Miami sports fans don't deserve LeBron James.
They really don't.
To call them fair weather, quite frankly, would be an insult to fans that only show up when their team wins.
For sure, they will be in full force on Thursday night for Game 7 in the NBA Finals. They will be front and center with the hopes of jumping around in place and taking a confetti shower if the Heat are able to win their second straight title. And they’ll be doing so in all white, like they’re headed to Diddy’s party in the Hamptons.
Still, it was embarrassing what took place at American Airlines Arena on Tuesday night in Miami.
Despite LeBron putting together another postseason triple-double, fans streamed out of the building when it appeared the San Antonio Spurs were about to wrap up the championship.
It wasn't like the Heat were down 15 with 28 seconds to go – and even then deserting your team is lame — they were down only five.
Nonetheless, they fled. It was the biggest mass exodus in recorded history since the Hebrews left Egypt.
Chris Bosh had a message for the fairweather folks: "For all those who left, make sure you don't come for Game 7."
It's totally understandable not to want to stick around and watch the Spurs celebrate on your home floor. We get that.
But before you bail, you better make sure your team has lost and hasn't pulled a miracle comeback like the Heat did in overtime to force Game 7.
It was so bad that security at the arena had trouble trying to keep fans out who tried to reenter the building after finding out the Heat tied it and were headed to overtime.
The bottom line remains that Miami is a bad sports town, one not worthy to watch an all-time great ply his trade in South Beach.
You would think the sports fans there — even the wishy-washy ones — would recognize that they have a special opportunity to watch an all-time great player in LBJ.
Fans in Chicago couldn't get enough of Michael Jordan. In fact, NBA America knew what they were watching and didn't miss a chance to witness such a talent in person.
You would be hard-pressed to find empty seats during Jordan's run. Better yet, virtually nobody walked out on Jordan, especially after that shot over Craig Elho to win that 1989 playoff series in the deciding game.
Sadly, it's not the first time fans fanned on watching a great in action. There was probably no bigger injustice then what fans did to Oscar Robertson in Cincinnati.
They didn't show up. They didn't care he was one of the greatest players to put on a uniform in the NBA. Remember, the only player to average a triple-double often played in front of empty seats at home for the Cincinnati Royals.
It stung Robertson so bad that whenever there was talk about bringing an NBA franchise back to Cincy, he was the first to denounce it.
Many sports fans consider Atlanta as the worst sports town in America. Sadly, there were plenty of empty seats for Braves playoff games late in their run.
And the city has lost three NHL teams, a dubious honor.
Truth be told, Miami has to be on that list. Not just for taking LeBron's existence there for granted.
Despite the Marlins winning two World Series the last 10 years, they continue to have attendance woes. Peeps come when they win and stay away when they lose.
The Dolphins also have trouble selling out their eight home games a year. That's shocking when you consider the team's winning history and that the NFL is so popular.
In 2012, Dolphins had the 29th-best attendance and had the worst percentage in the league at 76.3% capacity. That's just stunning when you also consider how good the weather is down there to attend a game.
Maybe, you can buy a Marlins fan leaving a Tuesday night game in April early because he has to go to work the next day and doesn't want to sit in traffic.
But an NBA Finals game, with LeBron on your squad and your team facing elimination?
Naw. Nope. Never.
After what we saw on Tuesday night, it's clear James took his talents to South Beach for the weather, not the fans.
