Heat now a Team in Miami’s Image
I’d like to congratulate Pat Riley on perhaps the most Miami move in Miami sports since the Marlins’ great Rent-a-Championship of 1997. Not since Wayne Huizenga spent a lot of money to look really cool for a short amount of time and then go into complete ruin has a local team done something so reflective of the near-sighted, style-over-substance, 3rd world nature of our city.
NO OTHER TEAM IN SPORTS WILL BETTER REFLECT ITS CITY’S MENTALITY
For those who have been on Mars this week, the Miami Heat signed LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade to contracts with more zeroes than a Josh Johnson box score. For all the glitz and glamour and hype and hyperbole about the Heat’s big signings, we seem to have forgotten that they’ve left themselves exactly no money to sign anyone to play around them. Not literally, but every player they sign to fill out their roster (which currently has 5 players, just enough to put on the court) will be playing for the NBA minimum. And for the minimum money, you get the minimum talent.
So what the Heat have now is a really cool looking image, with absolutely no substance backing it up. It’s like building a bunch of pretty condominiums to look like you are a big, important city, and then having no one live in them. Or having a glamorous, party Beachfront with rampant poverty only a few miles away. Wade, Bosh and James are South Beach. The rest of the team is going to be Overtown and Hialeah. What Pat Riley has done here is made a team in the city’s image: The richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor side by side. Looking like a big shot when, in fact, you are not. And does it really get any more Miami than that?
OR MAYBE THIS ISN’T ABOUT WINNING AT ALL
Now clearly, Pat Riley knows a lot more about building NBA winners than I do. And perhaps he has some plan that I do not, or perhaps I’m totally wrong here and will have to eat my words. But, and think about this for a minute, perhaps this decision isn’t about winning as much as it is about money. The Heat will be the biggest draw in the NBA, both at home and away. They will draw the biggest TV ratings and, with new players, sell the most merchandise. So even if this incarnation of the Heat doesn’t get out of the Eastern Conference, they are still the biggest spectacle in the NBA. And that, my friends, translates into a lot of money for the organization.
So, Miami sports fans, I think a lot of you are looking at the Heat like potential newcomers look at Miami. At first glance it’s really cool and glamorous and exciting. But if you bother looking deeper you realize that once you get past the hype, the rest of it is pretty much crap. And, after a couple years of frustration and disappointment, you may be saying this was the worst decision you, or the team, ever made.
|
Related Categories:
,
Was This Post Helpful? Please Share It With Others!
|
You Deserve More Than an Ordinary Vacation.
Travel with Miami Beach 411 Today!
- Over 10 years of excellent service guiding tours. Awarded a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence.
- Large fleet of new motor coaches, tour buses, and luxury vans. Technology you won't find anywhere.
- Highly skilled, professional drivers and guides. From people who love what they do.
The Miami Beach 411 Travel Store is Open 24/7.
17 Comments on
"Heat now a Team in Miami’s Image"
Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.
|
Discuss the surrounding area in our hugely popular Miami forum.
|
You're No Expert says:
You really have no idea what you’re talking about. They just signed Mike Miller and are working on getting Brad Miller to shore up the middle. Both Millers are solid contributors. They don’t need big money to lure role players. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of this team? You’re gonna eat your words buddy. Arison and Riley aren’t going to sell out Wade, Bosh, and Lebron. They will build a championship team. No one makes decisions this big without a plan. There is a ton of role playing talent out there. I also expect that you won’t attend any games because, you know, you’re too smart and cool for that. Save the sports columns for people who actually know something about sports (though those are few and far between in Miami). You can stick to writing about how you used to be cool as a bartender and how you’re too cool for Miami. Thanks.
Posted on 07/09/2010 at 8:27 AM