How Much More Can A Fan Base Take?

By Cory Mageors | @inthemageors

105.3 THE FAN -- Looks like ChokeCity got back the biggest wimp to ever come out of Texas.

Yeah, I might sound like a burned fan from Dallas who is mad that DeAndre Jordan bailed on a group of fans that were ecstatic to welcome him with open arms, and it may be that this isn't the first time I've felt betrayed by an NBA player linked to the Dallas Mavericks: see Rondo and Lamar Odom.

But this one stings in a way that I never imagined.

I've always liked the things Jordan can do physically -- leap, dunk, pound…all the things the Mavericks have never been able to accomplish athletically.

What's more, I feel for the fans. We in DFW have been blasted lately with disappointment. Being on the cusp of what we can perceive and believe as something great, epic even, a number of times.

The Dez Bryant catch. It was a moment that literally ripped the breath out of the chests of thousands while the ball was in the air, then blew the roof off houses only to end in bitter discontent and questions of 'HOW?' all unanswered.

The World Series No Catch. I was literally cracking coldies with the General Gavin Dawson, filming what was certain to be epic video of the first ever Rangers World Series win. Hundreds of thousands of fans were ready to dance in the streets and bath in champagne. Anticlimax.

Josh Hamilton saying "I don't owe the Rangers anything."

Rondo, Odom, the possibility of landing Dwight Howard, the chance of having Deron Williams return to Dallas.

Hell the roster of Rondo, Monta, Parsons, Dirk and Tyson Chandler heading into the playoffs only to end with a gassed big man, a defenseless four and three injured key additions.

Disillusionment? Frustration.

The Jordan turn-around, might be forgotten one day, unless it truly is the ultimate destruction of this franchise for 4 years, then it will go down as SMU Death Penalty-esque. It might not break this thing though, and it might serve as a fire starter to build on the future.

However, right now, it's another swing in a long line of slaps in the face to the Mavericks, and a fan base that doesn't deserve being used as leverage and toyed with on a year-in and year-out basis.

This has happened for years with the Rangers and Mavericks alike -- David Cone, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens and a number of players all linked to the Rangers, only to leverage a better deal with another team.

We've seen it in recent years with the Mavs, and what's worse is that this time we had him! We sold him! He shook hands! The wining and dining and the effort put forth right out of the gate all paid off. Athletes from all over DFW were reaching out showing support, showing what the fraternity of DFW Athlete could actually be for him.

Then, somehow, the team lost a future franchise fixture, all of its free agency season and potentially the last remaining successful years of what's left in Dirk Nowitzki.

I don't fault Mark Cuban other than being incapable of closing. He did everything he thought he needed to, and that no-good coward Jordan didn't even have the balls to tell him face-to-face that it wasn't going to work out.

That's worse than breaking up with a girl on her answering machine…if those even exist anymore.

I don't fault the Clippers for pursuing him at the last minute. What would you have done if one of the potentially dominant big men in the game called you and said he was changing his mind?
I fault Jordan and Jordan alone, for not having enough soul to become his own man and create his own path.

DFW sports fans, I'm sorry we've had to deal with this type of heartbreak. I hope when the moments of glory do come we can learn to embrace them, because these pitiful, terrible feelings of being walked all over and left for not are as gut wrenching as it gets.

Cory Mageors is co-host of The K&C Masterpiece and can be heard weeknights on 105.3 The Fan. Follow him on twitter @inthemageors