Dating back to LeBron James’ decision to take his talents to South Beach in 2010, The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz has been known for its celebratory Miami Heat inspired rants.
But one day after the Heat failed to land Damian Lillard in a blockbuster trade, Meadowlark Media’s flagship show opened with a different tone, holding a funeral for its beloved Heat Culture.
Tuesday’s Miami-centric local hour opened with a dimly lit shot of the show’s producers, including Jeremy Tache, who was playing a solemn song on an electric keyboard. Mike Ryan Ruiz then proceeded to perform a decidedly less upbeat and enthusiastic version of the Heat’s unofficial anthem “Pepas.”
#HEATCulture pic.twitter.com/5DafLmXxMl
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) September 28, 2023
At one point during the performance, Jessica Smetana became so overcome with emotion that she had to bury her head in her hands.
definitely tears of sadness and not laughter https://t.co/kNTTxPz17u
— Jessica Smetana (@jessica_smetana) September 28, 2023
“I think you speak for all of South Florida,” Le Batard said after the performance.
Ruiz and Tache — the two biggest Heat homers on the show — proceeded to burst into crocodile tears, bemoaning not only the Heat’s failure to land Lillard, but also previously unsuccessful attempts at acquiring the likes of Russell Westbrook, Donovan Mitchell, James Harden (twice), Kevin Durant (twice) and Bradley Beal.
“They were all right,” Ruiz proclaimed. “The offer wasn’t good enough. Arrogance. Vanity — one of the seven deadly sins. One of the seven deadly sins. [Ryen] Russillo got our ***.”
Dating back to Lillard’s initial request for a trade, the Le Batard Show has extensively covered — and at times, seemingly been a part of — the Heat’s pursuit of the All-Star point guard. The topic has resulted in some interesting conversations regarding the media’s role in trade negotiations, with Le Batard taking aim at ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who was in turn defended by Le Batard’s co-host, Jon “Stugotz” Weiner.
As Ruiz alluded to, the Heat’s failure to land Lillard — who was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday — even resulted in a newfound feud between the show and The Ringer’s Ryen Russillo, who threw Le Batard’s comments about Wojnarowski back in his face. To its credit, the Le Batard Show hasn’t run from where it was wrong, airing a Lillard-inspired version of its famous “Parade of Gasbags” on Thursday.
https://twitter.com/LeBatardShow/status/1707400506958565454
[The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz]
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.