Heat fans in denial over the team's NBA Finals loss to Dallas Sunday night may have had their spirits raised when they opened the Miami Herald on Monday.
A Macy's ad in the Herald's sports section praised the 2011 NBA Champion Miami Heat and offered fans a chance to buy the hats and T-shirts to celebrate.
"Congratulations Miami!" the ad said in big block letters, telling fans to "Celebrate the 2011 NBA Champions with official merchandise from Adidas!"
Shirts proclaiming the Heat champs include one with pics of a flashy championship ring, one with the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, another called the "Parade Tee" with the words "Raise Another Banner," and a fourth with the "2011 Championship Roster" range between $20 and $24.
A "Locker room hat" that declares the Heat 2011 NBA Champions is available for $28.
A Macy's spokeswoman said the ad had been prepared for Wednesday's paper in anticipation of a Heat win in Game 7, and that the Herald had mistakenly published it Monday.
A message left with a Herald spokeswoman was not immediately returned, but a correction was posted on the newspaper's website in the afternoon.
"A Macy’s advertisement featuring Miami Heat merchandise was mistakenly published June 13 on page 11D in some editions of The Miami Herald. We regret the error and apologize for any inconvenience," the correction read.
Championship gear for both teams in the Finals is designed and produced before a team actually wins, with most of the losing team's items either destroyed or donated to other countries.
