Dwight, Please Stay: We Need You

Dwight, you're laying down in your hotel room in LA right now healing from back surgery. Your teammates went out tonight and laid a gigantic egg in the second half against the Denver Nuggets. Much like you, they're worn out, beaten down, and tired from this marathon of a season that the NBA has tried to fit inside of a sprinter's window.

Your buddy, Jameer Nelson went down today after taking a knee to his calf. They call it a calf contusion and for your team's sake, I hope that's true. They've already lost their muscle, with Jameer they lose their heart.

But none of that really matters right now because I'm talking to you. Chances are that you never read this but I'm talking to you none the less. I'm sitting here, not as some kid on his knees asking him mom to go to the movies without an adult, but as someone who is sitting across the table from you, looking you dead in the eye and saying "we need you."

Being an Orlando Magic fan is tough. We watched our hero in Shaquille O'Neal leave for the bright lights of Hollywood. We watched Penny Hardaway's body fall apart sending us into the famous Heart and Hustle year lead by Daryl Armstrong and Ben Wallace.

Right now you're probably thinking your reputation has taken a hit, that you may not be able to fix it here in Orlando. I'm here to tell you that you're wrong. In 2001, after the aforementioned H&H year, Tim Duncan toured the city with Tiger Woods (you know, the most famous golfer ever), he was a signature away from becoming an Orlando Magic before a heart-to-heart with David Robinson changed things at the last second. A decade later, his wavering is forgotten and he's looked at as the symbol of loyalty and the rock of a basketball dynasty that's still going strong.

Without Duncan, the Magic moved ahead and signed Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill. Unfortunately, Hill's ankle could never get right and we were robbed of one of the elite wing duos basketball has seen in quite some time. After the 2003 season, T-MAC demanded a trade and we granted him one. We got in return an all-star in Steve Francis and a solid Cuttino Mobley. Once again, we were robbed of something as you were drafted that exact off-season. A duo of TMAC and Dwight Howard could've been something special assuming Tracy stayed healthy.

You see, Dwight, from Nick Anderson's missed free throws to Courtney Lee's missed layup, there's been a lot to "cry over" per say being a Magic fan. But you have a chance to change all of that. I know you're mad at Stan and Otis and possibly feel slightly betrayed by Alex Martins but you need to understand this. Otis and Stan will be gone next year, Martins has always been on your side, and this city and this fanbase is behind you.

I have owned three basketball jerseys in my life. The first was McGrady's, the second was an Eddy Curry jersey I found at a thrift store, and the third is your #12. The first purchase I ever made on EBAY was a Dwight Howard trucker hat with your sticker from the Vegas Dunk Contest plastered on the front. I have a picture of you dunking on Lebron James on my wall. I've seen you play in person twice; once being a demolition of the Lakers and Andrew Bynum last March. I remember you throwing out the first pitch at the Tampa Bay Rays game and making Jeff Neiman look small.

Dwight, you will never be loved like you are here. Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajuwon; when they return to Chicago or LA or Boston or Houston, how do you think they feel? I can bet it's not the same as Shaq feels when he returns to one of his six teams or the way Wilt felt when he returned to one of his three, or Lebron will feel when he returns to Cleveland or Miami when his career is over.

There is only one team that drafted you; and that's the Orlando Magic. This is your team. This is your moment to really prove that you aren't Lebron or Bosh or Carmelo or Amar'e or Deron. This is your chance to prove that you're bigger than them, that you're going to finish what you started here. You're going to lead others down to Orlando instead of following them to Brooklyn or New York or Los Angeles or Dallas. Like they always say, Dwight, "there's no place like home". This is YOUR Metropolis.




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