"If you're not first, you're last"

I was hoping my first blog post in a month would be a happy one about how the Cavaliers are moving on to face the Magic again, but as everyone knows, that's clearly not going to be the case. Like every other Cleveland fan, or any basketball fan for that matter, I watched in agony as the Cavs were upset by the lethargic Boston Celtics. I say lethargic because if you look back at their season, it was anything but one that makes you think "championship contender". But somehow, they either came back to life, or the Cavs just gave up. I'm going to go with the latter. It must suck to be LeBron right now, people comparing him to Michael Jordan and how he hasn't done as much in his first seven years that Jordan did, but, it could be worse: he could be Mike Brown. Apparently, as Sports Illustrated is reporting, The Cavaliers have fired Mike Brown. I totally called this. I remember telling someone last night that I would be shocked if he didn't get fired tomorrow. I can just take a wild guess at what was going through his head after last night's game: "I'm fucked." Or something along those lines. While most Cleveland fans are pointing the finger at Brown, me being one of them, I am also going to look past the basketball aspect and looking at the bigger picture: the city of Cleveland. This was seriously the last hope. And if LeBron leaves I won't be surprised if the city becomes another Atlantis and disapears in Lake Erie. Also, I will lose my faith in the fact that not all superstar athletes think in terms of dollar signs. Well, no, I take that back. I still have Josh Cribbs to believe in. I have already stated why LeBron won't leave but if he proves me wrong then I'll retract everything in that entire post. But I don't need to worry about that until July, so we're good.

So with all the talk on every sports source in the country, it's really got me thinking of how much emphasis society places on wealth that it even trickles into sports. I know that pro sports are a business and, like in any career, you want to capitalize your wealth, but why is it that the market is so limited to do so? I know that in big business, if you aren't in a big city you aren't really in the business at all, but in sports, there are franchises everywhere. Why do only LA, Boston, and NY continuously hog all the credit? I could write pages and pages about this but that would take all day. I just want to make the point how amazing how our country's political system has trickled down into every aspect of society, whether it's intended or not. I am blessed to have been raised in this democratic, captialistic nation, and by no means am I dissing it. Just think about it though: whether it's business, sports, and even relationships, everyone has to be the best. Ricky Bobby said it best: "If you're not first, you're last." We are taught that we must be in the most profitable careers, find a man that will buy us the best engagement ring, and, if we're going to be good at a sport, the only thing that will truly prove our worth is a championship. And the only way to acheive these goals is through perfection. Ironically, though, we are also taught to embrace our imperfections. So, where is the happy medium?

Even though I'm all for competition and making lots of money and getting a really pretty ring, I'd like to think of myself as someone who has found that happy medium. Case in point: I want to be a sports writer or PR rep. In my job search, all of the entry level positions pay about $20,000 starting out (pre-tax) with no benefits. It is for this reason I have decided to go get my Master's degree. I will make the same amount of money next year, plus benefits and the possibility for some more awesome networking. I hope this plan works but even if it does, I still won't be loaded right away.

So if LeBron does leave (which I really don't see happening, so don't think for a second I'm going back on my word unless this illusion becomes a reality) I will most likely be writing an extension to this lovely short post ranting on how much I hate the corporate world going into sports. But for now, I'm going to do what I did after the Indians blew it in 2007: boycott the sport. I don't do it because I decide I'm not going to be a fan; a do it because since there is so much corporate pressure in pro sports, I am convinced that baseball, and now basketball, is rigged, and for whatever reason everybody is out to get Cleveland. This may or may not be true but I like to think this protest is my own form of self-activisim. I will always remain a Cavs fan but from now until next year's playoffs, I will not be watching, or even following what's going on in the world in basketball (with the exception of the free agency drama, for this blog's sake) I stuck to this pretty well when I did it for baseball. I didn't watch a single game or keep up with a single story about the Indians or anything else that was pro-baseball in 2008. I'm sure I can do it with the NBA-no matter where LeBron is playing. It will make no difference to the league if they have my viewership or not but at least I know that I'm holding true to my happy medium.