Miami Heat trio treated like rock stars at Arena
It was a celebration for three kings, in basketball shorts.
The rock star setting was so much for LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, the trio of NBA superstars now sharing the same stage in Miami, they couldn't contain themselves. They giggled, danced and whooped while waiting to be raised onto the American Airlines Arena platform, literally rising from the floor in a cloud of smoke before 10,000 of their most devoted, delighted and delirious fans.wholesale nfl jerseys From the moment James, the NBA's two-time Most Valuable Player and arguably its most popular athlete, announced Thursday night on ESPN that he would be joining Wade and Bosh in Miami, the excitement has been off the charts.
So when Sam Bleeker, 23, heard there might be a formal coronation introducing the Heat's star-studded trio on Friday night, he and two friends drove down from Boca -- just in case..
The Heat, working around-the-clock since James' announcement at 9:27 p.m. Thursday, sent out a release announcing the party details about 4 p.m. Friday. By 6 p.m., thousands had gathered outside the arena awaiting to get a glimpse of the three together.
When the doors opened at 7 p.m., Dennis Correa, 25, of Kendall was among those who aborted all previous plans to be part of this historic moment in South Florida sports. Correa said he watched James make his announcement from a Cheesecake Factory on a television with no sound, only captions.
``They had the sound down and I had to read it,'' said Correa, who heard of the event via Twitter and put down a deposit for season tickets just before his arrival. ``When I saw the word ``South,'' I went crazy. I kissed my dad on the head.''
It was a full two hours between when the fans entered and when James, Bosh and Wade made their entrance.
Others wore shirts celebrating the acquisitions, one of them reading ``Let Them Hate,'' in reference to the backlash from Cleveland over James' departure.
As they entered the main bowl and headed toward the backstage area, James, Wade and Bosh couldn't hide from a group of lucky fans who saw them ushered through a crowd of media members and cameras.
They walked up steps onto the platform in full uniform, James wearing his new No. 6, Bosh in a new No. 1 and Wade in his familiar No. 3.
``It's like the All-Star Game,'' Wade nike air max yelled over to James as they awaited instructions to step onto another platform that would elevate them to the top of the stage. Before that, they all paused to watch the big screen showing a collection of video montages of each player.
James placed his left leg on one of the rails as he watched, with a fitting tattoo that read ``HISTORY'' running down his leg.
Before they were introduced, Heat President Pat Riley, Ugg Boots the architect of this unprecedented Heat trio, received a long ovation when the big screens showed him sitting in his usual seats along the south side of the building.