Heat fan from Australia travels over 30 hours to Denver for NBA Finals

DENVER – There are a lot of Miami Heat fans who made the trip to Denver for the NBA Finals.

One fan in particular traveled the long journey all the way from Australia.

The flight to Denver was over 30 hours, but that didn’t stop Jarrod Dunbar from heading overseas to see the Heat.

“I followed Alonzo Mourning here, way back in the late 90s and early 2000s, and I’ve been a Heat fan ever since,” Dunbar said. “I sat through with the Heatles for a number of years, which was a good time, and here we are now.”

Despite the time difference, Dunbar keeps close tabs on what’s happening with the Heat.

“I watch pretty much every game, sometimes live, but it’s awkward times,” he said.

Another popular fan is Javier Salmon, or Javi, who is known for his catch phrase “Keep it going.”

He’s often at Heat games encouraging the team with his own special brand of positivity.

“It’s not hostile here. It’s the Midwest, everybody is nice,” he said, adding with a smile, “I think they’re nice because they know we can beat them at any time, so they can’t talk too much because they knew what we’ve done to all the other teams.”


About the Author:

Jenise Fernandez joined the Local 10 News team in November 2014. She is thrilled to be back home reporting for the station she grew up watching. Jenise, who is from Miami and graduated from Florida International University, also interned at Local 10 while she was in college.