Feb 6, 2008 11:37 pm US/Eastern
SOFLA Feels Shaq's Departure On & Off The Court
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Shaq at his 35th birthday bash.
CBS
On basketball courts far removed from the Shaq-o-sphere where O'Neal flies, they play tough street hoops and spare no feelings.
"Shaq was not producing and he'd become a salary cap problem," said Miami Heat Fan Elkins Gomez.
Every diehard sports fan has heard of salary caps, and it seems almost everyone—period—knows of Shaq.
"'Shaq', that is all you gotta say," said fan Oscar Osejo. "He's a star, a superstar."
He is the NBA goliath with a pied piper's touch; everyone listened when he arrived in 2004.
"I'm going to bring a championship to Miami, I promise," Shaq said, and in 2006 it became a reality.
Everyone followed his enormous footsteps on that glorious day in 2006 when the Heat NBA Champions paraded on the streets.
And so mere basketball mortals can debate the Shaq trade from afar.
"He brought a championship, what he promised, so I think it's time to move one." said David Aguroa.
But talk of any trade aside, no one argues Shaq's presence on the South Florida sports scene is irreplaceable.
"That's the biggest sports star we have ever had, other than Marino," said Gomez.
Goodbye to Shaq then, from a sports town that suddenly seems a good deal smaller.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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