Official Dirk is Great Thread

[markus1234]

Originally Posted by jthig32

Best != most loved.

Yes,

but some sports guys are "most loved" because people love tragic losers who come up short.

[Firnen]

Originally Posted by Underdog

I think how good a player they are can definitely be a tie-breaker...

I mean, we're down to Dirk, Aikman, Emmitt and Staubach - all extremely likable guys, so you have to have SOMETHING that swings your personal bias.

good point there. The 4 guys left have a comparable good character. Level of greatness should be the tie-breaker there. I think many people who use espn (dallas) website are so young they haven't watched Aikman, Emmitt and especially Staubach on a regular basis. Maybe the Jersey hanging from the Cowboy stadiums ceiling was the tie-breaker for the guys who voted for Staubach

Edit: btw Jeremy Lin is leading in the NY edition of this poll with 89%-11% against Derek Jeter

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by Firnen

good point there. The 4 guys left have a comparable good character. Level of greatness should be the tie-breaker there. I think many people who use espn (dallas) website are so young they haven't watched Aikman, Emmitt and especially Staubach on a regular basis. Maybe the Jersey hanging from the Cowboy stadiums ceiling was the tie-breaker for the guys who voted for Staubach

Yeah, I was 2-years-old when Staubach retired and my family didn't move to Dallas until 1990, so it's not like my dad grew up watching the Cowboys (I come from a line of Detroit sports fans...)

I do have a special place in my heart for those 90s Cowboys, but I really feel like my biggest investment as a sports fan has been in the Dirk-era Mavericks... He's by far my biggest sports hero, and -- as lame as it sounds -- his tenacity in the playoffs last season was actually a bit of an influence in my own life...

That moment when Dirk walked off the court post-game after beating the Thunder in the WCF and the rest of the team followed ranks near the top of the list of my greatest sports moments - I'm a BIG fan of guys who lead through actions instead of words.

[Murphy3]

Trust me, I picked Dirk over Roger... But I would understand if anyone decided to vote Roger.

I'd vote Dirk over Aikman and Dirk over Emmitt.. But I couldn't vote Dirk over Landry or Landry over Dirk.

As far as players go, there's only been one other guy in the history of my sports life that I've been this emotionally invested in (talking about Dirk).. Obviously, that's Dale Murphy. Others that were somewhat close:

Andre Agassi
Chris Evert
Juan Gonzalez
Ed Jones
Danny White
Tony Romo
Jim Jackson
Hank Blalock
Chipper Jones
Larry Parrish
Troy Aikman

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

Trust me, I picked Dirk over Roger... But I would understand if anyone decided to vote Roger.

I'd vote Dirk over Aikman and Dirk over Emmitt.. But I couldn't vote Dirk over Landry or Landry over Dirk.

Fair enough...

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

As far as players go, there's only been one other guy in the history of my sports life that I've been this emotionally invested in (talking about Dirk).. Obviously, that's Dale Murphy.

Wow, I never put that together until now - I just thought Murphy was your last name...

[Murphy3]

Started following him in 1981.. Lived in Abilene and had little to no access to the Rangers but got just about every Braves game on TV.

[dude1394]

You all vote like poo poo.

[FreshJive]

Originally Posted by jthig32

The question in the poll is "Who do YOU love?", not who does everyone else love.

Dirk won, btw, so now we can argue about Dirk vs Staubach, which is essentially the same argument.

Yeah, I voted for Dirk. I'm just not surprised thet he had a hard time edging out Landry, especially since it's not just locals who can vote. I don't think it's quite the indictment that Firnen seems to think it is. I think it's much worse that Jeremy Lin is getting so many votes. Silly poll.

[GermanDunk]

All those polls are nonsense. They just want to cash in on clicks...
You can´t compare Emmit/Landry/Dirk/Staubach. Sports were much different back then.

Btw. Isn´t Lee Trevino from Texas. He is also very likeable.

[chumdawg]

Originally Posted by jthig32

So anyone thirty and under can't vote, huh.

Should I get off your lawn while I'm at it, old man?

If you are going to dismiss anyone who was around more than 20 or so years ago, then I don't know what to tell you. You aren't much different from the teenage girls who would vote for Dirk because he is "sooooo dreamy!"

If that's your deal, fine. But it doesn't take a lot of effort to understand and then appreciate the guys who were laying the foundation in this sports town when you were dirtying your diapers. If you have no interest in doing that, you seem awfully self-absorbed.

[Underdog]

From the comments section: "Landry would win if you had to typewrite your vote and mail it on your way to fill up your Oldsmobille for 40 cents a gallon."

[LonghornDub]

I can only laugh at the suggestion that people under thirty are not part of the target demographic for an internet poll.

That being said, who's Tom Landry?

[jthig32]

Originally Posted by chumdawg

If you are going to dismiss anyone who was around more than 20 or so years ago, then I don't know what to tell you. You aren't much different from the teenage girls who would vote for Dirk because he is "sooooo dreamy!"

If that's your deal, fine. But it doesn't take a lot of effort to understand and then appreciate the guys who were laying the foundation in this sports town when you were dirtying your diapers. If you have no interest in doing that, you seem awfully self-absorbed.

I'm not dismissing anyone. I fully recognize how great Landry was and how significant he was. I've read both his autobiography and Staubach's biography. I assure you, I have pretty damn good grasp on the entire Landry era Cowboys teams and their significance for someone that never saw a game.

The poll, however, was for the most beloved. Not most important, most impactful, or best. And I have far, far more attachment to many other Dallas sports figures.

[PartywithDirk]

Voted for Dirk...he's leading as of this morning. Aikman and Smith are tied.

Easy votes for me from here on out..hate the Cows. Dirk all they way FTW!

[Underdog]

Before last night's game, Dirk's lead was starting to slip at 52-48 - after the game, 55-45...

That's a whole lotta love.

[Justafix]

That's a whole lotta what-have-you-done-for-me-lately-love.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by Justafix

That's a whole lotta what-have-you-done-for-me-lately-love.

Yep, that's how popularity contests work...

[mavspwnage]

[fluid.forty.one]

Dirk is 73 points away from passing the Chuckster on the all-time scoring list.

[Kante]

Originally Posted by fluid.forty.one

Dirk is 73 points away from passing the Chuckster on the all-time scoring list.

Cool, passing him against the Lakers. There should be a nice ovation when the 2nd half starts then...

[twistaeffect2004]

“That 1-foot fadeaway, nobody in the league can hit that and he makes it look so easy,” Faried said. “You think you play great D, you contest the shot and he looks at you like, `That’s going to go in every time.’ As a rookie, wow.”

[Jproxursoxoff]

Dirk seems to be in playoff mode right now, which is perfect because of the stretch of teams we are facing now. And it seems to be rubbing off on the guys in the locker room.

Call me silly if you'd like, but should I be worried about Dirk peaking too soon in this season? We can't ignore the fact that he's just now settling into his mid 30's. I hate to be the one that raises a bit of doubt in the guy, but can he really sustain this level of play from March till June?

[CadBane]

Interesting fact I just noticed.

This has been a down-year for Dirk with regards to scoring efficiency (due to the injury/conditioning/poor start) and Love has had a monster year.

Still, Love's TS% is only .02% higher than Dirk's! A few more games, Dirk probably passes him. So Dirk is still a more efficient scorer even with a early stretch of struggles.

[CadBane]

Another random stat.

Dirk is putting up 20 PPG on 49/47/87 shooting on the road vs. 21 PPG on 45/27/87 shooting at home.

[endrity]

Originally Posted by Jproxursoxoff

Dirk seems to be in playoff mode right now, which is perfect because of the stretch of teams we are facing now. And it seems to be rubbing off on the guys in the locker room.

Call me silly if you'd like, but should I be worried about Dirk peaking too soon in this season? We can't ignore the fact that he's just now settling into his mid 30's. I hate to be the one that raises a bit of doubt in the guy, but can he really sustain this level of play from March till June?

If anything he was even better from the get go last season. So no, I wouldn't worry too much about that.

In fact it seems to me like Dirk always has a pretty strong March, since Kidd has been here at least that's always the case. He senses it's time to get real and wants to set a tone.

[nashtymavsfan13]

Originally Posted by Jproxursoxoff

Dirk seems to be in playoff mode right now, which is perfect because of the stretch of teams we are facing now. And it seems to be rubbing off on the guys in the locker room.

Call me silly if you'd like, but should I be worried about Dirk peaking too soon in this season? We can't ignore the fact that he's just now settling into his mid 30's. I hate to be the one that raises a bit of doubt in the guy, but can he really sustain this level of play from March till June?

I learned a long time ago to never doubt Dirk, nothing he does surprises me anymore, he's that amazing. I'm not necessarily expecting him to play as lights out as he did during last year's playoff run, but would it surprise me? Not at all, he's just that darn good. He'll be ready when it counts, he always is.

In Dirk We Trust.

[markus1234]

By Jeff Caplan
Dirk Nowitzki got off to such a slow start shooting the basketball that it's hard to fathom that he's actually surpassed last season's stellar marks in any offensive category.

Yet, he has.

The Elias Sports Bureau passed along this nugget: Nowitzki has made 108-of-202 field goal attempts (53.5 percent) from a range of 16-20 feet from the basket this season. That’s better than the 53.0 percent accuracy he had from that range last season, which was the best single-season shooting percentage of his career from 16-20 feet.

So there you go.

ESPN

March 32.7 9.0-17.9 .503 2.1-4.1 .511 5.5-6.0 .909 6.4 2.2 0.2 0.5 2.1 2.8 25.5

[mavspwnage]

Fitting that it looks like Dirk will pass Barkley on the scoring list vs the Rockets.

[GermanDunk]

Great Pwn. I must spread.

Bumping Eiren * LOL *

[Underdog]

Dirk pounding Staubach 59-41, Emmitt and Aikman still tied at 50-50...

[Lestat_1795]

Some of you are really annoyed that Dirk wins these matchups?

But look at New York


Who wins this matchup?


27%
(1) Derek Jeter

73%
(4) Jeremy Lin

[Underdog]

Wow, Emmitt edged out Aikman.

Now it's time to see if Dirk can beat the most popular Cowboy from an era that most people can actually remember...

[GhostFace]

Dirk is gonna crush Smith.

lol @ NY poll.

[BGMaverick9]

He's a funny, funny dude.

[Nowitzness81]

Dirk is #19 on the all time scoring list after tonight, passing Charles Barkley.

[BGMaverick9]

Dirk didn't know that he was lined up to pass Barkley. He definitely showed a lot of respect towards Barkley. He talked about how he remembered watching him during the Dream Team's run in the Olympics and how Barkley wore 14. That helped Dirk decide to wear 14. When he came into the NBA, he changed it 41. Didn't bring up anything in regards to Barkley's comments earlier this year, just talked about how it will be a special milestone to look back at when he hangs it up.

[Nowitzness81]

Dirk would need to outscore Kevin Garnett by 15 a game the rest of this season to pass him so I think he'll stick at #19 til next year.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Last day to vote for Dirk or Smith as Dallas's most beloved. Come on Dirk!

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by GhostFace

Dirk is gonna crush Smith.

lol @ NY poll.

Demographics is destiny.