Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade is (almost) at the top of his game. But no matter how far he goes, he always comes home to Chicago. Just don’t ask him where to get a slice of pizza.
It would have been natural, or at least understandable, for Dwyane Wade to outgrow his hometown. He’s from Chicago, an impressive city to be sure, but these days Wade seems just as big as the urban sprawl he hails from. As a member of the Miami Heat, the diminutive guard (well, he’s generously listed at six feet four, but that’s still more or less tiny by NBA standards) is considered to be one of the best young basketball players in the world. Actually, he’s deemed one of the best players, period — regardless of age.
In Wade’s first season, after slashing this way and that and showing up more than a few of the older guards he matched up against, he was a unanimous first-team All-Rookie selection. He parlayed that success into a spot on the 2004 United States Olympic team, making the trip to Athens to represent his country (though coach Larry Brown buried him on the bench). Last season, when everyone was buzzing about his ability, when everyone was talking about his being the league’s next big thing, he was selected to appear in his first NBA All-Star game. (Wade was named to his second All-Star game in February.)
But last year had its disappointments for Wade too. He and the Heat were just one game removed from playing in the 2005 NBA Finals, one game away from Wade realizing a dream, from playing on his sport’s biggest stage. But, try as he did, fate intervened in the form of the defending NBA champion Detroit Pistons, and Wade and his boys were sent home. No championship. No parade. No nothing.
The Heat didn’t win, but, in a way, Wade did. Those who didn’t know about Wade finally figured out what everyone else already knew: The man has some serious skills. If it was possible for Wade to get any bigger, for his peers to think any more of him, or for the media to demand any more of his time, it happened after the NBA Finals. Wade was made — if he hadn’t been already.
Wade is famous enough now that, just like big-body, big-personality teammate Shaquille O’Neal, he is deemed worthy of a one-word moniker. And his is unquestionably cooler than Shaq’s. Wade goes by Flash, same as the comic-book character, the one too fast to see, too agile to stop. You can’t fake the funk and still have people name you after a superhero, dig?
So it wouldn’t have been surprising if Wade, who spends much of the year in Miami, had let all his money and notoriety go to his head. It wouldn’t have been surprising if he had jetted off to Europe in the off--season instead of kicking it with his -childhood friends in the same setting where he grew up — in Robbins, a suburb just south of Chicago. It wouldn’t have been surprising if he actually bought into the whole Flash thing, started believing he was a real superman, and forgot about Chicago altogether. Yeah, he could have fallen for the typical trappings of fame — $500 bottles of liquor, fancy-schmancy L.A. parties, chauffeurs, and caviar dreams, perhaps.
But that’s not him. That’s not D-Wade. (That’s his other nickname. The man has two. Hard to pull off.) He was, and still is, proud of being homegrown, proud of being identified as a product of Chicago, just like another buddy who also comes from the Windy City: Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.
“Oh yeah, we always have Chicago love for each other,” Wade says from — where else? — Chicago. It’s just before the 2005–2006 season. He’s spending time with his family and friends, just as he does every year when the hectic pace of the NBA season gives way to the more tranquil summer months. He likes to play in the NBA, he says. Loves it. And how could he not? But getting some free time at home, in this city, his city, well, it’s just hard to beat that, he says.
“Every time you see someone from home, it’s always the same thing — we just have love for each other,” Wade continues. “We have the city in common. There’s something about the city that, no matter where you are or where you move to, you always say you’re from Chicago. That never goes away. You see someone from home, and it’s like ‘Hey, Chi-town.’ That’s how we greet people — ‘Chi-town.’?”
This, then, is D-Wade’s favorite city. His city. His Chi-town.
I’ve never met anyone from Chicago who doesn’t pick sides. So when you’re home, do you head to Wrigley Field or Comiskey Park, now known by its less-historical name, U.S. Cellular Field? You know, I kind of go back and forth. When Sammy [Sosa] was here, I really liked the Cubs. The new park [U.S. Cellular Field] is really nice. It’s got everything you’d want a new stadium to have. But with Wrigley, that’s history. That’s what everyone talks about — everyone talks about the history. When you’re at Wrigley, you feel like you’re sitting in history. It’s a unique place.
Okay, so what do you think about the United Center, the relatively new home of the Chicago Bulls? Were you ever in the old arena? Because I hear the old arena had a lot of history too. Oh yeah, it did. I only went to one game in the old arena, back when I was a kid. I think I was in the fifth grade. We actually got to go down and play on the Bulls’ floor — I think they were away or something. I don’t remember. But that was great. The old one had that feel, yeah — and that’s where the Bulls first got it going [during the Michael Jordan era, which produced six championships]. But I probably like the new one better. As a player, you like the new ones better just because they have all the stuff you’re looking for. It just has a more modern feel and all the little things players like.
When you were growing up, where did you play? What is the best place in the city to test your game? For me, my favorite place — I mean, everyone used to go there — was the Lakefront. It’s right down on the water in the city, and there were always really good games going. When I was a shorty, I would go down there, and I remember, once, that [former Chicago Bull and Michael Jordan running mate] Scottie [Pippen] was down there playing. There was some talent down there. A lot of it. Sometimes it was hard to get a game. I would just sit and wait to get in a game with some of the older guys. But sometimes my dad would take me down there and say we had next. He’d bring his own five — me and my dad and a few of my friends or some people he knew. Playing with my dad when I was a kid, that was just a really good time. I took a beating back then, but we got some wins too.
You’re an NBA baller now. My idea of NBA stardom is staying in plush hotels and having people wait on me. Is there a place where you always stay when you go home because it treats you especially well? We just bought a place, but before that, we used to stay at the Doral on Michigan Avenue (now the Millennium Park Plaza). It’s like a hotel with corporate condos and stuff like that. They have spas and suites and a health club and all that. It’s a nice area — you know, Michigan Avenue is a big shopping strip in Chicago. They have all kinds of department stores and things like that down there. I like being downtown in the city. It’s a great experience being down there because you have a view of the city and all the buildings, and there’s a view of the water too. It just feels like home.
What about hot spots? I imagine there are a lot of bars and clubs in Miami, but is there any element of Chicago that can compare to the South Beach scene? Not really. I mean, they’re two different places. They’re two different cultures. Miami is great in its own way. Chicago is great too. It’s just different. I just love downtown. It’s beautiful. I love to walk around down there.
You walk around down there? What about when it’s cold? Because I don’t think people who haven’t been to Chicago have a real appreciation for how cold it gets there. Yeah, you know what? That doesn’t matter. I don’t care how long you live here, you just don’t get used to it. In the winter, it’s cold as can be in Chicago. You can’t imagine. But I don’t really have to deal with the winter up here because I’m in Miami. On Christmas Day, it’s usually, like, 85 degrees down there. It’s the best of both worlds for me.
All right. When you’re home, then, what do you do to pass the time? I don’t go anywhere popular or anything like that. Nothing trendy. You know where we go? I go to the same place I used to go with my friends when we were kids — we still go there. Me and my boys go to this place called Hollywood Park. It’s in Crestwood. They have all kinds of stuff. It’s got video games and miniature golf, and you can shoot baskets there. They have laser tag too.
Laser tag? You still play laser tag? Really? Oh yeah. I’m trying to get good at it. I’m very competitive. We have a softball game every year, you know? We put that together, and I want to win that. But I want to win at laser tag too. We play it every summer when I’m home. It’s for bragging rights between me and my boys. Definite bragging rights. I lost last year, and they’ve been getting on me since then. I can’t wait to play this year; I really want to win. I hate losing.
Chicago, obviously, is known for its deep-dish pizza. Is there one pizza joint you prefer over the others? Growing up, I liked to go to Home Run Inn.
What’s that? It’s like Pizza Hut.
It’s a chain? Yeah. They have them all over the place.
You’re from Chicago and you picked a chain? You better be careful — they could revoke your Chi-town membership card for that. Hey, you know, pizza is pizza. I like pizza, but, to me, it’s always good. For me, it was more about the experience, because, when I was a kid, my dad would take me there and it was just fun. Going out with my dad for pizza — that was all I cared about. It didn’t matter where he took me. Just as long as he took me.
Okay, fair enough. What about restaurants? Is there a particular place where you like to eat when you’re back in Chicago? Maybe something people don’t know about? You know, my favorite spot is probably McDonald’s or IHOP or something like that. I’m simple. I don’t do too much. I don’t do anything too extravagant. I like to keep it simple.
You know you’re killing me here. People are on an airplane right now reading about how Dwyane Wade likes McDonald’s. There’s no food that really means Chicago — something that you have to have when you’re home? Oh yeah, I’ve got to have Harold’s Chicken. They’re all over the city. They’re these little chicken shacks, kind of. Really good chicken. When I’m in town with my teammates, we always get Harold’s Chicken. I was telling them about it for so long. So when we come up here, we have to get it. All the guys get it.
So what do you order? Well, it’s just mainly fried chicken. And fries. The chicken and fries are all smothered in this special barbecue sauce. Well, it’s not really barbecue sauce; it’s more like a mild sauce. But they pour it all over the chicken and the fries. Mmmmm. That stuff is so good. That’s Chicago.
He Said...
Dwyane Wade is bullish on these Chicago spots.
LODGING
Millennium Park Plaza (formerly the Doral), very expensive, (312) 616-6000, www.juexiang.com
DINING
Harold’s Chicken Shack, inexpensive, various locations Home Run Inn, pizza, inexpensive, (773) 247-9696, www.juexiang.com
ATTRACTIONS
Hollywood Park, (708) 389-7275, www.juexiang.comwoodfunpark.com
Lakefront, (312) 742-7529, www.juexiang.com
Michigan Avenue, (312) 642-3570, www.juexiang.com
United Center, (312) 455-4500, www.juexiang.com
U.S. Cellular Field, (312) 674-1000, chicago.whitesox.mlb.com
Wrigley Field, (773) 404-2827, www.juexiang.com
American Way
