Feeling different this season

[fifteenth]

I am a long time Mavs fan as many here. Stuck through the team when they absolutely stunk in the 90s. There was a brief glimmer with the Kidd/Mash/JJ big 3.  Then Dirk came in and started to blossom and it was different for so many years. 

Whether the team was a legit contender or not; whether I was frustrated or not, there was a feeling of being vested. There were tears flowing when we won and more than for the team it was for Dirk and his loyalty. 

Not sure if it is due to my age(51 now), following Dirk whose personality and loyalty to a fault, that many of the older gen like me could relate to, but this era feels different. The whole mess this off season and the dysfunction that apparently had been going on and still is, Cuban going relatively cheap the last decade or so, Luka’s game while fabulous is not something I can relate to like Dirk’s ( playing within the system while being highly efficient) , the whole local TV coverage fiasco, and worst of all just feeling that due to the personnel mistakes and being stuck, Luka will most probably leave sooner than later. 

Might be just old man swearing at the clouds, and I know owners were never loyal, but IMO the NBA needs to look at this whole movement of stars and stars forcing themselves out ( I know Kareem did it too, but it was rare). Or maybe the NBA doesnt care since their whole approach has been to promote a few teams and know that the masses in other cities will show up anyway.  Am I alone or in the minority on this?  Do most here, and I know many virtually for many years now, still have that strong vested interest in the team?  Younger ones I can understand still rooting strongly but this was mainly to those who followed this team from when Dirk stepped out of a plane with his goofy haircut.

You and I have been following the Mavs and posting on message boards for a long time together. I'm 49 and I believe we've both been on Mavs message boards since the late 90's early 2000's. Is that right? All that probably doesn't matter to everyone else, just doing some old man reminiscing. 

I always respect your opinions, but my thoughts are a little different. I'm not as invested these days but it's due to the time requirements of work, having a family (5yo and 7yo) and other things that are now a higher priority than watching sports, rather than being frustrated by sports. 

I'm actually not bothered by the players gaining power in their partnership with the league. My thought is, good for them. The players are importatant enough to professional sports that it should be more of a partnership than it was in the past. 

I get frustrated about Cuban's and the team's mistakes, just like everyone else, but that hasn't made me less of a fan, and I usually find something hopefull to hang on to. BUT...I don't invest my emotions like I did when I was younger. The importance level of whether or not the Mavs are good has gone way down for me, as other more important things in my life have risen above the Mavs. 

I actually really like Luka's game. I can't compare my interest in Luka and his Mavs to my devotion to Dirk and his Mavs, though. But that's not because I don't like Luka's game, it's because I'm in a different place.

And I don't think it's inevitable that Luka leaves. Maybe Luka will be like Giannis. Maybe the Mavs will actually win. I guess my reduced investment in the Mavs these days (compared to pre-family and pre-other life stuff) has me in a place where I enjoy keeping tabs on the Mavs (and they're my favorite sports team by a million miles), but I can just let it all happen in real time without worrying about the future. There is nothing in me that is waiting for all the bad stuff to happen. 

The funny thing about that last paragraph is that I extracted my emotions from the Cowboys and Rangers sometime back, but I casually now assume that they'll both keep making all the same mistakes that they always make. But with the Mavs, I'm much less invested than before, but somehow I was able to keep my hope that good things will happen. Not sure how to explain that.