Dirk Nowitzki arrives in Germany today from his brief stopover to check out some Wimbledon tennis; think he’ll get a hero’s welcome for his homecoming? You bet he will!
In a planned ceremony that Germany-based heinnews is describing as “palatial” and local media is calling “D Day,” some 15,000 are expected to attend Nowitzki’s early-evening fete in Würzburg (pop. app. 133,501). The local hero will get to sign his name in the city’s “Golden Book,” thereby making this the first occasion for the Dallas Mavericks to appear within the same volume as Winston Churchill.
Würzburg mayor Georg Rosenthal was quoted in the Würzburg newspaper Main-Post as stating that “What Dirk Nowitzki has accomplished is certainly the greatest and worldwide most recognized success ever achieved by a Würzburg athlete. We are looking forward to a great day in Würzburg and a worthy welcome.”
(Fun fact: Other notable Würzburgers include Werner Heisenberg, Wilhelm Konrad Röntgen and Frank Baumann.)
Along with the requisite pomp and circumstance will be youth skills competitions and live music. Nowitzki himself will hold a press conference at 12.45pm CET (6.45am EST). No word yet on whether the mighty Mav will be performing that European basketball victory anthem…
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