I’m Resigning as a Dallas Mavericks Fan

The following avowal is NOT without a lot of thought and heartache. Last year I wrote a speech titled, “Sports, Comedy and Love” which detailed the similarities between the three. The gist of the speech was examining how a singular thing can bring both amazing highs and soul crushing lows.

I’ve been a Dallas Mavericks fan as long as Mark Cuban has owned the team. In fact, I was a Mark Cuban fan before I was a Mavericks fan. I’m no longer a Dallas Mavericks fan because I’m no longer a fan of Mark Cuban.

Of course the highlight of being a Mavs fan was the 2011 championship season. What an amazing year that was! That team was special. Those players showed what chemistry means to a championship team.

The low point of being a Mavs fan wasn’t when the team lost to a clearly inferior Miami team in 2006…no the low point came last week.

My Mavs love affair began to fade last year. It started when the team decided not to resign key free agents like Tyson Chandler, Corey Brewer, and J.J. Barea and others. We gave up character guys with the HOPE of landing a head case like Dwight Howard. How’s that working out for the Lakers?

So not resigning key free agents was strike number one. Strike number two happened last March when Cuban stood me up when my family and I went to Dallas for a game. I paid $800 for horrific seats only because I had the promise to meet my hero before the game. If you want to read an article on the dangers of hero worship read Ryan Hall’s letter.

The third and final strike came last week. I’ve always loved sports figures who wear their emotions on their sleeve. That’s how I live my life and I admire anyone who speaks their mind regardless what other people think. Delonte West is such a player.

Being a Mavs fan last year was difficult, but West made following the team worthwhile. He always showed heart and played his ass off on both ends of the court. Plus how the hell can you NOT love a professional ball player who gives an opposing player a “wet willie!”

Besides being a basketball player Delonte West is also bi-polar. While most people have experienced amazing highs and bottom of the barrel lows, bi-polar disorder is an entirely different beast. By all accounts West kept his medical challenges in check (by the way…if you are one of those people who don’t believe in mental illness you’re a moron).

After being suspended twice by the Mavs in preseason (the last time resulting in West being cut from the team) West poured out his heartbreak on his Twitter page. Fast forward three months into this season and Delonte West had a decision to make. Join the Memphis Grizzlies and return immediately to the NBA or take the offer to join the Mavericks D-League team.

West chose the long bus rides and playing in front of 600 people over an NBA contract because he loves the Dallas Mavericks. He was excited about a potential opportunity to return to the team.  All that came to a screeching halt when Cuban stated that there was “no chance” of West ever being called up to the Mavs.

Yes Mark Cuban can do whatever he wants and I am sure he could give a rats ass what I think, but I am perplexed as to why he doesn’t believe in comeback stories. Hey Mark, you got lucky and made your billions during the dot com boom. I will give you credit that you made sure you didn’t lose your money when the market crashed. I do wonder though if you’ve gotten a little full of yourself and believe in your own hype despite all your endeavors losing money since you cashed in your Yahoo stock.

 Resigning from being a Dallas Mavericks fan has nothing to do with their win-lost record. I’m not a fair weathered fan. I’m not going to suddenly start rooting for Thunder or the Heat and you can bet your ass I will always cheer against the Spurs!

 As with everything in life you have to balance out the good and the bad and decided if the pleasure from the good is worth the pain from the bad. I’ve decided that the actions of the Dallas Mavericks owner is not worth the emotional investment I have in his team. Therefore I am immediately tendering my resignation as a Dallas Mavericks fan.

Bill Becker

Tulsa, OK

February 10, 2013

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