Over the past eight or nine years there have been a hand full of seasons for the Heat that just seem to stick out. Weather for good reasons or bad, certain years find a way to leave an imprint in your mind, free for you to conjure up whenever you feel like remembering Heat history.
One season that brings back vivid, heartbreaking memories, is the 2004-2005 season when the Heat were eliminated on their home court by the Detroit Pistons in a gut wrenching game seven. I remember being so confident leading up to that game. I remember feeling that we were the better team; the more complete team. I then remember smashing my Metro PCS cell phone into a thousand pieces after watching my beloved team squander a 6-point lead with only 3 minutes remaining.
Before this season, I felt that that 04-05 team was the best we ever assembled, with a Shaquille O'Neal giving a year long, MVP-type performance (he finished 2nd in MVP voting), a 23 year old Dwyane Wade blossoming into the superstar very few suspected he would, and a supporting cast made up of young, tenacious players like Udonis Haslem and hungry veterans like Eddie Jones and Christian Laettner.
The past two seasons have been rather forgettable, with the Heat getting eliminated in the first round both years to the likes of the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics.
But even with 05's heart break, and 2006's ultimate achievement, there's something about this newest rendition of the Heat that gives off a sort of mystic quality, something that I don't remember feeling in any previous year. Because even if you're not a Heat fan, (or an NBA fan for that matter) I defy you to give me another team that has garnered as much attention / interest as this one. THEY HAVE THEIR OWN INDEX ON ESPN.COM FOR GOD'S SAKE!
Because once all the attention and criticism of this team has subsided, we as Heat fans will look back on this "innagural" season and smile. We'll remember the nightly boos. We'll laugh at the infamous "bump". We'll think back to Lebron's masterful performance in his return game to Cleveland.
But as fans, we're also greedy. Those memories aren't enough. We want a championship memory to go along with the other ones. And as three of the best players in the world, I would imagine that Wade, James and Chris Bosh aren't content with waiting until next year. Just recently, Wade attested to this when he told espn.com that his team is "still in the learning process. And we're trying to fast-track it very fast. We're trying to win a championship now. And a lot goes into that. And it's not always glitz and glamor and fun. Sometimes it's tough. It's been a lot different than anything I've gone through before in a basketball season."
Which is why a championship this first year would be extra special. The Heat may win the title for the next 5 years, and I'd love every one of them. But if the they could accomplish the fete in their first year, as a fresh, new team that's still not exactly sure who they want to be or how they want to play, amid all the controversy and criticism, it would be something that the Heat, along with all their fans could cherish forever.
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