Like most good sports fans, I have a special relationship with my sports teams. I also have a special relationship with music. To be more specific, I have a VERY special relationship with both the Mavs and with Taylor Swift.
A Twitter discussion a while back between me and a couple of MMB editors got me thinking:
@andytobo @thefortyseven i dedicate Red to Derek Fisher while he's out.
— Kirk Henderson (@KirkSeriousFace) December 19, 2012
With Derek Fisher having dramatically rejected the Mavericks yet again, this seems like the perfect time to ponder what other Taylor Swift songs fit with Mavs both former ("exes," if you will) and present:
"Red" - to Derek Fisher
Taylor Swift - Red (Live from New York City) (via TaylorSwiftVEVO)
Relevant lyrics:
"Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street
Faster than the wind, passionate as sin ending so suddenly...
Losing him was blue like I'd never known
Missing him was dark grey all alone
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met
But loving him was red"
Well, I don't know about a "new Maserati," but the rest of this is pretty dead on. I'm sorry, y'all saw Mike James play in that Lakers game, right? I miss Derek Fisher the most of all the Eddy Curry/Troy Murphy/Mike James random flavor of the weak rotation, and I don't think that'll get much argument.
"Back to December" - to Tyson Chandler
This is my favorite Taylor Swift song association on this list.
Taylor Swift - Back To December (via TaylorSwiftVEVO)
Relevant lyrics:
"Maybe this is wishful thinking,
Probably mindless dreaming,
But if we loved again, I swear I'd love you right.
I'd go back in time and change it but I can't.
So if the chain is on your door I understand."
We GET IT, media. The Mavs should not have let Tyson Chandler walk. It was a mistake. We're paying for it now. Blah, blah, blah SHUT UP. If I had to take a drink for every time I've heard that shoved in our faces, I'd have been dead a long time ago. We'd like to go back and change it. We can't. Let's move on.
"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" - to Lamar Odom
Taylor Swift - We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (via TaylorSwiftVEVO)
Relevant lyrics:
"Like...never."
This one really doesn't need much explanation, does it? So many options for this one too. Could have easily gone with "Treacherous," "Picture to Burn" or "You're Not Sorry."
"Mean" - to Jason Kidd
Taylor Swift - Mean (via TaylorSwiftVEVO)
Relevant lyrics:
"You, with your switching sides
And your wildfire lies and your humiliation..."
Remember how we went from Kidd to Nash to Kidd again to no one because Kidd had a contract practically signed or whatever then defected at the last minute? Me neither, because I blocked that drama out of my head a while ago. But let's bring it back for a sec so we can dedicate one of my favorite T-Swizzle songs to Jason Kidd.
"Enchanted" - to O.J. Mayo
Taylor Swift - Enchanted @ BBC Radio 2 London (via TaylorSwiftArchive)
Relevant lyrics:
"This is me praying that
This was the very first page
Not where the story line ends..."
This arguably had a little more applicability in the previous games when O.J. was on fire, but I still like it. I am in the camp that hopes he can regain that OJAM magic form and be a part of the team long term, but I'll leave it to more educated basketball statisticians to argue that point.
"22" - to Jae Crowder
Taylor Swift - 22 (Acoustic) Live (via TheBilLiBuNni)
Relevant lyrics:
"We're happy free confused and lonely at the same time
It's miserable and magical...oh yeah."
Because, y'know, Crowder is 22. But the lyrics kinda work as well...I think "miserable and magical" is a pretty apt description of the rookie.
"Ours" - to Shawn Marion
Taylor Swift - Ours (via TaylorSwiftVEVO)
Relevant Lyrics:
"Seems like there's always someone who disapproves
They'll judge it like they know about me and you
And the verdict comes from those with nothing else to do
The jury's out, my choice is you"
You guys, I am not a basketball expert. But people who are more expert than me have consistently noted Marion's underrated defense. I was super nervous they would send him somewhere else at the trade deadline - I get it, he's valuable - but I'm attached. He's OUR under-appreciated Matrix.
(Also there's that line in the song referencing "snide remarks" about tattoos, which if you've never read this story...)
"Mine" - to Dirk Nowitzki
I debated for a while between this song and "Long Live." The latter seemed to capture the spirit of the 2011 Finals victory, but "Mine" seemed to capture the spirit of Dirk and the Mavs this season, especially in light of Dirk's recent comments about signing a new contract:
Taylor Swift - Mine (via TaylorSwiftVEVO)
Relevant lyrics:
"And I remember that fight, two-thirty AM
As everything was slipping right out of our hands
I ran out crying and you followed me out into the street
Braced myself for the "Goodbye," ‘cause that's all I've ever known
Then you took me by surprise
You said, "I'll never leave you alone."
But the reason I really chose this song is for its signature lyric: "You are the best thing that's ever been mine." Because yeah.
"The Story of Us" - to the Fans
Taylor Swift - The Story Of Us (via TaylorSwiftVEVO)
Relevant lyrics:
"Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room and we're not speaking,
And I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah?
I don't know what to say, since the twist of fate when it all broke down,
And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now."
I mean, maybe they pull out an eight seed. But it's not looking likely.
I won't ever break up with the Mavs, even though we've had a rough relationship recently. I'm tellin' y'all though, T-Swizzle is doing a good job of consoling me this season. Embrace the hate. Thank me later.
