Happy 47th Birthday to one of my childhood heroes, Adrian Delano Dantley.



I think my post on fans4dantley.org says it best:

I am thrilled to have actually found a site dedicated to my hero, the one and only Adrian Dantley. As a kid, I remember watching him. I was only 6 in 1986, but he was my idol. I would spend hours outside pretending to be him and not stopping until I had scored 200 points for him and notched zero for the other team. I was given his Pistons jersey, and I even dressed up as him for Halloween one year. I remember buying my first basketball card of him (1988-89 Hoops). I stil have that card in my wallet. When AD played for Detroit, I was the Pistons' biggest fan. But when they traded him to Dallas, I was the Pistons' biggest enemy. I balled my eyes out when I heard the news- could it be true? AD, the Teacher, gone? I was crushed. I simply idolized him and to see him traded from my home town team was devastating. I still followed his career in Dallas, and was the only Detroit area kid to root against the Pistons at a game I attended in Auburn Hills in 1989. I memorized all of his statistics, and was not reluctant to boast them to all of my friends at school. I remember being ridiculed for choosing an "old" player as my favorite, but my desire to play like him did not cease. I practiced free throws a great deal, and today I shoot around 81.8 percent, as the man himself did in his career. I would salivate watching him post up, knowing that he would trick his defender and convert a 3-point play. I admired his actions on and off the court, as he embodies everything that is exemplary of an athlete and a role model. His passion on and off the court are unparalleled, and I'll be forever in debt to him for the confidence he gave me in my own life (athletically and otherwise), and for the ideal example he set for me. His legacy and actions undoubtedly merit not only the retiring of his jersey in Utah, but recognition with a place in the Hall of Fame. I have been a fan since I knew about basketball, and I will be a fan until the day I die. Again, I would like to thank the creator of this site, for recognizing Dantley's passion and compassion and creating something tangible with that desire. It is a great testament to your knowledge and to Dantley's greatness on and off the court, somehting that is undeniable but often ignored. Thank you again. Ian

He was good, but he was no "Magic Johnson" :LOL:

SuperC said:

Exactly- he was better!

SuperC said:

In all honesty though, I have a lot of respect for Magic and his influence on the game. He played with great passion and heart and changed the game forever.

Man! Those "Bad Boys" Pistons were the best team.

Happy B-Day A.D. How old is he now?

TRON said:

47