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10/30 10:59 CDT Heat unveil an updated Wade statue, after original was widely
panned for not looking like him
Heat unveil an updated Wade statue, after original was widely panned for not
looking like him
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Basketball Writer
MIAMI (AP) --- Dwyane Wade has a new face --- on his statue.
Mindful of criticism that started coming in waves immediately after the statue
outside the arena where the Miami Heat play was unveiled in his honor two years
ago, Wade revealed Friday that he consented to having a new head made for the
piece.
The original statue was widely panned because the face bore almost no
resemblance to Wade, who spent the majority of his Basketball Hall of Fame
career starring for the Heat and was a major part of Miami's three NBA
championship teams.
"I had to ask myself a pretty simple question: ?If people don't feel that
connection when they look at the face, why wouldn't we try to make it better?'"
Wade wrote in an essay published on Friday. "So, we listened and had honest
conversations with everyone involved, and we all agreed to make adjustments to
the head."
The work on the sculpture was completed in the last few days, with a plywood
box placed over it to keep the public from seeing what was happening. The Heat
posted photos of the new, improved statue on Friday, not long before Wade's
essay went public.
"This isn't about erasing the work that was already done or disrespecting the
artists who put their time and talent into creating it. It's about being
willing to listen," Wade wrote. "It's about recognizing when something carries
meaning for more people than just yourself and being open enough to revisit it."
The original version of the statue was, in Wade's words, an "artistic version
of a moment that happened." That moment was the end of a game against the
Chicago Bulls in March 2009, when he made a shot to win as time was expiring in
double overtime, hopped up onto a courtside table as Heat fans roared and
yelled, "This is my house." The way his body is depicted in the statue seems to
be reminiscent of that moment. The face, not so much.
"The 305 deserves to look at that statue and feel the same energy it felt that
night," Wade wrote, referring to Miami by its primary area code. "And the fans
deserve to see themselves in that moment because their noise, their belief and
their love were part of what made it possible.
"So we listened. We went back to work. And we made the adjustments. I hope when
people see it now, they see a better likeness of me. But more than that, I hope
they see themselves. Because it may be my likeness, but it will always be our
house."
___
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