Will Dwyane Wade surpass Dan Marino as Miami Sports Icon?

[bakedmatt]

Having only been a visitor to The great state of Florida on 2 occasions, I can only give an outsiders opinion. That said when I was down there all the stores, sports highlights, and car flags were dominated by Football, college and the pros. A fair comparison would be in LA when Gretzky was there while Magic was still playing. Most people could care less about hockey there, even though they had the greatest player in the history of the game to watch. While Magic was no slouch, but he was idolized by the city and beyond.

There you go. Perfect comparison.

 

[bakedmatt]

too many homers on this board.

this town will become less of a football town unless the dolphins starting winning some playoff games and making runs at the super bowl.

the heat are eating into the football town and the only way that stops is if the ****ing dolphins starting winning some ****ing games.

ill say it again: the dolphins will never win a super bowl in my lifetime.

You aren't listening to a lot of Miami radio, I would guess. The amount of calls that are related to the Dolphins almost outweigh all of the other sports combined.

 

[Whitedolphin54]

Right I know who he is now. Is the NBA Championship as big an event as the SB. How many people watch the NBA's compared to the NFL? That would have to be a significant factor on who would have the biggest impact in a poll.

 

[igor79]

you realize wade does not play football right? cause you know... basketball is not football

 

[I Rep M I A]

i think Dwayne Wade has already overtaken him. Not just because he brought a championship but people love to love this guy, hes a nice kid, hes humble, and most importantly hes an ELITE player. Miami hasnt had an elite player since big dan retired. The thing is big dan never did get that ring, he never won a championship. Ronnie will be one of those players considerin he stays with miami, but he'll be just as popular as Dwayne Wade is.

 

[Shamboubou]

I would argue that it's just as hard, if not harder, to do what Miami did considering the the backgrounds of the players they brought in. When everybody is homegrown, they're acclimated to the environment. The system. The way of doing things. When you bring in aging stars with problems/egos/reputations (namely being selfish), it takes something special to not only correct those problems, but to get everyone on the same page and those stars to accept their roles (like a great coach). The guys Miami brought in were thought to be incapable of playing together effectively. Heck, it still looked that way heading into the playoffs.

Basically, Wade was the constant between all of the changes and growing pains, which included a mid-season coaching change. He kept the Heat's season alive. And he's the reason why we even made it to the Finals. It was great to see the supporting cast finally step for multiple games.

Also, Shaq was a FAR better player/athlete when he was winning with the Lakers. He was in his prime. He was still cat quick and unquestionably dominant. Still leading the league in scoring. Lots of rebounds, assists, blocks. In his first Finals with the Lakers, he topped 40 points three times. His stat lines in the Finals were generally even more impressive than Wade's, considering he hovered above or below 20 rebounds.

This Finals, at age 34, Shaq averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds. Not exactly the Shaq of old.

Shaq is 34. Payton is 37. Mourning is 36. This team is pretty old. They were supposed to be run out of the gym by the younger, faster Mavericks. And many times, they were. Again, the glue in those tough spots was generally Dwyane Wade.

Yes, it's similar to what the Lakers and Phil Jackson did. But it's also similar to what Jackson did with Jordan and the Bulls.

Also, those team's second tier stars aren't all homegrown. Dallas' Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse were already well-established vets elsewhere. Erick Dampier played many years at Golden State. Adrian Griffin and Keith Van Horn both played many years in other cities. Even Diop played four years in Cleveland. Darrell Armstong is best known for his years in Orlando. So basically, they can claim Josh Howard, Devin Harris and Marquis Daniels. Very impressive. But it's only one more than Udonis Haslem and Alonzo Mourning.

You could also argue that another of Miami's top homegrown, 2nd tier talents was instrumental in the Heat's win. That would be Caron Butler, 3rd in 2002 Rookie of the Year, who was an ingredient in the deal that allowed us to land Shaq. :)

I think that you must have misunderstood where I was coming from when I was saying their second tier players arn't home grown. I understand a lot of the players on these teams haven't played there their whole career but they where nowhere the names that they are now.

Shaq, yeah I acknowlege that he isn't exactly the Shaq of old. But he is also still quite a presence on the court and he draw a lot of attention whether he's as good as he was in his prime or not.

Miami showed they they were the clutch team and I think its great that they won a championship. But when it comes to is D. Wade more of a icon than Dan Marino I say no way. If you put the talent they brought around D. Wade, if you put football players with the same amount of talent around Dan he would have won a championship or more. They are both great players, but Marino made the Dolphins a good team every year no matter the talent around him, I dont think Wade can do the same.

 

[Whitedolphin54]

i think Dwayne Wade has already overtaken him. Not just because he brought a championship but people love to love this guy, hes a nice kid, hes humble, and most importantly hes an ELITE player. Miami hasnt had an elite player since big dan retired. The thing is big dan never did get that ring, he never won a championship. Ronnie will be one of those players considerin he stays with miami, but he'll be just as popular as Dwayne Wade is.

:eek: What Dan is already second to a two bit basketball player :shakeno:

 

[I Rep M I A]

I think that you must have misunderstood where I was coming from when I was saying their second tier players arn't home grown. I understand a lot of the players on these teams haven't played there their whole career but they where nowhere the names that they are now.

Shaq, yeah I acknowlege that he isn't exactly the Shaq of old. But he is also still quite a presence on the court and he draw a lot of attention whether he's as good as he was in his prime or not.

Miami showed they they were the clutch team and I think its great that they won a championship. But when it comes to is D. Wade more of a icon than Dan Marino I say no way. If you put the talent they brought around D. Wade, if you put football players with the same amount of talent around Dan he would have won a championship or more. They are both great players, but Marino made the Dolphins a good team every year no matter the talent around him, I dont think Wade can do the same.

im sick of hearin that d wade was made good by the other players, he made the other players better. If u remember in his rookie season he was a couple of points short of advancin to the conference finals. He led a group of mediocre players to the playoffs. No one player in football, baseball, basketball can do that, and he did. thats why hes an icon. Also because miami is a town full of youths like myself, and we never experienced Dan Marino in his prime. We didnt see him lead the Dolphins to a SB, but here is this young guy who lead us to a championship, and thats why people are enfatuated with D Wade.

 

[I Rep M I A]

:eek: What Dan is already second to a two bit basketball player :shakeno:

i dont see why so many people are complainin, this is an awsome situation for miami, not only are u home to arguably the best QB in the league but ur also home to the best player in the NBA. Why are people complainin accept it. Dan is retired hes not gonna lead miami to any more championships, D Wade can bring a lot more trophies to miami he def. has the talent

 

[G-Force]

How stupid. Dan was the greatest QB to ever lace'em up. D-Wade isn't even the best in his time. Labron,Kobe, shall I go on? Dan is the greatest of all time period. How can anyone even think such ignorance. BTW D-Wade still isn't even in the top 50 alltime in the NBA yet. Just because someone wins a championship with about 10 other former or current allstars doesn't mean you can compare him to a alltime great. If Dan would have had 10 probowlers playing with him how many SB's do you think he would win? This thread is stupid and pathetic. Those of you who say yes should'nt call yourselves Dolphin fans ever again.

 

[muscle979]

i dont see why so many people are complainin, this is an awsome situation for miami, not only are u home to arguably the best QB in the league but ur also home to the best player in the NBA. Why are people complainin accept it. Dan is retired hes not gonna lead miami to any more championships, D Wade can bring a lot more trophies to miami he def. has the talent

Who cares how many championships he brings them, it's not football so what.

 

[muscle979]

How stupid. Dan was the greatest QB to ever lace'em up. D-Wade isn't even the best in his time. Labron,Kobe, shall I go on? Dan is the greatest of all time period. How can anyone even think such ignorance. BTW D-Wade still isn't even in the top 50 alltime in the NBA yet. Just because someone wins a championship with about 10 other former or current allstars doesn't mean you can compare him to a alltime great. If Dan would have had 10 probowlers playing with him how many SB's do you think he would win? This thread is stupid and pathetic. Those of you who say yes should'nt call yourselves Dolphin fans ever again.

You are correct.

 

[Rocky Raccoon]

Hmm, let's see, WHEN IT MATTERS THE MOST:

1984 NFL Super Bowl, Dan Marino:
29/50 - 318 yards - 1 TD - 2 INT - LOSS

2006 NBA Finals, Dwyane Wade:
34.7 PPG - 7.8 RPG - 3.8 APG - WIN

Dwyane Wade has brought our city a trophy; Marino didn't.

NOTHING ELSE MATTERS! :cooldude:

but you need more help around you in football than you do in basketball. Marino never had much of a running game or a defense during his years. People like to bring up the fact he never won anything, but he never had the team around him to help.

 

[Whitedolphin54]

i dont see why so many people are complainin, this is an awsome situation for miami, not only are u home to arguably the best QB in the league but ur also home to the best player in the NBA. Why are people complainin accept it. Dan is retired hes not gonna lead miami to any more championships, D Wade can bring a lot more trophies to miami he def. has the talent

That's fine for you man. I hate basketball. He brings absolutely nothing for me. I do understand that others feel otherwise, but to me, he will never better what Dan has done. That is just my opinion.

 

[SkapePhin]

That's fine for you man. I hate basketball. He brings absolutely nothing for me. I do understand that others feel otherwise, but to me, he will never better what Dan has done. That is just my opinion.

But this thread isnt about everyone's personal opinion, it is about whether you believe Wade will surpass Marino in superstar perception in the greater south florida area and by South Floridians..

Basically, will Wade become a bigger local marketing spokesperson than Marino, will he contribute more to the area, will he be more transcendent from his sport than Marino was, etc.

It has nothing to do with your particular like or dislike of basketball compared to football..