Mavericks’ Luka Doncic denies having Game 2 exchange with Celtics governor Wyc Grousbeck
Five thoughts: Mavericks in dire situation as Celtics take 2-0 NBA Finals lead
Dallas, TX
What’s an MFFL? What to know about Mavericks fans as the NBA Finals come to Dallas
The Dallas Mavericks are back in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have led a spectacular run to get Dallas to the sport’s biggest stage, taking down three higher-seeded teams in the Clippers, Thunder, and Timberwolves to get to this point.
While the Celtics present a massive challenge for the Mavericks — proven by the 2-0 series lead they built in Boston — the American Airlines Center will have incredible energy with the NBA Finals back in Dallas. If you’re joining the bandwagon for the first time since the 2011 championship run, here’s what to know about Mavs fans:
How did calling fans MFFLs start?
If you are a Mavs fan, you are considered an “MFFL,” which stands for “Mavs Fan for Life.” The term originated in the early-to-mid 2000s around the time the Dirk Nowitzki era in Dallas was beginning to gain momentum. Prior to Nowitzki, the Mavericks were a bit of a laughing stock in the NBA and didn’t have a strong following around Dallas.
Mark Cuban popularized the term during his time as the primary owner of the Mavs. It stuck and has become a staple of Mavs fandom. The promotion of the term “MFFLs” is impossible to miss when attending games at the American Airlines Center.
Where did they play before AAC?
Reunion Arena was the home of the Mavs from 1980 to 2001, until the Mavs and Stars both moved to the AAC in 2001. Reunion Arena’s capacity for Mavs games was 18,190, and it was officially demolished in November of 2009.
“Reunion Rowdies” are the original MFFLs. Those are the fans that lived and died with the team from the early 1980s. Back then, the Mavericks games would occasionally be relocated to Moody Coliseum at SMU because other events were being held at Reunion Arena. This even happened during a playoff game against the Seattle SuperSonics. In a much smaller venue like Moody Coliseum, it was significantly louder.
“The tickets were cheap, the beer was cheap, and it was the place to be,” remarked longtime journalist Mike Fisher.
Longtime Mavs owner Mark Cuban was also once a Reunion Rowdy himself, which explains his unique passion for the team he owns.
Who are the ManiAACs, and what else do they have?
The old Reunion Rowdies turned into what we know as MFFLs, but there’s another unique sect of Mavs fans. The Mavs ManiAACs became the first all-male performance squad in the NBA in 2002.
The ManiAACs are usually located around the top of the AAC’s lower bowl, constantly performing during timeouts. They go out and perform on the court with dance routines and eccentric outfits, and have become a true staple and one of the more fun aspects of attending a Mavs game. You can’t go to a Mavs game without seeing a ManiAACs performance.
The Mavericks have also evolved their in-game entertainment aside from the ManiAACs. The “Mavs Hoop Troop” is a co-ed entertainment squad brought in under the guidance of CEO Cynt Marshall in March of 2020.
Who is Guitar Slayer?
Arguably the most entertaining part of attending a NBA game is the showmanship of the starting lineups.
The Mavs’ starting lineup announcements are no different. Amid an incredible highlight montage with incredible music (more on that next), Justin “GuitarSlayer” Lyons adds his own touch to the intro song. Lyons is up on a stage at midcourt amid flashing lights, pyrotechnics, and more. He provides incredible guitar riffs to enhance the Mavs’ longtime intro song, “Eminence Front.”
Lyons is from the Dallas area, specifically in Oak Cliff. The 38-year-old began his career in gospel and later transitioned into blues.
“I’m honored to be able to re-craft [a song] that’s been part of the team’s legacy for 23 years,” he said in an interview. “I’m going to channel all my winning energy into the building and pray it helps them keep winning.”
“Eminence Front”: Mavs’ intro song
Since 2001, The Who’s “Eminence Front” has blared in the AAC as the Mavs introduction song. If you’ve been to a Mavericks game before, you recognize it immediately.
It is a rhythmic mixture of synthesizers, guitar riffs, and drums. The Who’s Pete Townshend is a fan of the song’s usage.
“That’s a wonderful use of the song,” he said.
Matt Fitzgerald, the Mavs’ former marketing chief picked the song when the team moved to the AAC in 2001. He wanted a song without lyrics building towards a crescendo like the Chicago Bulls’ iconic intro song “Eye in the Sky” by the Alan Parsons Project.
“It’s become iconic,” Mark Cuban said. “It isn’t going anywhere.”
What’s the deal with the City Edition uniforms and court?
NBA teams each unveil a new Nike NBA City Edition uniform every year. The Mavericks’ 2023-24 City Edition uniform has become quite popular partly because the team has often worn them during an incredible playoff run, but also because the sleek black uniforms are incredibly popular with the fans.
The new uniform is named “Trinity River Blues” and pays homage to the history of Southern Blues music. The Mavs collaborated with Grammy Award-winning recording artist and North Texas native Leon Bridges in the creation of the uniform.
From the heart of Texas Blues, to the soulful sounds of Grammy Award-winning Recording Artist and Fort Worth Native, Leon Bridges. We Present to you, Trinity River Blues 🎶🏀@chime // #MFFL pic.twitter.com/FB0Ux4pn7u
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) November 2, 2023
The font for the “Mavs” on the front of the uniform is a tribute to vintage Texas R&B album covers, according to the Mavericks team website. On the shorts is an outline of the state of Texas with audio waves of the spoken words “Leon Bridges”.
Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
The search for the next general manager or president of basketball operations of the Dallas Mavericks has begun. They terminated Nico Harrison in November, which was about nine months too late, and gave any available candidates clear notice that they were open for business.
The plan was always to wait until after the season to start the search. While names popped up as the season reached an end, they didn’t begin turning over the staff until the Monday after the season ended. However, Dallas Mavericks fans are not going to like how the team is going about the search.
Patrick Dumont Leading Search for General Manager
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Mavericks are not hiring a search firm in their hunt for a new lead executive. Instead, team governor Patrick Dumont is “acting as his own point person.”
This is an… interesting decision, to say the least. Dumont is not a basketball person whatsoever, and most organizations usually hire a search firm. The Chicago Bulls hired one as they look for their replacement for Arturas Karnisovas. Just because a firm is hired doesn’t mean a team will listen, though.
The Mavericks hired a firm in their last search for a GM. They let Donnie Nelson go in 2021 after a long tenure with the Mavs. Instead of listening to the firm, though, Mark Cuban ignored it to hire Nico Harrison, who had no previous NBA front office experience. Harrison had been an executive with Nike, which gave him connections with players like Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and plenty of others.
For a while, that seemed to be working out okay. While he still had some questionable transactions, such as trading for Christian Wood and letting Jalen Brunson walk in free agency, they were still able to make a run to the NBA Finals in 2024. Then, he blew it all up, trading away Luka Doncic for an older and injured Anthony Davis, and the team hasn’t been the same since.
It’s imperative that the Mavericks get this hire correct. The interim Co-GM setup with Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley has performed admirably, but the 2026 NBA Draft is important for the Mavs to get right. It’s their best chance to pair Cooper Flagg with another young star, as they don’t own their first-round pick again until 2031 after this.
Hiring the right GM could help bring in more draft capital by bringing in bad contracts or flipping veterans into picks.
Dumont was able to convince Rick Welts, a Hall of Famer, to come out of retirement to be the CEO and lead the charge for a new arena. Maybe Dumont pulls another rabbit out of his hat for the GM.
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For a moment, it looked like FC Dallas was on its way to another statement win at home tonight.
Petar Musa scored two first half goals, to extend his Golden Boot leading tally to nine goals. But after Dallas grabbed control, the Galaxy found a way back before halftime with goals from Lucas Sanabria and Joseph Paintsil.
The second half brought more chances and more frustration for Dallas, which finished the night with 13 shots to LA’s nine. In the end, the point stretched Dallas’ unbeaten run to five games, though just like last week, it felt like another match where Dallas left points on the table.
Key Moments
7’ – GOAL! After a poor pass back by a LA defender, Petar Musa was free to go one-on-one with the LA goalkeeper. After a touch to get ahead of a defender, Musa slotted home his eighth goal of the season from outside the penalty box.
21’ – Offside! Joaquin Valiente sent a floating ball over the Galaxy defense, where Musa was able to get behind the defense and make an easy play for what appeared to be his second goal of the night. The play was called offside despite a fairly lengthy review period.
38’ – GOAL! This one counts! Musa gets his second of the night off a great ball from Chris Cappis. Logan Farrington picked off the ball in the midfield. He then played Cappis wide to the left of the penalty area. Cappis immediately played a ball back across the goal for Musa to slide in and finish for his ninth of the season.
43’ – Goal LA. Lucas Sanabria got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He took a couple of touches to get outside the penalty box before firing a shot that beat Michael Collodi at the near post.
45+4’ – Goal LA. Gabriel Pec got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He pulled the ball back a bit, which caught a pair of Dallas defenders. This allowed Joseph Painstil to get free behind the Dallas defense as Pec played him through inside the penalty area. Pec immediately smashed home a shot above Collodi to tie the game.
75’ – Another offside goal. This time on a corner kick for Dallas, after a scrum in the penalty box, Kaick hammered home what looked to be the go-ahead goal. But after a few seconds the flag was raised due to a deflection on Osaze Urhoghide, who was in an offside position.
Instant Reaction
Yeah, this is another disappointing result for this team. In a real way, it felt like the first half against Houston from last month. Dallas grabbed the lead, looked in control, but some defensive miscues opened the game up for the visitors to climb back.
With a double-game week coming up, this will certainly be another game where Dallas will wonder ‘what if’ more than anything else…especially when you factor in the two goals called off for offside.
About the Subs
Eric Quill went to his bench for the first time in the 66th minute, as he brought on Santiago Moreno for Logan Farrington. Quill went to his bench again 81st minute with Ran Binyamin and Nolan Norris coming on for Sebastien Ibeagha and Deedson. The final sub came during stoppage time with Herman Johansson and Joaquin Valiente coming off for Sam Sarver and rookie Nick Simmonds, who made his MLS debut.
Man of the Match
No question about it tonight, it has to be Musa.
Where does this fit into the season
As of this writing, the draw puts Dallas into a three-way tie for 5th place with Real Salt Lake and Seattle. Both are in action right now and look firmly in control of their games. I’d expect Dallas to be in 7th place by the end of the night.
What’s next for FC Dallas
Dallas wraps up a three-game homestand next Wednesday night as they host Minnesota United.
Dallas, TX
Akheem Mesidor selected by Cowboys by Blogging The Boys in SB Nation’s community mock draft
Akheem Mesidor, Edge, Miami
Pass rush has been an issue since the Micah Parsons trade. The Rashan Gary trade helped, but Dallas still needs an injection of talent. Akheem Mesidor fits here because his body size allows for some versatility inside and out, something DC Christian Parker utilizes. Mesidor is also a high-motor player with a deep bag of pass rush moves.
His last season at Miami was full of disruption in the offensive backfield and he shows an all-around game, not just a bend-around-the-edge pass rusher. Yes, he’s a little older than you’d like in a rookie (25), but his motor, pass rush toolbox, and ability to play the run matches up with a need and makes him a quality pick at number 20.
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