I have been following and enjoying the NBA since 1983/84. I always liked the Mavericks because of Blackman/Harper/Aguirre and because I always rooted for the underdogs. I've become a Mavericks fan, when Jason Kidd, then Finley and Nash joined them.
Since then I have been a huge Dirk fan, personally and as a Maverick.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to watch a live game, either we I lived in Europe or I had to work.
Yesterday I took my 6 years old son (after brainwashing him into a dirk fan) and my 3 teenage nephews (Raps fans) to the Rap/mavs game. It was really devastating that Dirk didn't play and my son experienced his first of the standard Dallas meltdowns.
My nephews just mocked us all night. I left them one block from their home in the snow by -10F and called their mom to pick them up .