Can you imagine anyone other than Michael Jordan being called “Air Jordan?” Ridiculous, huh? Well, that’s precisely how Cleveland Cavaliers’ towering mound of humanity, Shaquille O’Neal, feels about Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard for using the “Superman” nickname after Shaq claimed it his own.
Shaq let it be known in no uncertain terms after the Cavs’ victory over the Magic Thursday, 115-106, that he doesn’t appreciate Howard “stealing” the Superman moniker. Shaq has long displayed the S-shield tattoo on his humongous left bicep and came into the NBA in the ‘90s as the backboard-shattering, body-flattening Man of Steel.
Howard, who played like Superman when he and the Magic destroyed the Cavs in last year’s Eastern Conference championship series, recently taped an ESPN commercial where he shows up looking like Clark Kent and saves anchor Hanna Storm from disaster using superpowers. He also dunked in a recent Slam Dunk contest wearing a Superman cape. In short, Shaq considers Howard’s use of the Superman persona as blatant copyright infringement and flagrant disrespect.
“You tell me,” he said in the locker room after the game, “who the real Superman is.”
Shaq is angered and insulted that the media has all but handed the Superman title over to Howard when Shaq clearly did not give permission nor said he would bequeath the moniker to Howard. It helped fuel Shaq’s play against Howard and intensifies a rivalry that may have huge playoff implications. Shaq is taking this personally, and his megastar teammate, LeBron James, confirms that O’Neal plays even harder against the muscular Howard.
“The whole Superman thing is kind of bothersome, I think,” James said in the post-game press conference. “That’s definitely [Shaq’s] nickname and the fact that everybody gave Dwight his name, it kind of bothers him a little bit.”
Furthermore, Shaq attests, Howard cannot be called Superman since he doesn’t play all NBA centers one-on-one like Shaq did against some of the greatest centers of all time in his prime.
“I don’t really consider it man-up until you play me straight up,” O’Neal said. “When I was coming up there was Pat Ewing and Hakeem [Olajuwon] … I never doubled anybody. So you tell me who the real Superman is.”
As if to add insult to injury, after Shaq’s team won over Howard’s, he headed for the locker and said about Howard: “Superman, my a–.”
It’s going to be even more of a ratings blockbuster with amplified intensity on the court should these two teams meet in the playoffs this spring. –terry shropshire
