Dirk Nowitzki Is Not Humbled

It has gotten to the point now where, if someone of note in Dallas misuses the word “humbled,” one of my pet peeves, three or four people will send me links, with the expectation that I will drop whatever it is that I should be doing and attack the not-humbled person on this blog. Imagine my heavy heart, then, when I saw that Dirk had misused the word. He’s my favorite (retired) athlete for so many reasons, not least of which is that NBA Championship. He’s also just a darn nice guy. So I’m going easy on this one. I’ll chalk it up to the fact that English is his second language.

In about an hour, at a ceremony near the AAC, Dirk will have a street named after him. When one gets one’s name on a street, one is not humbled. One is honored. And, in this case, rightfully so. Now, if Dirk goes out there today, and, while he’s giving a short speech, if an Amazon delivery van loaded with Dwyane Wade bobbleheads speeds by, hits a rain-filled pothole, and splashes Dirk, causing him to pinwheel his long, German arms and fall backward over Councilman Adam Medrano — then he’d be humbled.

I still see you, Big German.