When the Dallas Mavericks tip-off against the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, they’ll hear the shouts of fans who made the 1,800-mile journey to cheer them on.
Cheryl Jackson is one of them. The Plano resident is a lifelong Mavericks fan and is often at center court on game days.
“I already tell people when they sit behind me. I cannot sit down. I am the sixth woman! They need to hear me. We have to cheer them on,” Jackson recently told NBC5. Those cheers paid off with an impromptu souvenir from Kyrie Irving. He handed her the shoes he wore during the Mavericks game 6 win that took them to the Western Conference Finals.
“You know, he had given his shoes to a kid after their game in Oklahoma City. So, I literally told my husband, I am telling you. I am going to get his shoes,” Jackon said at the time.
As devoted as Jackson is to her team, there is division in her family. Her daughter-in-law is a Celtics fan.
Cheryl Jackson
The two will sit, or maybe stand, side-by-side at T.D. Garden Arena Thursday night to root for their teams. Jackson used loyalty points for airfare and hotel, then got a surprise text the other morning from a fellow Mavs fan offering her two tickets.
The women were on a plane to Boston before sunrise on Thursday. “This airport is rocking with energy,” she texted as she boarded the plane packed with Mavs fans.
Cheryl Jackson