Nowitzki caps Mavs' parade with 'We Are The Champions'
DALLAS, TX
Team owner Mark Cuban led fans in another round of the chorus,
with Jason Kidd holding the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
The joyous scene came Thursday at the end of a parade honoring
the NBA champs. An expected crowd of 250,000 -- although it may have
been more -- endured temperatures approaching 90 degrees to enjoy a
party 31 years in the making since this one is the first title in
Mavericks history.
There was still one more layer to the party, a ceremony with
10,000 season-ticket holders inside American Airlines Arena. The
plaza around the building was filled to its 3,000-person capacity
about two hours before the parade even began.
Fans filled the streets and sidewalks all along the roughly
mile-long route between the convention center and the arena.
Franchise founder Donald Carter and his wife, Linda, for whom he
started the club as gift, were in the lead vehicle, a white
convertible.
"Fantastic," Carter said.
In a waiting area at the start of the parade, Cuban clutched the
championship trophy as entertainer Jamie Foxx, who is from the
Dallas area, joined the fun. Most wore T-shirts that read, "Raise
the Banner," and other championship gear. Cuban tweeted several
pictures from the holding area.
"It's unbelievable," Nowitzki said as he took a cigar from
teammate Jason Terry before boarding his float. "If it hasn't sunk
in yet, it will now. ... We're on the top of the world now so it
feels amazing. For 13 years I've waited for this moment. It's
amazing and we're all going to enjoy it."
At the end of the parade, those who rode along said they were
overwhelmed by the turnout -- people as far as they could see.
"I'm numb," said Donnie Nelson, the team's president of
basketball operations.
Temperatures were in the mid-80s at the start of the parade and
a high of around 100 was in the forecast, according to the National
Weather Service. There were several reports of fans overcome by
heat before the parade even began.
Inside the arena, most people came wearing blue, as they did
throughout the postseason. They watched the parade and outdoor
scene on the video board, chanting "M-V-P!" along with the fans
outside when Terry introduced Nowitzki and singing along when
Nowitzki began crooning. They also were treated to video clips from
the finals and some behind-the-scenes footage in the locker room,
the bus ride from the arena and the next morning at the hotel.