The Principles Of A Title: Good Job, Good Effort

Jim considered calling his firm's publicist but decided against it. "It was innocent and pure," he says. "I wanted to leave it that way." Jack told the Sun-Sentinel, "For those people who thought I was being sarcastic, you're wrong. I would never hurt the Heat's feelings like that."

On 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston, Jack scolded Heat fans who bailed before the final buzzer. "You need to have true heart to realize how lucky you are to even have these tickets to a game. I only had to leave early once, when my mom wanted me to."

Jack's reputation at Pinecrest Elementary School soared—"I became a little more popular," he says, "and by a little I mean a lot"—and in the wider world, the Heat bandwagon swelled. In Game 6, James scored 45 points to rout the Celtics, and as he walked off the court at TD Garden a fan dumped a beer on his head. The video did not go viral, but Jack, watching live on TV, saw it plain and clear. The message, through nine-year-old eyes that have not yet been jaded, was as obvious as it was alarming: It's O.K. to throw a beer on a player after a win, but outrageous to praise him after a loss.

Following Jack's outburst, the Heat was practically unbeatable, vanquishing the Celtics and then the Thunder. "I think I might have helped them," Jack says.

For Father's Day, which arrived with the Heat-Thunder Finals tied at one game each, Jack gave his dad a T-shirt that was selling briskly in South Florida. On the front it read, GOOD JOB! GOOD EFFORT!