Friday night’s game between the Miami Heat and Washington Wizards took place at Capitol One Arena, Washington’s home venue. But if you were just listening to the crowds at the game, we wouldn’t blame you for thinking otherwise.
The Heat entered the game against their Southeast Division rivals undermanned. Miami had only seven available players. Among the unavailable were starters Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo. But while the Heat were shorthanded on the court, they didn’t have to look far to find strength in numbers.
With Miami leading the Wizards late in the first half, a clear “Let’s go Heat” chant broke out at Washington’s home arena.
Audible "Let's go Heat" chants in Washington tonight. Either there are a lot of Heat fans or very upset Wizards fans. pic.twitter.com/d8j0OoXrmL
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) November 19, 2022
These chants were heard throughout the game in Washington, something basketball fans couldn’t help but notice.
“Let’s go Heat” chants in DC. Amazing.
— jeremy chandler taché (@jeremytache) November 19, 2022
The “Let’s Go Heat” chants on the Wizards home floor make DC like a second home court.
With only 7 available players, the Heat are up 12 at half, so there’s a lot to cheer!!#HeatCulture
— Grant Stern (@grantstern) November 19, 2022
Let’s Go Heat chants early in DC
Let’s call us the 8th man tonight? @5ReasonsSports @5OTF_ pic.twitter.com/qIzjxQ0pFu
— Sean 5RSN🎙️🏀 (@SRochesterNBA) November 19, 2022
The Wizards are embarrassing themselves. Losing to a Miami team with 7 players 69-57 at the half. "Let's go Heat" chants in their house. Got zoned up and fell right into Spo's trap. Making Kyle Lowry look 25 years old. Unprofessional effort.
— Tony Mejia (@MejiaDinero) November 19, 2022
Nothing like hearing “Let’s go Heat” chants away from home
— KAT (@Katheryn_x3) November 19, 2022
Between the undermanned Heat being up as many as 11 in the first half, the Let's Go Heat chants, and the foul calls being whistled you would think we are in Miami …
— Hoop District (@Hoop_District) November 19, 2022
These kinds of takeovers aren’t unprecedented, but ones like this are rare. Visiting team takeovers usually happen in one of two scenarios.
One, when the two teams play nearby each other. In those situations, it’s not uncommon to hear fans of the more established team be more vocal, even if they’re on the road. This is commonly seen when the New York Knicks go on the road to play the Brooklyn Nets. In this case, though, Washington and Miami are roughly 1,000 miles apart and if anything, the Wizards are the more established franchise.
Two, late in the year when the home team is bad and hosting a contender. Naturally, fans of struggling teams tend to be lax in going to games. The ones that do go often want to see their team lose, to get a better draft pick. But this isn’t late in the year. And while the Heat certainly certainly entered the season with higher expectations and have been far better for a long time, Washington (8-7) had a better record than Miami (7-8) going into Friday’s game.
So, while visiting takeovers do happen, ones like this are pretty rare.
