Whether or not Dallas goes on to win the Western Conference, or the championship, it’s time to give Mark Cuban a hell of a lot of credit. If you’re a fan of a team that’s not very good, or a team that’s swimming along in mediocrity… your franchise couldn’t get better news than Mark Cuban buying it.
Thank about the Mavs before Cubes bought them… what comes to mind? For me… not much. I’ve got green uniforms and Roy Tarpley. Not much else. Maybe a young Jason Kidd. But now they’re one of the most dynamic, exciting, franchises in sports… even before Avery Johnson, even before they became a more well-rounded team, even when they were cruising along in softcake mode, they were still interesting. They were better. They were notable. And it was just a matter of time before they evolved to the point where they are now.
It all leads back to Cuban. You may have some issues with the guy, and that’s fine. I’m usually the last person to ever criticize someone else’s wardrobe, because I prefer to dress like a homeless man, but… the Mavericks football jerseys and the “MFFL” t-shirts have got to go. I don’t think I would’ve considered either of those past the fourth grade. I don’t care that he’s on the bench, or in the locker room, or that he bitches about officials, or anything else… the t-shirt pictured above is what bothers me. It is not 1991. Also, he uses the smiley faces when he types. That bothers me, too. :(
But, yeah… you may never think of him in the same way that you think of the Rooney family in Pittsburgh, but… as an owner, you could do, and probably are doing, a hell of a lot worse. Basketball fans in Dallas should hang portraits of the guy above their fireplaces.
New York Sports Page
Forget the shirt: The picture above is the only time I’ve ever seen him *not* look like he’s wearing two toupees at once.
May 25, 2006 at 1:55 am
steve baker
I was watching a Pirates game in a Pittsburgh bar last night, and the whole conversation I was eavesdropping was whether native Pittsburgher Cuban would please buy the Pirates. The consensus was no, but they’d love it here.
May 25, 2006 at 6:07 am
Santos
I believe that the ultimate symbol of the pre-Cuban Mavs atrociousness was that you always played them first in NBA Jam. Concrete evidence that they were the worst team in the league.
May 25, 2006 at 8:34 am
Critical Fanatic
Funny you mention this … I emailed Cuban over the weekend an extensive plea to rid the Chicago Cubs of the Tribune Company.
Cuban owning the Cubs and jumping up and down behind the dugout would be priceless, and annoying most likely … but at least the Cubs might have a chance to win the World Series.
May 25, 2006 at 11:11 am
drunken stupor
there should be rules in place where deadbeat owners get run off if their teams make no effort to win. it’s sad that us fans of shit teams have to wish mark cuban would buy them. gm’s, coaches, and managers are fired left and right, i just wish there was a committee that could fire owners. (looking at you, david glass…glad to see those “changes coming real soon.”
May 27, 2006 at 10:51 am