Miami Herald Macy’s ad declares Heat ‘NBA champions’ (UPDATED)
Here's a better photo than earlier version. (Miami New Times.)
(Last update: 4:40 p.m. Added an anecdote Falcons’ fans should remember from the Super Bowl season.)
And now, from the, “Dewey Defeats Truman” file, we give you: “Congratulations Miami!”
In the mother — or maybe that should be “King James” — of all mistakes, the Miami Herald ran a near-full page Macy’s ad in Monday’s newspaper, announcing that Heat “championship” T-shirts and hats were going on sale.
This represents the closest LeBron James and the Heat actually will get to the title this season.
Miami lost Game 6 of the NBA finals and the series to the Dallas Mavericks Sunday night. It’s common for print publications to have two display ads ready to go after championship events. T-shirt manufacturers operate similarly (and then either destroy the shirts for the losing team or send them to charities overseas). What made this mistake unusual was the Heat trailed the series three games to two before
For those who didn't catch the historical reference.
Sunday and weren’t even in a position to clinch. So there was no reason to have the “Heat wins” ad ready.
Falcons fans should be able to relate to this. In January of 1999, the Herald ran a strip headline atop a Super Bowl special section that read: ”Denver Broncos vs. Minnesota Vikings, 6:25 P.M. Tonight.” The Falcons had upset Minnesota in the NFC title game two weeks earlier. The newspaper’s graphics department had already started to design the section and forgot to make the change.
In 2009, the Philadelphia Inquirer ran a Macy’s ad selling Phillies championship T-shirts. But the World Series was still going on — and of course, the Yankees went on to win the title.
The shirts pictured in the Monday’s ad show the Heat logo with the championship trophy. One says, “Champions,” and another reads, “Raise Another Banner.” The Herald posted a correction online Monday.
It’s not like most folks in South Florida haven’t been presumptuous about titles. When James and Chris Bosh signed as free agents and joined Dwyane Wade in Miami, the news was celebrated at a press conference, which was complete with lights, music and pyrotechnics. James, the guy with the, “Chosen 1″ tattoo across his back, himself promised eight championships.
Still waiting for the first.
By Jeff Schultz
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187 comments Add your comment
Tad
June 13th, 2011
12:47 pm
I once asked Lebron for change of a dollar. He gave me 75 cents… Seems he couldn’t deliver the 4th quarter…
ParkerPounder69
June 13th, 2011
12:47 pm
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…………………breath………….hahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahhahahahahahahahahaha
Dwayne Wade
June 13th, 2011
12:48 pm
Did everyone enjoy our imitations of Dirk? I’m going to go egg Spoelstra’s car now! He he
Coach Grohbo
June 13th, 2011
12:48 pm
@Paddy
“We will soon see these shirts and hats in the Congo, Ivory Coast and many unvisted countries around the world.”
These red and black hats and shirts will nicely complement the “Georgia Bulldogs 2003 SEC Champions” and “Stafford for Heisman” hats and shirts still being worn today in those parts.
@Who Cares?
June 13th, 2011
12:48 pm
Who cares? Obviously you care while hating on the AJC and ATL.
YeahYeah
June 13th, 2011
12:50 pm
I think I will take my talents and my ability to NOT PERFORM UNDER PRESSURE to South Beach!
JChikara
June 13th, 2011
12:54 pm
Did anyone see the new Lebron James state farm commercial? He sung the tune “Like a good neighbor State Farm is there….with a 4th quarter jump shot and a champoinship ring”
RiffRaff
June 13th, 2011
12:57 pm
LeBron: Overrated, overhyped, overpaid gag queen.
dre
June 13th, 2011
1:00 pm
@ Paddy. If they do give out those pre-printed Championship shirts to children in third world countries, they should come with a disclaimer that they might pose a choking hazard.
Lebronda James
June 13th, 2011
1:01 pm
Call me Mrs Choke!
I knew I should have stayed in Cleveland!
There is only 1 Chosen one and One King…. trust me, you are not it!
YeahYeah
June 13th, 2011
1:12 pm
Maybe now he can practice on eating that mouthpiece more. I have never seen a player, much less the whole team that loves sticking half of their mouthpiece out and chewing on it. LaBron has one thing that he has won, the Uggliest Player in the NBA.
gcs
June 13th, 2011
1:16 pm
That wasn’t the ONLY false advertisement in South Beach!
.
Bringing In The Monday Links
June 13th, 2011
1:16 pm
[...] Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes that the Miami Herald has some egg on its face after running an ad for a Macy’s Heat “Championship” shirts. It would be [...]
Not a basketball fan
June 13th, 2011
1:18 pm
Of course! Where else but in Miami would the Minorities win? Typical Liberal reporting.
Not a basketball fan
June 13th, 2011
1:18 pm
What?! A team with a WHITE Star Won? We can’t have that!
Atlanta Zoo
June 13th, 2011
1:20 pm
We could use a pretty new face in our zoo. Come on Lebron. We have your cage ready.
Just Sayin'
June 13th, 2011
1:21 pm
Lebron is so ugly he has to whip his feet to make them go to bed with him.
Debbie Nissim
June 13th, 2011
1:23 pm
Sorry folks, but it wasn’t the mistake of a copy editor. This was something advertising or classified had control over. Copy editors have no say in what ad goes where or what it says.
Let NONE in
June 13th, 2011
1:26 pm
I saw a bunch of smoke and pyro technics. I thought of King James and him falling off a stage.
air jordan
June 13th, 2011
1:41 pm
scottie pippen is no jimmy the greek
Missing In Action
June 13th, 2011
1:41 pm
Bet LeBron paid to have that ad run, so he can pretend he finally won a ring!
RiffRaff
June 13th, 2011
1:56 pm
Today is National LeBron James Day. Everyone gets to leave work 12 minutes early
Dallas Mavericks Win NBA title, Or Did They? - COUNTRY 107.7 WGNA-FM
June 13th, 2011
2:02 pm
[...] This Macy’s ad appeared in today’s Miami Herald proclaiming the Miami Heat the Champions of the NBA. Granted they do make gear for both teams, the losing team’s gear usually is sent to a third world country for people who need clothing. It’s also not uncommon for an ad like this to be ready in case a team wins. The strange thing about this is, if the Heat won last night the series would have been tied up 3-3. How can a mistake like this happen? [...]
Drexel Gal
June 13th, 2011
2:05 pm
Since most of you who went to government-run schools never heard of Harry Truman, let alone Thomas E. Dewey, it is necessary to tell you the truth about the “Dewey Defeats Truman” headline. The typesetters’ union in Chicago was on strike, so two versions of the front page were prepared (as Mr. Schultz referenced in his blog). A few of the “wrong” versions leaked out, some to vending machines and newsstands, but they were snapped up quickly when the trend revealed a Truman victory. So, the copy that President Truman holds in the famous photo is a RARE one. Very VERY few made their way into readers’ hands.
ohsarah
June 13th, 2011
2:16 pm
The ad wouldn’t have made sense even if Miami had won. Had Miami beaten Dallas on Sunday, they would have still had to play another game.
Dan Uggla
June 13th, 2011
2:17 pm
The “big three” of Miami haven’t lived up to their multi million dollar contacts..
Too Bad
June 13th, 2011
2:20 pm
All that powder that LBJ, (aka, the big choke) throws up prior to the game is his championship aspirations.
BTW, the cast of characters around the Big 3, 7 are free agents.
Horned Frog
June 13th, 2011
2:25 pm
Another truly mythical championship.
party on
June 13th, 2011
2:28 pm
when lebron mom gonna pay off that valet she slapped around a few months ago outside the club? He want his check.
crabapplejoe
June 13th, 2011
2:29 pm
Go Dirk…..just think how many rings you would have if Mark Cuban hadn’t let Steve Nash go to the Suns over a few dollars……
Who Cares?
June 13th, 2011
2:36 pm
“Wikipedia: The Atlanta Hawks:
A so called professional basketball team that has been established in the City of Atlanta since 1968!
This Franchise has never been to an Eastern Conference Final or an NBA Finals since its existence in Atlanta..”
Brutal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KrisDaBeast
June 13th, 2011
2:38 pm
say heat fans, the Heat are giving out refunds Lebron Was a no show…lmfao or how about Lebron an Wade fake this sickness cuz i know the Heat an their fans feel sick today….
gdawginkalamazoo
June 13th, 2011
3:00 pm
This whole thing just makes you appreciate what Jordan did and how he did it even more.
Lebron
June 13th, 2011
3:11 pm
True confessions: I have an inferiority complex because my first name sounds French.
P.S. All you ajc bloggers can go back to your sorry, miserable lives now.
Latrine James
June 13th, 2011
3:12 pm
Hey James………..it looks like you took a big dump in your pants and couldn’t change your diaper quick enough.Next time you take a big dump like this make sure your fellow team mates are there to pick up your crap!
White Dude
June 13th, 2011
3:18 pm
It looks like one of the only good white basketball players just took it to the King….as the Police say….”you will always be King of Pain”!.I am not predjudice…….I am happy because a white dude lead his team to the championship….rare in this day and age…especially Basketball!
David Melnick
June 13th, 2011
3:20 pm
this will be great in Stephen King’s nether world: The Dark Tower eh.
Who Cares?
June 13th, 2011
3:20 pm
“Heat should pull plug on Big Three
Jason Whitlock, FOX Sports
3 hours ago
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They’re done. Miami’s Big Three — LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Add Erik Spoelstra and front-running Heat fans, too. Toast. All of them.
They can’t survive what we just witnessed, a Finals meltdown of historic proportion, an ego deflation that is being celebrated throughout the basketball world.
With their preseason celebration and postseason (cough, cough) arrogance, The Big Three set the stakes — championship or bust. Now, in the aftermath of the Dallas Mavericks taking three straight games and the title, the Heat must accept the consequences.
It’s over. Wade’s brainchild and Pat Riley’s free-agent coup is a failure. The right thing to do is to blow it up before it dies as a result of friendly fire.
Let’s start with the easy stuff. Erik Spoelstra has no business coaching a legitimate title contender. Rick Carlisle put Spoelstra in a clown suit. Does Spoelstra have a zone offense? Blessed with a superior roster in terms of athleticism and down double digits late, does Spoelstra realize you can pick up defensively full court?
Spo must go.
So must any notion that Miami is a serious sports town.
“Our fans just punked the s* out of the Miami fans,” said Dallas owner Mark Cuban, referring to the 3,000 to 4,000 Mavericks fans inside Miami’s American Airlines Arena for Game 6.
Heat fans sold out and jumped ship. Which brings me to my main point.
LeBron James is a man without a country. He abandoned Cleveland. And Miami has no love for him. The Heat fans who sold their tickets to Dallas supporters will now unleash their vitriol on King James.
He’s a national laughingstock, a late-night punch line. He’s Charlie Brown.
Worse, because of his putrid performance in the last three games, his ability to command respect within the Heat locker room (and across the NBA) has been severely undermined. His pregame speeches will forever sound phony and hollow. There’s no reason for Wade to share the leadership role with James again.
James and Wade are the same, need-the-ball-in-their-hands player. James is better than Wade. But Wade has much bigger (basket)balls.
Today, there are people in Miami who dislike James more than people in Cleveland do. In Wade, Heat fans see the intangibles missing in James. Wade is willing to do whatever is necessary to win. James? Not so much.
The last three games, he hid on the offensive end, repeatedly turning down open looks. In Game 4, he stood flat-footed and zombie-like as Dirk Nowitzki drove the lane for the game-winning basket. In Sunday’s elimination game, James basically declined to rebound, finishing with just four.
With his body and athleticism, James should snatch eight rebounds in his sleep. On nights when he doesn’t trust his jump shot, James should collect a half-dozen offensive rebounds and four put-backs.
Does pressure choke James? Maybe. More likely, James is simply moody. Kids born into family dysfunction often struggle emotionally.
All season when the Heat experienced adversity it took several games for the team to snap out of its funk. The adversity, the depression lingered. The Heat reflected James. Boston and Chicago failed to hit Miami in the mouth and force James, Wade and Bosh to question themselves and Spoelstra. Dallas didn’t.
The Mavericks hit the Heat twice. In Game 2, Dallas erased a 15-point, fourth-quarter lead, tied the series 1-1 and raised questions about the Heat’s premature celebration. In Game 4, Nowitzki drove around Bosh for the game-winner, raising questions about Spoelstra’s strategy.
The Heat crumbled. They won’t recover. How can they?
James is a villain in Miami now. Heat fans don’t trust him. They’ll chew on him throughout the offseason and take a cynical view of all his work until the next NBA Finals. So will his teammates.
James can’t be the alpha male on a team with Wade. LeBron’s global-icon aspirations, and No. 1 Nike pitchman status won’t allow him to be Wade’s clear sidekick. Complicating matters even more, the NBA is headed for a likely work stoppage next season. An abbreviated season gives the Heat less time to work out comfortable roles for Wade and James.
Replacing Spoelstra with Pat Riley won’t fix what ails the Heat. James and Wade are the same player. In eight NBA seasons, James has demonstrated no interest in developing a low-post game to take advantage of his magnificent frame. He loves his game. It earned him two MVP trophies, lifetime financial security, the nickname King James and the freedom to avoid self-awareness at times of crisis.
“The Greater Man upstairs know when it’s my time. Right now isn’t the time,” James tweeted after Miami’s Game 6 loss.
God doesn’t care about the NBA Finals. James’ teammates and bandwagon Heat fans do. They’d love for him to spend the offseason improving his obvious weaknesses.
Short of that, they’d probably like to see him traded for parts that fit. James for Dwight Howard makes a lot of sense.
The Big Three is done. It was a noble experiment. James and Wade deserve credit for trying to make it work, for being completely loyal to and unselfish with each other for an entire season.
Now it’s time to move on before they inflict further damage on their reputations.
Courtesy of FOXSports.com.”
Allstar Al for Chris Bosh
cooch2584
June 13th, 2011
3:30 pm
I cried too last nite>TEARS OF JOY THAT DREAM TEAM DIDNT WIN LOL
cooch2584
June 13th, 2011
3:31 pm
Old saying “ball dont lie”
Najeh Davenpoop
June 13th, 2011
3:40 pm
On the other end of the spectrum, last night the Mavs players and Mark Cuban went out to a Miami club to celebrate with Lil’ Wayne and got everyone in the club to sing along to “We Are The Champions” with them. In Miami. And people say Atlanta sports fans are bad.
Harold the Yankee
June 13th, 2011
3:48 pm
Re: Copy editors, the ones on the editorial side are separate from the advertising side. And in my experience, display ads never got read. It was take the money and run.
Rae C
June 13th, 2011
3:50 pm
The work is probably done in the Philippines – outsourcing at its best…
Who Cares?
June 13th, 2011
3:51 pm
Congratulations to the Atlanta Hawks! The streak continues..
WillThaThrill
June 13th, 2011
4:10 pm
So I asked Labron for change for a dollar, and he gave me 75 cents and said that he didn’t have the 4th quarter….
Too tough
June 13th, 2011
4:11 pm
Believe what ya want to …but I tell ya…..Lebron is a wealthy embarrased MISERABLE individual! I forsee problems in Miami…finger pointing will begin in a week or so…all the hyped just got humped!
Skidmark Johnny
June 13th, 2011
4:36 pm
It’s Bizzaro World in Miami, everything is the opposite of what’s real. Not only are they selling championship t-shirts and hats today, there having a victory parade down the main drag on Wednesday for all their ecstatic fans.
hater
June 13th, 2011
5:00 pm
Miami – your tears are delicious to me. This is almost better than the “Winless” ad campaign Nike ran in Cleveland when his royal majesty was there pouting and stumbling his way through 7 NBA seasons. Thanks LeBron – your disappointment has enriched my ordinary, humdrum life beyond description. And when I wake up from this delerium in a couple days you know what? You and I will have at least one thing in common – neither of us will be an NBA champion.
naro2010
June 13th, 2011
5:02 pm
Heck half the stories one reads in the newspapers are opposite of the truth, so what’s the big deal?
wxwax
June 13th, 2011
5:05 pm
LeBron James after Sunday’s loss:
“Because at the end of the day, all the people that were rooting for me to fail, they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today. They have the same personal problems they had today. I’m going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things that I want to do with me and my family and be happy with that.
“They can get a few days, or a few months, or whatever the case may be on being happy about not only myself, but the Miami Heat not accomplishing their goal. But they have to get back to the real world at some point.”
OK, way to take a bad deal and make it worse. What a jerk.