Avoiding the searing heat

All my life, I’ve followed the NBA. From the late Michael Jordan era to the dominating NBA players of today, I’ve always kept myself up to date. Back in school, I’d even sneak out of class from time to time just to check the scores in the computer lab. When 3G landed on our cellphones, I would drive up my bill simply because I would try to refresh my browsers and keep up with the ongoing ball games. Basically, basketball was my first love and it has been a great relationship ever since.

With that, my current favorite team in the NBA is the Boston Celtics. It was a crazy coincidence when my favorite players in Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce decided to team up years ago. Automatically, I became a diehard Celtics fan and I have followed their half-decade stint that ended with one well-deserved championship and several NBA Finals appearances. However, what made their team more special was how they played the game. They reinvented what a team meant in a time when individual play was overhyped. They were the perfect example of accomplished players putting their egos aside for the betterment of the team. As a result, they played beautiful basketball. As the years went on, they even turned into the Big Four, with Rajon Rondo becoming one of the most unique point guards to play the game in recent history. All in all, it became difficult for anybody to hate the team. Their mindset was pure, their goal was unified, they earned the respect of their competitors and they worked for every single win.

Unfortunately, a few weeks ago, they were eliminated by the Miami Heat, the only team I despise in the NBA. In my defense, the Heat was already labeled as the villain of the league several years ago because of premature celebrations. When their three superstars first got together, they partied as if they had several championships already and acted as if winning was going to be easy. From that point onwards, nothing they did could erase that label from the minds of the masses. To my dismay, they would eventually go on to win the NBA championship in the Finals and that left a sour taste in my mouth.

On a personal level, it just hurt to see the “bad” guys beat out the “good” guys. But aside from that, I’m also concerned about the message that they’ve sent to the millions of kids in the world who idolize them. The first problem, Lebron James took the easier way out by teaming up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. He threw loyalty out the window and left the Cleveland Cavaliers in distasteful fashion. The second problem, the Heat celebrated prematurely and acted as if they already deserved to win multiple championships when they hadn’t even played a single game yet. Although things have changed since then and the Heat has learned to keep quiet, these are two issues that never died down and will forever stain their reputation because of the way the media seared it into our minds.

With that, I’m hoping that the kids who idolize the Miami Heat will not get influenced by the way the media has portrayed them. It’s possible for them to think that being arrogant can still get you what you want. It’s possible to think that only sticking to the most popular kids is the only way to get ahead. It’s possible that they believe they can become successful on talent alone. I write all of this because I admit that I fell victim to a similar situation when I was younger.

Back then, Allen Iverson was the best player in the league but he was widely known for one thing — that he did not see the importance of practice. When I look back, I noticed that I mimicked him in certain ways. I remember skipping out on gym time because I was already pretty athletic. I would not take drills seriously because I knew I was in the starting line up. Those small things added up and I eventually regretted them. A big part of that attitude was because I idolized somebody who was the best at what he did but had all the wrong habits and mindset.

I realize that is also why I love the Celtics. They epitomize the kind of attitude that should be emulated by everyone and they were the idols I didn’t have when I was younger. Although I am sure the Miami Heat worked hard for their championship, that is simply not how the media has built their image. As such, I pray that the youth can see past all of that, because the basis of any kind of success is and will always be hard work. There’s no amount of arrogance or potential that will take you to the top if you aren’t ready to fully commit and sweat it out.

Obviously this isn’t a write-up to bash the Heat. It is a message that I want to send to everyone, most especially the youth. The Miami Heat is a great team and all but I want them to be idolized for the right reasons. Hopefully, the media can eventually show all the hardships they had to go through to get what they want but right now, I’m just hoping that my mistake isn’t repeated by the aspiring youth.

(For any comments or friendly basketball related debates, e-mail me at [email protected]. Follow on Twitter @mikaeldaez.)