Miami Heat fans leave NBA Finals Game 6 early, not allowed back in for Heat comeback win

While arguments about which city's or team's fans often tend to be a dumb, parochial domain, and while it sometimes feels like Miami catches a #BadSportsTown rap that's a bit overstated, I think we can agree that leaving an NBA Finals game before its completion is kind of a bad look. Let alone a game in which your hometown team would be eliminated with a loss. Let alone a game in which your hometown team fought back from seven points down at the start of the fourth quarter, that was a one-possession affair from just inside the eight-minute mark all the way into the final minute, and in which said hometown team held a three-point lead with less than two minutes remaining.
And yet, a number of members of the AmericanAirlines Arena faithful on hand to cheer for the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs did choose to exit with the game still in the balance in the final minute. And based on the escalator shot above shared by ESPN's Bomani Jones late in the fourth quarter — and the commentary of several others on the scene — it was a fairly large number:

Mass exodus. Gotta beat traffic, you know?
— Dan Le Batard Show (@LeBatardShow) June 19, 2013

So many people have left that I'm honestly embarrassed for this city. — Dan Le Batard Show (@LeBatardShow) June 19, 2013

I'm happy for the 2,000 or so Heat fans who left with 30 seconds left. No traffic!
— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) June 19, 2013