Dallas Is Hot

Dallas is hot.

I spent the last five days in the sweltering city of Dallas and returned today, happy to see the pouring rain and 68 degree temperatures of the Hoosier state.  However, I was able to take away many things from my visit to North Texas.

First, I got to experience the passion and emotion of the Dallas Mavericks and their fans after winning their first ever NBA championship.  I, along with most of the rest of the nation, had been fiercely rooting for the Mavs, or perhaps a more accurate description would be that I, along with the rest of the nation, had been fiercely rooting against the Heat and LeBron James.  Either way, I was excited by the coincidental timing of their celebratory parade and my stay.

Of course, being at the parade was somewhat bittersweet because I was reminded how very far my team, the Pacers, is from this type of day.  But I tried to focus on the happiness I had for guys like Rick Carlisle, Dirk Nowitzki, Brian Cardinal, and Jason Kidd for finally winning titles.

Since I am removed a bit from the hysteria as an outsider, I couldn't help but wonder how strange it is that 200,000 people, most of whom could not survive one quarter of even a high school basketball game, care so much about "their" pro basketball team winning.  I mean, it's not like most of those guys on the team are even from Texas.  In fact, they held the parade on Thursday instead of Saturday because owner Mark Cuban had a meeting in New York and the players were "ready to get out of town".  It made me stop and think about why I pour so much of my own time into "my" teams.  It's like a drug, really.

Following teams sounds so illogical when you ponder it for a while, but when you step into Notre Dame Stadium on a brisk fall afternoon, or Fenway Park on a bright summer day, it hits you in the face and draws you right back in.  We're addicted to sports because very few things match the thrill of thousands of people cheering together for one cause, no matter how insignificant that "cause" may be.