Why America Wants the Heat to Lose

Ever since The Decision, since the infamous pep rally, and since LeBron went on his "Not 1, Not 2..." rant, the Miami Heat have become one of the most polarizing teams in sports history. As San Antonio heads to South Beach with two chances to break the hearts of Miami, most of the country will be watching in hopes of seeing just that.

And it's not because of the Heat.

As any honest basketball fan will tell you, the Heat are capable of playing some of the most beautiful basketball there is to watch. Yes, there are the high flying dunks.  But there's also the smothering defense, not to mention their unselfishness and great ball movement on offense.  Sure, you can hate their outrageous flopping that makes it seem like they're an Italian soccer team rather than the NBA's most talented squad, or the fact that they can turn it off just as quickly and easily as they can turn it on.  They're frustrating because you know they can do better, and they're frustrating because you know no one can stop them.  But that's not the reason you want them to lose.

And it's not because of LeBron, either.

LeBron is unquestionably the most talented player in the league today, and maybe ever (with only Wilt giving him a run for his money - the 7-footer averaged 55 and 20(!!!!!!) one year then led the league in assists "because he could").  The man seemingly comes close to a triple-double in every game he plays, which makes it so frustrating when he does this or acts like he just got accused of murder every time a call doesn't go his way.  While this is insanely frustrating to see from a guy who should be able to physically impose his will on anybody he will ever face, that's not the reason you're hoping Danny Green gets all the open shots he wants in Game 6 either.

Side note: I could watch this for days.  Great stuff.

The reason you want - you NEED - the Spurs to win is because of what you will have to put up with if the Heat win. Again.  Those dreaded "Heat Fans"(I'm not sure if there is such a thing as a honest, legitimate Heat fan anymore, but if there is, you are excluded from this rant).  Those fans who will give you crap every time they see you because "their team" won the title and your team didn't - which are the same people who hid behind the "I'm-a-LeBron-fan-not-a-Heat-fan" mantra when the Heat were struggling.

This is exactly the problem: what every single one of them will claim right to will not actually be theirs. No one will blink twice if San Antonio wins.  Every one will say good for Timmy, good for Pop, good for small markets, and great for those fans.  And no one will care after a month.  There is no such thing as a Spurs bandwagon fan.  

LeBron/Heat fans are exactly the opposite.  How many times did you hear "You know what he is? He's a champion." this year?  They point to his 25-8-6 stat line, like in Game 5, and tell you that his teammates are letting him down without mentioning him going 2-11 from the field in the second half.  And they will always tell you he has no help, that it's just like Cleveland.  How many people do you recognize in this picture? What about this one? 

On top of that, there's another whole year of ESPN asking the tough questions: "Is LeBron better than MJ? Is he the greatest of all time?" (NO. NO NO NO NO NO. Just...no).  Soon you'll be wishing Tebow was still relevant so something could get SportsCenter away from anchoring a whole show around how LeBron and D-Wade love biking to games.

I am not a Heat hater.  You have to appreciate a team that has the ability to play that level of basketball and that can show greatness.

I am not a LeBron hater.  You have to admire and appreciate what he can do on the court and how he can do things you didn't think were possible.

I can handle the flopping (Eh, let's just have Stern fine the whole team and give them a group discount).  I can handle the on-off switch.  I can handle the whining.  But I can not handle all the irrationality that comes with it.

Maybe it's just today's society and a tendency to overreact to every little thing.  Or maybe it's just reserved for the special group of "Heat Fans".

Either way, please save us Spurs.  The sanity America is counting on you.