You know Dwyane Wade as part of the dream team that helped the Miami Heat bring home the championship this year. But D-Wade himself would like it best if that was the second thing best known on his resume.
“My life is revolved around being a great father,” he told us at Books & Books in Coral Gables. “My boys are my everything. If you are blessed to have children, that is how it should be. That is why I wrote this book.”
The novel he is speaking about is A Father First: How My Life Became Bigger Than Basketball. A work he thinks anyone and everyone can relate to.
“There are so many messages. I think I talk to a lot of different people in the book. I talk to kids, young adults, parents. In a sense, I tell what different experiences I have been through. I think a lot of people are going to read the book that are going through those experiences or know someone who is. It’s a way to use the platform I have to tell people, 'I know what you’re going through. I have been there.'”
Sunday, fans of all ages lined up around the block to meet the Heat star. So many fans in fact, Wade had to start early to ensure any who came out that day had the chance to get their very own signed copy. The fact he started ahead of schedule, a Books & Books employee tols us, is rare.
“This kind of thing doesn't happen usually. Really sweet, actually. He didn’t have to do that.”
Doing his best not to keep his loyal followers waiting long, he kept our interview brief. But he did take the time to talk about this upcoming 2012-2013 season and the possibility of another championship ring.
“If it was easy, everyone would do it. Everyone knows its not that easy of, ‘We got a ring. We will get it every year from now on.’ You never know what is going to happen from one year to the next. You have to take it one day at a time. That’s what we have to do this year. Last year was last year. Like everyone else, we are trying to win a championship. On the first game, last year doesn’t matter. We all start at zero come next season. We have the confidence, but we have to perform.”
And as for new players Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, all spirits seem to high in the home of the Heat.
“We brought the right guys in. Personality wise, we are getting along really well. Ray and Rashard, with what they bring to our team, we are going to go from a great team to an even better one. We always put our best food forward, put the best team together and do our best to win a championship. “
