Matthew Dellavedova: DellyMania Down Under
By Luke Sicari
The popularity of the NBA in Australia has never been bigger and that is due to one man.
The amount of media coverage in Australia of Delly’s rise to Cleveland Cavaliers Playoffs hero has been crazy and totally shocking. Delly’s name has been everywhere lately and I’ve never seen the population of the NBA in Australia at a higher peak.
Delly is embodying the Australian sporting spirit, with his hustle, determination and energy, as the ultimate underdog is becoming the ultimate cult-hero. Australians are never the most talented but the never-give-up attitude (Steven Bradbury anyone?) that Australians embody has become a label attached to Australian sporting personalities and Delly is showing the world what Aussies are all about. Australians love underdog stories and Delly is providing us with one and the Australian media has been all over it.
Melbourne’s most popular newspaper, the Herald Sun, has had Dellavedova on multiple front covers lately. From headlines ranging from “Our Delly Stars Again” and “Bull’Dova: NBA Greats Laud ‘Man Of Steel’”, Dellavedova’s population has seemingly gone from one to a million overnight.
Just a couple of weeks ago, the Peter Rolfe of the Herald Sun published a 2 page spread solely dedicated to Dellavedova, touching on his upbringing in the country town of Maryborough, Victoria. It was a beautifully written piece where Delly’s parents and friends all touched on his rise to stardom and it was the first 2-page spread on the game of basketball I’ve seen in years.
Only about a year or so ago, Australian newspapers would have been the last place someone would look for their dose of basketball news. You would be lucky to find a small AP article in the corner of the page about basketball but now reading basketball news in Australian newspapers is a daily occurrence, with Delly being at the center of it all.
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It hasn’t only been in in print media that Delly has received a crazy amount of attention though.
After Delly’s incredible 20-point performance in Game 3 of the Finals, where his stifling defense on Stephen Curry was the story of the night, Melbourne radio show ‘Hughesy and Kate’ had Delly’s local friends on the show to talk about his performance. Australian sports talk radio suddenly has basketball on the agenda and it, again, is all centered around Delly.
On the nightly news, the sports segments have been filled with highlights from the Cavs playoffs game, with the Australian news constantly giving the public updates on what the feisty Australian is doing in the NBA world.
Fox Sports Australia has ensured that we never miss a Delly update on their Facebook page, as updates have been constant during these playoffs. If it involves Delly, you better believe that Fox Sports Australia will be reporting it.
Local Australian sports shops, such as Kickz101 and Basketball Jersey World have been constantly asked by costumers when the Delly jerseys will be coming in stock and Kickz101 deciding to do some work on Cleveland’s jerseys to answer the demands:
Now, if you’re an American, or anyone not from Australia as a matter of fact, you may be asking yourself, why is all of this a big deal? How is the news reporting on basketball or the sports radio shows talking about basketball a big deal?
Well, Australia, particular Melbourne, is a sports-mad city. Melbourne was named the ‘Sports Capital of the World’ in 2006, 2008 and 2010 and the amount of sporting leagues that are on in this city is nuts. From the AFL to the NRL to the A-League to the Cricket, Melbourne is always at the heart of Australian sport. Although, Australian Basketball has lost it’s place in the midst of this sporting craziness.
Australia’s number one basketball league, the National Basketball League, is a complete mess right now. Andrew Gaze, Australian basketball icon, has called for the entire league to be ‘shut down’ and honestly, if it was, half the population probably wouldn’t even realize. Teams are constantly folding due to financial problems, including the South Dragons shockingly folding after they won the 2009 championship. Yep, that’s right, the 2009 NBL Champions folded after they won the championship due to financial problems (in fact, current Utah Jazz swingman Joe Ingles was a key part in that 2009 Dragons title-winning team.)
Isn’t it funny; while Australia’s National Basketball League is at it’s lowest point ever, the popularity of the NBA in Australia is peaking, all due to the heroic efforts of one man; Delly. Talk about irony.
All of this just makes Delly’s sudden rise to the nations forefront even more shocking. Hell, the local basketball stadium in Maryborough is now named the ‘Dellavedova Dome’ and he is the hottest thing in the country at the minute.
Cavs coach David Blatt has this to say about Delly after the Cavaliers Game 3 triumph over the Golden State Warriors, per Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer:
"“Delly is the the most Cleveland-like Australian that I’ve ever met in my life. If you’re from Cleveland, you know just what I’m talking about.”"
With all due respect Dave, you’re wrong.
Delly is simply the most Australian-like Australian and if you’re from Australia, you know just what I’m talking about.
And that is why we love him.
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