Dwight Howard takes out newspaper ad, says he loves Orlando (Picture)

Dwight Howard seems to be making an attempt to repair his relationship with Orlando fans. The All-NBA center took out an ad in Sunday’s Orlando Sentinel to profess his love for the city.

Here’s the text of his message:

“To play the game of basketball in the NBA is a blessing and to have had the opportunity to play before the Orlando fans for eight years was truly a privilege and an honor.

“Words cannot express the love that I have for Orlando. With your support we have done great things in this city from hanging banners to impacting our youth.

“Although my career with the Magic has come to a close, my love for the city and the people that make it beautiful will never end.”

I’m not sure which is phonier: this, or the Dwight Howard “loyalty” shirt the NBA Store was selling. I know Dwight is preoccupied with trying to be loved by everyone, but he received some poor P.R. advice with this one (what else is new?). Howard demanded a trade from the Magic and put the fans through a miserable year. This was way too early for him to try and patch things up. He needs to stop worrying about trying to make everyone love him; it’s not going to happen.