DALLAS — Standing on an arena balcony, Dirk Nowitzki led the Dallas Mavericks and thousands of fans in singing their new favorite song: “We Are The Champions.”
Team owner Mark Cuban led fans in another round of the chorus, with Jason Kidd holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
The joyous scene came Thursday at the end of a parade honoring the NBA champions. An estimated crowd of 200,000 endured temperatures approaching 90 degrees to enjoy a party 31 years in the making.
Another 20,000 or so packed the American Airlines Center for a rally filled with emotional moments. The plaza around the building was filled to its 3,000- person capacity about two hours before the parade began.
In a waiting area at the start of the parade, Cuban clutched the championship trophy as entertainer Jamie Foxx, who is from the Dallas area, joined the fun. Most wore T-shirts that read “Raise the Banner” and other championship gear.
“It’s unbelievable,” Nowitzki said as he took a cigar from teammate Jason Terry before boarding his float. “If it hasn’t sunk in yet, it will now. . . . We’re on the top of the world now, so it feels amazing.”
There were plenty of funny moments during the rally.
Brian Cardinal, a backup nicknamed “The Custodian,” came on the stage with a broom and dustpan. With a stogie in his mouth, he tidied up a bit, then waved his arms to applause. He cupped a hand to his ears, asking for them to be louder, then retreated into the tunnel.
Tyson Chandler upped expectations.
“I hear they do things big in Dallas,” he said. “So if we do it big, it can’t be just one.” He held up a hand and started flipping up fingers and counting, “One, two, three, four, five.”
At the end of the parade, those who rode along said they were overwhelmed by the turnout — people as far as they could see.
“I’m numb,” said Donnie Nelson, the team’s president of basketball operations.
