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Miami’s rainmakers are stopping at nothing to keep Dwyane Wade in town. In May, the Miami Heat and a slew of corporate sponsors launched an online campaign — wewantwade.com — to convince the NBA MVP from fleeing to another team when he becomes a free agent in July. The website encourages residents to do whatever is necessary “to help keep Wade in Wade County.”
Now, the county commission has taken the suggestion verbatim. Commissioner Joe Martinez sponsored a resolution that was approved unanimously Tuesday to rename the county after Wade, as in Miami-Wade County, for the first week of July.
The commission wants to recognize “all that Dwyane Wade has done for the visibility, stature, and national image of Miami-Dade County,” the resolution reads.
On the corporate side, we haven’t courting this heavy since Marlene the Lumberjack went after Long Duck Dong in Sixteen Candles. Miccosukee Resort & Gaming, Papa John’s, South Florida Tires Plus, Hooters, and several others are all contributing money to the wewantwade.com online campaign.
So what gives, county commission, with this one-week deal? Are his “contributions to the community” not big enough to merit a whole month? We guess this is at least classier than the county renaming itself Kardashian County for a week.
Interestingly, Martinez, the resolution’s sponsor, is a fan of only winning sports superstars. Last year, after Jose Canseco admitted to using steroids, the commissioner pushed to remove the player’s name from a stretch of SW 16th Street.
