Heat unveils Dwyane Wade statue, but many think sculpture doesn’t resemble Hall of Famer

Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade was honored by the Miami Heat on Sunday with the unveiling of a statue in his honor outside the Kaseya Center. Such a gesture is arguably the ultimate tribute that a professional sports franchise or athletic program can pay to an iconic figure.

Wade was surely awed by the spectacle of having a sculpture of him created that generations of fans can now look at outside the Heat’s home arena and recall one of the team’s greatest players.

The statue immortalized the moment in March 9, 2009 when Wade hit a game-winning shot in a two-overtime matchup with the Chicago Bulls, after which he stood upon the scorer’s table and declared “This is my house!”

Yet as impressive as the sculpture and the Heat’s presentation may have been, once the statue was unveiled, many noted that the bronze memorial didn’t really resemble the NBA star.

Why can’t we get statues of people…that look like the people they’re supposed to represent. Nobody sees Dwyane Wade here. pic.twitter.com/AMc36O7hVU

— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) October 27, 2024

The reaction to the statue and its lack of similarity to the real-life figure being honored resembled the backlash over the bronze bust of international soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo that was unveiled at the airport in his native Madeira in Portugal.

The outrage over a goofy, cartoonish rendition of the strikingly handsome Ronaldo was so loud and global that a new sculpture was commissioned, one that nearly all agreed resembled its actual subject much more closely.

A State Farm commercial featuring former NFL quarterback and current Prime Video studio analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick made fun of a ridiculous bust being made of him.

Everyone involved, including “Jake from State Farm” and Fitzpatrick’s colleague Charissa Thompson insisted the sculpture’s resemblance was spot-on. Yet Fitzpatrick was in disbelief and viewers of the ad surely agreed at how absurd the bust looked.

Here we are with real life once again drawing a parallel with a comedic commercial spoofing exactly these types of moments.

Perhaps in the days to come, someone will ask Fitzpatrick — himself a…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-10-27 23:25:00

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