It feels odd and weird sporting the #12 Dwight Howard Orlando Magic jersey again, especially on the heels of a bitter, soured relationship between that of the Magic organization and its star player who's been wanting out lately (and preferring to go to Brooklyn this time around). Dwight Howard no longer has the heart to wear the Magic colors anymore while I don it proudly for a different reason: to remember the Dwight of old for who he really was and what he stood for - a humble athlete who loved life to the fullest, the team (Magic), the city (Orlando) and the throngs of fans just as much as he had passion for the sport of basketball. Those were the great years (from 2004-2009). I was privileged enough to see some games for myself during my residence in O-Town (Orlando) seeing Dwight and company do their thing on the court showing to the home crowd what they're made of against their opponents. Unfortunately, this'll be the last image of Dwight being that teammate. It definitely pales in comparison to what he has become lately: a self-centered diva. This all started when the Magic lost to the Lakers in the 2009 NBA Finals. Dwight sat down for a few moments alone with teammate/ draftmate, Jameer Nelson, as they looked at Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers celebrate their Finals' win on the Magic's home court. Spoiled by the Magic's shortcomings of not winning the 'ship (championship), Dwight personally wanted to make changes to the organization and the Magic were nice enough to do so. But as the players' performance in the team start to dwindle as well as the coaching techniques by then-head coach Stan Van Gundy, so did Dwight's attitude. It just gotten worse over the course of a few months up to a year and even beyond that ... And this is where I stand right now, with this Dwight Howard jersey on - in a very hot summer day in which it is 97 degree temperature outside. As I said, it feels weird and odd wearing it now. It feels like I'm Hester Prynne from the book 'The Scarlet Letter' wearing the 'A' letter of shame (which stood for adultery) and being ridiculed by the public. But that's so non-related to Howard's situation itself because he never did commit adultery, just a big big mouth really filled with confusion and more questions to be raised. It's just the attention that he's been stirring have already made this Orlando Magic jersey a prime target for naysayers, haters and such. I didn't do all to well in the basketball court today probably not just for my lack of sleep (because of working late night) but maybe - just maybe it was also from wearing that Dwight Howard jersey. In a way, it's psychological. Imagine being a fan and seeing all that's going on - and I was one of many that once believed this athlete who I thought really loved Orlando from the get-go but later founding out the truth the hard way. Even worse was when he mentioned about loyalty, yet he didn't know the real meaning behind that, especially on us Magic fans. We were all misled thinking he would've really loved Orlando but it seemed he never did. He was one of a plethora of reasons why I want to go move back and live there next year. Who wouldn't wanna watch him every game, right? Going back to my day of hoops, I managed to get 101-pts in 50 minutes which wasn't bad, but man - my mind was playing on me sometimes because of the fact I'm still wearing this jersey and the man himself don't wanna sport these colors anymore. He wants to move on. And I will, too. I've decided to semi-retire the jersey from being worn in the general public (wearing an Orlando Magic athletic dry-fit shirt over it) and instead, wear it to the basketball court sweating the heck out of it the way the Dwight-of-old has done every game night. I do have an alternate Magic jersey in my closet, too. It's my very own customized black-colored Adidas swingman Magic jersey in which I go with the number 74 (since 1974 is my birth year) and my alter-ego/alias 'Jonnyroobs.' I don't see myself going anywhere from the Magic anytime soon or even making persistent complaints of going somewhere else via trade. LOL. I'm a Magic fan for life, and will always appreciate what Dwight Howard stood for in that organization and city during those golden years. I did the same for Shaquille O'Neal a few years later proudly wearing the old-school #32 Magic jersey in the public eye and on the basketball court. He looks back on Orlando in a positive light and hopefully Dwight will, too, one day, if he ever plans on doing so post-NBA career ... Go, Magic! Next stop for me next year: Amway Center. I enjoyed those memories at Amway Arena, especially getting that ball cap on Fan Night (pictured with the Dwight Howard jerseys).
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