MFFL series -- Shinn shows off his 'Mavs Museum'

It's not hard to tell which professional basketball team the Shinn household pledges allegiance to when you first pull up to the family's Burleson, Texas home.

Flying high outside the cozy residence is a 2011 Dallas Mavericks championship flag. On the curb, championship and Mavericks address markers. And on the family cars? You guessed it, celebratory Mavericks bumper stickers to reenforce to neighbors on the block the Shinn family's love affair with a team that found itself at the top of the basketball world this past June.

But nothing on the outside can prepare you for what awaits in the interior; not even the retro and present-day posters that line the inside of the garage walls.

Once you open the front door and head through the family room you suddenly find yourself in "Mavericks Utopia," or what Jay -- the head of the household and avid memorabilia collector -- likes to call his "Mavs Museum," stocked with collectibles that date back to the organization's inaugural season in 1980.

"Well, it started in 1980, obviously. But I had no idea that it would get to this extent," Jay modestly said with his wife, Laura, gazing at how the vast collection has grown much like their two sons.

"My wife and I met in 1982, and she had no idea what basketball was until I started taking her to Mavericks games. And she's always been very supportive of the Mavericks and anything I have to do with the Mavericks. She's a big part of this," he added.

The life-long Mavs fan has never let an opportunity to add a new display to his museum fall by the wayside, stocking up on figurines, posters, special edition tickets, paintings and anything else he can get his hands on -- including a handcrafted model of the American Airlines Center court that he scored in Hawaii. With that said, there seems to be no end in sight as Jay looks to add to his stock when the Mavericks begin defense of the title it took 31 years to bring to The Metroplex. Thirty-one years that Jay says were well worth the wait.

"It was probably in the top four or five things that ever happened to me in my life, seriously," Jay explained when reminiscing on how it felt to see the Mavs capture their first NBA championship.

He added: "Between becoming a Christian, marriage to my wife, my kids ... Mavericks have always been in my top five. But as far as sports goes? Number one. It was one of the happiest moments of my life. I cried, I broke down, and I had to have my 13-year-old pinch me to make sure I wasn't dreaming. In fact, I go out and I look at my flag flying and I still think I'm dreaming."

Check out their interview video below.