It’s the dance that has been sweeping the nation and even our own university campus. Now add the Miami Heat to the Harlem Shake craze. The NBA’s best team recently released a video of their own ode to the gyrating shimmy, but not without media criticism. Whispers of a lack of focus and intensity have surfaced this past week, and to that I respond, in the wise words of my favorite columnist Michael Wilbon, put up or shut up.
With Lebron James in a king’s costume, Shane Battier dressed as the rare “horse-stronaut,” Ray Allen as the phantom of the opera and Dwyane Wade running around in a bear head, the video is absolutely fabulous. The Miami Heat temporarily took a break from the long, grueling regular season and let their hair down. To the critics of the move, I present the numbers.
43. The games won by the Heat this season, second only to the San Antonio Spurs’ 47 win mark. 14. The number of straight games Miami has won including a come-from-behind victory against the New York Knicks. 7. The number of games the Indiana Pacers trail the first place Heat. And last but not least, #6. James’ 27 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists per game keep Miami as the perennial NBA title contender come playoff time.
So if the Heat organization decides to make a fun, foolish dance video, they have every right to do so because the numbers don’t lie. And this isn’t the first time a professional sports team has debuted a viral video. “The Super Bowl Shuffle” was the Chicago Bear’s rap single released during their 1985 NFL season. The Bears backed up their musical rap session by dominating the postseason before crushing the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX with a score 46-10, one of the most lopsided victories in NFL history.
If the ’85 Bears are any indication, the Heat are looking good. They have steamrolled their competition this season and look like sure bets to raise up the Larry O’Brien championship trophy in June. To see high caliber athletes making fools of themselves is refreshing. To hear members of the media chastise them for it is moronic. So I say to the Miami Heat and everyone else, do the Harlem Shake!