We're Sorry, Dwyane Wade

We're sorry, Dwyane.  We're sorry for your pathetic excuse for a professional basketball team.

We're sorry that your Hall of Fame coach would rather scout college basketball games than give you his all.

And we're sorry, Dwyane, for questioning your not playing the last 21 games of this dreadful season for the Miami Heat.

Every year the NBA watches at least one superstar miss the playoffs because he has the misfortune of being on a bad team.  Sadly, this year it is Dwyane Wade.

Wade is not just a big name player.  He is a superstar, a competitor, and a class act. 

Two years removed from an NBA championship, Wade has found himself at the bottom of the league.  And let us remember that there would be NO championship without Wade carrying the Heat on his back to win the 2006 Finals series, 4-2 after trailing 2-0. 

We're sorry that management decided that since they had won a championship, there was no reason to keep up with the team.  True, they were built to "win now," but bringing in players such as Ricky Davis and Smush Parker was not a very smart decision. 

I am disappointed that Wade is not playing the rest of the season.  That's because I love to watch him play, not because I (the fan) think I am bigger than the player.

We, as fans, have many gripes with athletes.  Some decide to sit out games when they don't feel well, others sit out when they have minor injuries. 

But Wade doesn't do that—he plays through it.  In fact, he plays his hardest night after night.  Season ticket holders should be thankful they are only losing 21 games, and not an entire career. 

Some will bash Wade and Yao Ming for their desiring to become Olympic champions instead of struggling through an 82-game season with major injuries.  I, instead, commend them.

How many times do we hear fans complaining that we don't care enough about the Olympics, that we don't do enough to represent ourselves properly?  Well, fans, you can no longer make that claim. 

In the end, it is Wade's decision.  He has the support of his coach and teammates.  And the bottom line is, he's earned it.

Wade is the first person in the gym and the last one out—and he's worked this way since high school.  When we put the time, work, effort, and heart into our lives that Wade puts into his, then, and only then, will we have the right to gripe.