For my creative writing class, I had to write a 7 page poem about the topic of my choice. I chose to write about the Mavs run through the playoffs. Thought I would share it here, even if it is ridiculously long.

2011 NBA Playoffs

The Prelude:

At the Mavs’ chances, the “experts” all scoffed

This team can’t win, they are just too soft

This did not assuage this fan’s fears

First round losers 3 of the last 4 years

To be a Mavericks fan, dealing with disappointment is a must

Great regular season team, always a playoff bust

But maybe this season would be different for the desperate Mavericks fan

Tyson Chandler brought some toughness, and Dirk was still the man

So maybe this would be the year the Mavericks would be crowned

But first they would have to make it past the very first round

Round 1:

The Mavs will probably lose early again, all my friends would say

That is definitely the team out West everyone wants to play

So, I thought my playoff beard would soon meet some razors

Especially since we were playing the athletic Trail Blazers

The Mavs were the 3 seed, and the Blazers were the 6

But every single expert had the Blazers in their picks

The Mavericks came out strong and took the first 2 in big D

But, just as expected the Blazers went home and beat them in game 3

In game 4, the Mavericks went up 23 late in the 3rd

And a big sigh of relief in Dallas could definitely be heard

But then Brandon Roy erupted and the lead was gone

When it was over, somehow the Trail Blazers had the game won

I yelled so long at my TV my throat ended up sore

The worst part was I felt like I had seen this all before

Now I was sure the Mavericks would lose early again

This was as disappointed as I had ever been

But the Mavericks came back home and won the next game

In year’s past they would fold, this team was not the same

In case I was still debating whether this team had hardened

The Mavs won the series in game 6 at the Rose Garden

Dallas had finally made it again out of round 1

But the next series against LA would probably not be fun

Round 2:

Compared to past Mavericks, this team was mentally tough

But against the Lakers, that would not nearly be enough

The Lakers were the 2 time defending champs with Kobe and Gasol

None of the experts gave the Mavs any chance at all

In fact, Charles Barkley caught a bunch of flak

When he said the Mavs would win, people thought he was on crack

Sure enough, the Lakers came out and got off to a fast start

But they did not count on the Mavericks having a bunch of heart

Corey Brewer, of all people, sparked a Dallas run

And in the end, Dirk stole a victory in game 1

Game 2 in the series ended up the same way

The Mavericks had somehow taken the first two in LA

Game 3 was another Mavericks win, something wasn’t right

This team was not supposed to win, but now it seemed they might

Game 4 started and Dallas was on fire

The situation for the Lakers was very dire

Jason Terry and Peja Stojakovic refused to even miss

20 3’s later, and I was full of bliss

Dallas had swept the enemy, the almighty LA Lakers

If you had tried to bet that before the series, you would have many takers

The Mavericks had advanced; they were off to Round 3

Awaiting them, the talented team that hailed from OKC

Round 3:

Dirk was finally getting some love from all the national writers

And this was hailed as a “different team”, full of veteran fighters

In the beginning of game 1, Dirk was hitting from his usual spots

He was on his way to 48 points on 15 shots

No matter what they did to guard him, he was doing work

Van Gundy even joked Ibaka should name his firstborn Dirk

The Mavericks needed all 48 points just to get the win

This young OKC team was going to push them ‘til the end

Durant and Westbrook are great, and role players they have a few

Harden was a beast this series, and they took Game 2

Game 3 was back in OKC, but the Mavericks still won

And all the momentum the Thunder had appeared to be gone

In the past, the Mavs would be happy with a split

But this Dallas team was not having any of it

They battled all of game 4 but couldn’t keep up

Harden was going off, taking the ball to the cup

The Thunder went up 15, and things were looking bleak

But the team would prove once again to not be mentally weak

Led by Dirk and Terry, the Mavs refused to die

And Nowitzki hit the free throws to ensure there was tie

Dallas went to overtime and kept the pressure on

Kidd hit a humungous 3 and the Mavericks won

The resilient team could wrap up this series in game 5

The Mavs fans were hungry, American Airlines really came alive

The Thunder proved they would not go down without a fight

But nothing would stop the Mavericks on this joyous night

The Mavs were western champs, with a chance to win a ring

But the next round would be much harder against D-Wade and the “King”

The Mavs would have to redeem themselves from their worst defeat

That’s right; it would be a Finals rematch against the Miami Heat

The Finals:

The Big 3 they were called, they were the new “it” team

But they were standing in the way of the Mavericks dream

Game 1 was in Miami, and the Heat came out hot

The Mavs didn’t win; easy, this would be not

Game 2 was back and forth for most of the game

The Mavs were giving it all, and then the moment came

D Wade hit a big 3 and posed in front of Dallas’ bench

The Mavs were about to surrender, as if they were the French

But the posing and celebrating really stoked Dallas’ fire

Down 15, they still fought back to take it to the wire

A 20-5 run gave the Mavericks one more shot

And Dirk got the ball, trying to get it to his spot

He drove by Bosh, and took the ball right to the rack

As the ball went down, a proverbial monkey flew off his back

D Wade missed a last second heave and the Mavericks won

The thoughts they had no shot were irrevocably gone

Dallas was ready to get things going at home in the Big D

But they were going to be dealing with another problem in game 3

Dirk Nowitzki had a hand injury and now he was sick, too

The Mavericks would have to win with their star dealing with the flu

In game 3, that would prove to be too hard

The Heat’s Big 3 were proving tough to guard

Before game 4, the tension would get more thick

As D Wade and the “Chosen One” pretended to be sick

This made the stakes even higher, as if the game were not enough

The Mavericks had to be on their game, ignoring the other stuff

And they were very successful in this game as it was another great game

Everyone knew Dirk was getting the ball, and yet the results were the same

He took the ball to the rim and then he layed it in

The Mavericks tied the series up with a game 4 win

The next game was crucial and Dallas’ last at home

The crowd was so rabid, I thought I would see foam

The game would be no different than all the rest

This Finals was ranking among the all-time best

Once again it would be close game, decided in the end

The difference between the stars in the 4th was the prevailing trend

Dirk had been money in the last quarter, Lebron had been not

But neither one of them would hit this games deciding shot

Jason Eugene Terry had the ball with the game on the line

He hoisted up a long three, it seemed like an eternity before it tickled the twine

The Mavs were up in the series now, three games to two

One win away from the title, this was too good to be true

The Mavericks had a problem early in game 6

Dirk was not up to his usual bag of tricks

1 for 12 in the first half, he could not buy a shot

But luckily for him, the rest of the team was hot

The Mavericks got some key buckets from everyone on the bench

From Stevenson to Mahinimi, they knew they needed to clinch

Finally in the 4th, Dirk’s shots started falling

The rest of the Mavs continued their balling

Those last 3 minutes seemed an eternity to wait

To finally get to see Mark Cuban and the boys celebrate

Finally the clock hit zero, and I was off my rocker

Jumping up and down, as Dirk headed to the locker

He was overcome with emotion as he headed to the back

His resume now had the one thing I always feared it would lack

Watching the Mavs for all these years had led to lots of heartbreak

But giving up on them was never an option, and it was clearly not a mistake

All the “agony” I had accrued from watching Dirk and the boys

Was worth it to see them celebrate like kids with brand new toys

The only thing greater than seeing my team was number 1

Was all the ecstasy on their faces when all was said and done

Sports are such a minimal part of life, but they bring joy to me

And lessons can be learned, and from this I learned these 3

Unexpected things happen, this is what I mean

In basketball and life, some things cannot be foreseen

Also in life, talent is a great attribute to have on the whole

But never underestimate the power of a team with a singular goal

The Mavericks were talented, but if talent alone won it all, the Mavericks would have been dropped

They won the title because they had a common goal and they refused to be stopped

There is one more important thing I learned from following this team

That is the importance of never giving up on a dream

From an NBA champ to something as simple as attaining a degree

Never let your dream die down, the Mavericks proved to me

It’s funny to take life lessons from something as stupid as a game

But not getting anything out of this, would certainly be a shame

So thank you Dirk Nowitzki, for showing me the way

I will take these lessons with me each and every day