Trading for Wade Reminded Miami Why It Loves the Heat

For those who have been too busy working in a coal mine or filming an episode of Deadliest Catch over the past week to keep up on local sports news, let's get you up to speed: Dwyane Wade is once again a member of the Miami Heat. Yup, it's true: The Cleveland Cavaliers traded him back to Miami for a heavily protected 2024 second-round pick. Within hours, a brewery had named an IPA in honor of his return. In less than a day, people in 100 countries had ordered a new Wade jersey.

It was a pretty big deal. There are no lies in the above paragraph. You missed a lot.

For everyone else, it's now been a few days and a single game since Pat Riley and the Heat sent every basketball fan in South Florida floating into the weekend. Hell, we're all still buzzed. Friday night's 91-85 win over the Milwaukee Bucks was sports cocaine, and watching Wade seal the win with a block in the final minute was orgasmic.

Wade's return — regardless of how insignificant his addition might end up being as far as wins and losses are concerned — is just the latest example of the fact that the Heat is the best show in town. The Heat simply gets us. The team knows which of our buttons to push and when. Seemingly since day one, the Heat has been the best drama on TV. We've grown up with them. They've grown up with us. We've been through the good, the bad, and the ugly together.

And just when the relationship seems to be getting stale, they know exactly how to provide a spark that reinvigorates it.

What an incredibly memorable night we had! #R3TURN pic.twitter.com/5g1Fj9014F

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) February 10, 2018

Even when fans disagree with something the Heat does or doesn't do, we trust these guys — because they've earned it. And because we can't wait to see where they are taking us. Because we know that no matter how we get there, the ride will be unforgettable and the payoff will be something we can't even imagine if we tried.

Could the Heat win a title this season and send Wade riding off into the sunset like John Elway walked off his career with the Denver Broncos? Are you going to call it impossible? At least 1 percent of you right now is like, "Yeah, maybe."

You never know with this team, so you keep watching, because the ride is worth more than the payoff anyway. And it's almost just as exciting to think about the Heat winning its last game as it is to think about the team playing its first game the next season.

You couldn't put together a better franchise to represent the city of Miami than the Heat. If they were a TV show, the things they've been through and accomplished since 1988 would seem too unrealistic to write in a script.

The Heat keeps topping itself. Even the team's average is ten levels above average. While other teams in town throw away entire decades, the Heat makes each season feel like two. The Heat is what sports should be and has consistently provided us with moments that remind us why we love sports. Really, we couldn't ask for more.

Friday night was just another reminder of why it's so fantastic being a Heat fan.