MIAMI -- Upon his 1995 introduction on the deck of Micky Arison's Carnival Imagination, Pat Riley said he envisioned a championship parade, but one unfortunate event after another killed plans for such a party.
So the celebration on July 21, 2004, was the closest South Florida had come. That's when Shaquille O'Neal hopped out of an 18-wheel diesel truck featuring his giant mug, armed with a Super Soaker, a goofy smile and a vow to belatedly fulfill Riley's vision.
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| Shaquille O'Neal has 28 points and 16 rebounds in Miami's victory. (Getty Images) |
He told the "beautiful" people that he would add more energy to the city, and that it would have no regrets: "Get your tickets now. Buy cable now. Get your jerseys now. Pull your boats up to the docking stations now. Bring your Sea-Doos now. If you can't afford a Sea-Doo, get a raft. If you can't afford a raft, go to Wal-Mart and get the blow-up raft like I got at my house."
Friday, Miami finally got to see that he was serious. Friday, Miami got a glimpse of the O'Neal of old, instead of an old O'Neal. Friday, behind a once-again dominant center, the Miami Heat finally got past the Detroit Pistons 95-78 and Miami got within four NBA Finals wins of that parade.
In the clinching Game 6, O'Neal got to fulfill several promises.
"I promised my kids I wouldn't lose today," O'Neal said in the postgame locker room.
He promised his father he would go stronger.
He made promises to his teammates, too.
Dwyane Wade had spent the morning at the hospital, rehydrating, recuperating, sipping tea and applying vapor rub.
"He just told me to come in and pace myself," Wade said. "He said the guys are ready today so you ain't got to do it all today -- just pace yourself."
Jason Williams, Antoine Walker and Udonis Haslem had spent much of the series struggling. Heat fans had spent the past 44 hours worrying, wondering if this would be just another cruel disappointment.
Nothing to stress about, as it turned out.
