Mavs help fan celebrate 102nd birthday in style before crushing loss
When Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban purchased the team 16 years ago, he inherited a franchise known as one of the worst in all of professional sports. To drum up support, he came up with a name for the team's most loyal fans: MFFLs.
That stands for Mavs Fans For Life. Well, that certainly describes Gola Mae Fleming, who celebrated her 102nd birthday by attending Tuesday's game against the Utah Jazz -- a remarkable one at that, although one that likely didn't make Gola Mae very happy. Utah rallied for a 121-119 overtime victory.
We love celebrating birthdays at the @AACenter, but last night's party takes the ?.
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) February 10, 2016
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Fleming got on the Mavs video board during the game holding up a sign that read: “Score 102 for me on my 102nd birthday.”
According to Mavs.com, Fleming and her family took part in the pregame high-five line, greeting the players as they took the floor for warm-ups. A few of the players, including Dirk Nowitzki, stopped to wish her a happy birthday, and Chandler Parsons gave her a hug.
The only thing the Mavs didn't give her was a birthday win. In fact, they didn't make things easy on her or anyone else inside American Airlines Center, giving up Rodney Hood's 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds to go to force overtime and then Gordon Hayward's game-winning jumper.
Oh well, maybe they'll get her that "W" for her 103rd birthday.
