Dirk Nowitzki: Theory Again Proven That Germans Love Dirk Nowitzki!

Dirk Nowitzki Receives Stunning Praise From Deutschland

Prior to being unfairly removed from his Weekend Update desk at Saturday Night Live back in the mid-1990s, Norm MacDonald had a shtick that went something like this:

Anytime there was news about how popular David Hasselhoff's music or his show Baywatch was in Germany—no matter how unpopular it was in America or the rest of the world—MacDonald would wryly explain "that once again proves my theory: Germans love David Hasselhoff."

That's kind of how I felt watching an NBA.com clip of Dirk Nowitzki returning to his native Germany following his triumph over the Heat in the NBA Finals. Shockingly, Germans love Dirk!

Now clearly that's sarcasm, but what isn't "shocking" is the fact that Nowitzki and the entire crowd of thousands broke into Queen's "We Are The Champions"...following the Eins! (One!), Zwei! (Two!), Drei! (Three!). So is their shouting M-V-P! M-V-P!

Dirk clearly deserves this type of (literal) hero's welcome. He is probably the world's most prominent German athlete, if not the world's most well-known European athlete. And what he's done for European basketball is on the same level as what Tiger Woods did for golf here in the States in terms of popularizing the sport.

But I do have one issue with Dirk here:

Let me get this straight…You're being honored with a rally and a parade, and you’re standing out on a balcony of some building that is probably some famous palace or the house where the Kaiser once lived or whatever…

And you show up in a ratty Nike t-shirt with its sleeves cut off?

I know he makes a living and has built his reputation on a sleeveless shirt and shorts, and he doesn't have to put on a tux or a three-piece suit. But maybe something a bit more upscale?

Maybe something that hides the pit-stains a little better?