Hello, Mavs fans all over the world. Surely, a large part of your lives revolve around the Dallas Mavericks. You all have watched them grow, flourish, win, and lose before your very eyes. Let me tell you a story of how the Dallas Mavericks shaped my life.

To start off, I am not a Mavs fan, but they played a giant role in creating my interest for sports, and more importantly, basketball. It was June 11, 2006. The Dallas Mavericks were going up against the Miami Heat, with Dallas leading 1-0. I tuned in late to watch Shaq "shoot" (more like push) free throws. He missed both, to no one's surprise. The Mavericks went on to win the game 99-86. From then on, I was captivated by Dirk's shooting touch. I was only 7 years old at the time, so I didn't know who Gary Payton, Shaq, or Dwyane Wade were at the time. I only knew that they were on the team I was cheering against. Even though the Mavs lost that series, it provided me with one of my first interests besides reading.

Today, I am a fan of the Sacramento Kings. I am a Sacramento native. The past few months have caused me to weep, cheer, and hope for my team. The new arena study that came out on Thursday has given Sacramentans new hope. But deep in my heart remains the one team that introduced me to this great sport of basketball. The Dallas Mavericks.

GO MAVS!!