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MIAMI — I am one of the biggest sports flip-flops you'll ever meet. I am now a Miami Heat fan and you should be too.
At the beginning of this Spurs-Heat series I was a huge (albeit temporarily) Spurs fan. But after game 6, I am the biggest Heat fan (very temporarily) at KSL.
The precise moment of the flip-flop was in the dicey ending of game 6 when the Heat were down five points with 38 seconds left following a Manu Ginobili dagger free throw.
The NBA, maybe out of sheer desire to be prepared, started lining the court with security, and league executives were buttoning their suit coats thinking of words of congratulations to the newly-crowned Spurs. They even started prepping the confetti cannon. All this was happening during a timeout while Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra drew up seemingly insignificant plays on his white board while thousands of wishy-washy fans (people after my own heart) filed out of the American Airlines Arena.
The Heat noticed.
The looks on the faces of the Heat players were reminiscent of Bruce Banner in that moment before he becomes Lou Ferigno. Then Ray Allen and the Big Three became game 6 lore, forcing overtime and winning in the extra frame.
Now, think about those same fans who left early pleading for entry back into the arena like they were trying to meet the Beatles. It's too late because this series is over.
The next day when Chris Bosh chewed out fans for leaving early, I was smitten (for now).
Bosh had a simple message for the fans who left early: "Don't come to game 7."
I love that.
Fans of basketball should be thanking the Big Three, plus one, for giving them a game 7. Thursday marks only the third game 7 in the NBA Finals since 1994. On top of that, game 6 was the fourth highest-rated television audience for ABC for a finals game in the network's history.
Commissioner David Stern, you have our attention.
Say what you will about LeBron James, his flops, his lack of performance in the first half of the finals, whatever it might be — this guy isn't losing game 7 Thursday.
Don't feel bad about rooting for King James, et al. He didn't become a four-time league MVP by flopping his way to the top, and a game 7 win for the Heat will cap one of the greatest finals stories in recent memory.
Then again, did I mention that the Spurs have never lost a Finals game 7? I thought I did. Is it too late for me to change my mind?
