual goal has been achieved.

In order to achieve certain goals, there are some things that need to be done that do not come with ribbons, plaques or a trophy. Just as a marathoner doesn't stop to party after passing Mile 6, the Mavs are not printing 2011 Game 2 NBA Finals Winners T-shirts. Wade Phillips may; the Mavs are not.

Dirk Nowitzki is German, but he and the Mavs have some old-school, Amy Chua/Tiger Mom stuff going on that we should follow. Nothing wrong with a few high fives and feeling good about what you've achieved, and what the Mavs accomplished by rallying to defeat the Heat in Game 2 is as huge as it was memorable. You should feel good about that. But no climber ascending Everest dumps Gatorade on the Sherpa after reaching base camp.

If the Mavs don't win another game in this series, it will be many years before we look back on Game 2 fondly. It will be labeled an aberration. If the Mavs threw a kegger after that win, which a lot of teams may be vulnerable to doing, how dumb would it look if they get blown out the rest of the way?

"You cannot get a split and get a huge emotional win in Game 2 and then go home and lose Game 3," Dirk said after Game 2. "As far as I'm concerned, the next one is the biggest game of them all. And hopefully our crowd will be rocking."

Dirk is a guy who acts like he knows he's achieved a lot in his career, yet he has not achieved the ultimate. Until then, a big celebration is hollow.

Just like Jason Terry, Peja Stojakovic, Jason Kidd and a few others, Dirk knows what the Mavs have done is not to be celebrated just yet.

And no player in the playoffs is playing any better when it matters the most. Dirk is leading the NBA in fourth-quarter points per game (9.7), field-goal percentage (51.6) and lamest celebrations.

The Miami Heat, however, is the perfect team for my generation, and younger. We want credit for graduating from kindergarten, the first grade, second grade, third grade, for tying our shoelaces, for screwing in a light bulb or emptying the dishwasher. This over-celebrating minimizes genuine accomplishment, and entitles us to a snack after turning off our PlayStation 3.

If the Heat wins this title, how can we discern that party from the one Heat players threw for themselves after signing The Three Best Friends That Anybody Could Have? Or the NBA Finals parade they held inside AmericanAirlines Arena after they defeated the Celtics in the second round?

The sad part is, after Dwyane Wade made that 3-pointer to increase the Heat's lead to 15 with 7:14 remaining in the game, he really didn't believe his actions were celebratory.

"It was no celebration at all," D-Wade said after the game. "Every team in the league, when they go on a run, they do something. Whether it's a signal, whether it's a chest bump. It's part of the game of basketball."

By today's, and certainly the Miami Heat's, standards D-Wade is absolutely right. Striking a pose in front of the opponent's bench and running to embrace his BFF really doesn't qualify as celebrating these days.

But by throwing a non-party party, they appeared to forget there is another grade after kindergarten.

In contrast, after Dirk abused Chris Bosh for the game-winning layup, the Mavs didn't celebrate with nearly the passion of the Heat.

This is not some blind endorsement of all things old school. Or an endorsement of puritanical repression, where Dirk should feel guilt after hitting that big 3-pointer. We too often incorrectly canonize all things 60 years ago.

There is, however, an attainable middle ground here.

The Miami Heat may win this series led by its party planners, D-Wade and LeBron James, which at that point they may throw a bash that will shame the likes of V-E Day, V-J Day, the U.S win over the Soviet hockey team and the most recent celebration of the death of Bin Laden.

But at least one guy realizes, and one team fully accepts, that to over-celebrate after anything less than three more wins in this series is the same as throwing an all-nighter after graduating from the third grade.

Follow Mac Engel on Twitter @MacEngelProf.

Mac Engel, 817-390-7697

Looking for comments?
 

Forum statistics

Threads
1,106,818
Messages
13,439,126
Members
99,339
Latest member
billcunninghamhomeloans
The RX is the sports betting industry's leading information portal for bonuses, picks, and sportsbook reviews. Find the best deals offered by a sportsbook in your state and browse our free picks section.FacebookTwitterInstagramContact Usforum@therx.com