It has been 14 hours since a dagger has been twisted in the back of Cavs fans but the wound is still deep. Our beloved "chosen one" has chosen another, as if he was the bachelor choosing the whore over America's favorite at the final rose ceremony. We are now left with feelings of anger, grief, and outright pain that has been illuminated by the light of the hundreds of burning number 23 jerseys. Cleveland fans are used to pain: we all know "the fumble", "the drive", "the shot", Jose Mesa, and countless other events that have slapped Cleveland sports fans in the face. But I can argue that none of these events will EVER top what happened last night. In a preconceived media spectacle, Cleveland's "king" went before the nation and announced "the betrayal". As soon as the words "South Beach" fled from Lebron James' mouth I could hear sighs and curse words all across Ohio, well, okay, maybe just across Quaker Steak and Lube. I can say without a doubt that in 50 years if I go back into that restaurant I will be able to look around the building and point out EXACTLY where I was standing when those words were announced as if it was happening all over again.
Though many teams were in the running and are disappointed about the decision, they will never feel the pain that Cleveland feels. Dan Gilbert even posted a statement about the decision, something he may or may not regret in the coming days. His words were the words that all Cleveland fans wanted to say, and were saying through social media. A trend I noticed with my friends and followers was that it wasn't so much THAT he left, it's HOW he left. This was just not a decision that every other free agent annoucned to ESPN through a simple fax or phone call but a pre-orchestrated public relations ploy that probably will be one of the highest rated shows in ESPN history. It was a flawless marketing scheme and we all bought into it. I, however, like to think of myself as better than that, and had I not been working, I would have saved my Nielsen number and waited for it to show up on Twitter.
I, like millions of others, was one of LeBron's biggest fans. Yes, I am a Cavs fan, but LeBron, to me, represented more than a team. He represented a city and I believed him to be one of the few athletes that put the game first, not their egos. In fact, my very first blog post was titled "58476521 reasons why LeBron won't leave Cleveland." I thought he knew how much he meant to the Cleveland area, not just for sports, but for the life he brought back into the city. With him gone, there goes even more of the economy of a city that was already coming into its slow demise.
As the 2009-2010 season ended for Cleveland two months ago, the talk became about where he would choose. The whole season we heard how the Knicks and the Nets were going to have loads of salary space and were the front-runners for LeBron, but when I started hearing about the Bulls, The Clippers, and The Heat wanting to make a plea for him, my first instinct was that if he doesn't stay in Cleveland, he would go with the Heat. After last night, I will, for the rest of my life, always trust my first instinct with every single decision I ever have to make. Most people, including those "expert analysts" on ESPN, only mentioned the Heat because of the salary space but never even considered it as an option for LBJ. It seemed crazy to people because the Heat is Dwayne Wade's team and there was no way he was going to sign with anyone else. Most people could have agreed that it would have been between New York, Cleveland, and Chicago because they thought they knew LBJ and the decisions that would be most important to him: choose the spotlight and the money in NYC with his pal Sean Carter, stay in his hometown and remain its savior, or take his chances to Chi-town and have his best option at a championship in 2011.
While all these seem like great ideas on paper, we must not forget who we are dealing with and that though he is a gifted athlete he cannot win a championship alone. Kobe couldn't do it alone and neither could Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, or anyboday else with multiple rings. Why would LeBron be any different? In the last 7 years he has been working hard to find someone who is up to his superstar caliber to get him the ring. The closest they got was in 07, but I like to believe that was just pure luck because they were severely underrated. Last season was the season. All of the puzzle pieces were in place. Anderson Varejao was a dominant force, Mo Williams was arguably the most improved player, Shaq brought in a whole new fan-base and experience, and Antawn Jamison was like that last piece that you swore was missing for good but you later found it underneath the coffee table and could smile when it finally completed the the board. But with the upset by Boston, it was like someone just came across and picked up the puzzle board and tossed it across the room. There was no rhyme or reason for it, it just happened and it would never be the same.
That loss was undoubtedly the last straw for LeBron. He now had to turn to himself and think what would be the best fit for him and that fit was Miami. Why did I think he would choose it? Well, it's simple: which other team was going to put him alongside another superstar? Definitely not the Nets or the Clippers. The Knicks? Probably not, even with the addition of Stoudemaire. Though he is an above-average player, he is nowhere near superstar status. The Cavs? most likely the same roster, but why would anyone with a heart quit on the team you have helped shape? The Bulls? probably the best option with the deepest bench, but would LeBron and Joakim Noah really have been able to play on the same team? I mean, has everyone forgotton about round one of the playoffs and all of the other meetings between the two? Having beef like that with someone just isn't going to change over night. The Heat? Perfect in his mind. Yes, they have no bench, and last time I checked Bosh is great, but he will always be a number two. But all LeBron is seeing is another number one player and that's all he's been looking for this whole time. If by some unheard of chance that Wade would have signed somewhere other than Miami, I would have picked that team to be the team LeBron goes (if he didn't stay in Cleveland, that is).
In Bill Simmons' column yesterday, he mentioned how a true competitior would want to play AGAINST someone like Dwayne Wade, not WITH him. I completely agree. LeBron could have convinced Wade to come to Cleveland and remained loyal to the city that is half the reason why he's such an icon. So what if Cleveland has winter? It's not like they actually have to drive themselves around in the snow. People do that for them. And since the majority of the season is in the winter, how much time do they really have to be doing extracurricular activities? But no, Wade got LeBron to come to his turf, which is a clear indication of how he is unquestionably the Alpha dog in this relationshp. LeBron is not finding HIS second guy, he has become the second guy. I don't care how good he is, Miami is NEVER going to throw Wade under the bus because Wade did not throw Miami under the bus like James did to Cleveland. LeBron is now a sell-out and, in my book, sell-outs are the ultimate losers. Becoming a sell-out is another way of saying one made a deal with the devil: these people always get burned.
Despite all my logic about how Miami would be the choice if it wasn't Cleveland, and how heartbreaking it may have seemed at the time, I still respected LeBron. That was until a few days ago when I heard about "The Decision". As soon as that news reached my ears, all of my respect for LeBron as a person went completely out the window. Every word I ever wrote about how he was loyal to his fans I will take back. He could have very well said he was staying, but he didn't and he said it in such a way that absolutely makes my toes curl. As a recent college graduate from a journalism program, I have, fresh in my brain, the textbook knowledge of how media is a business and business cannot be carried out without the media. No other athlete in the history of sports has decided to turn their free agency decision into an hour-long special that was disguised as a charity event. If LeBron wanted to donate to the Boys and Girls Club, he could have done that any other way. No, he decided that he was going to promote himself and completely dog an entire city on national TV. Michael Jordan would have never done that. Hell, Kobe would have never done that. This was by far the most egotistical display of entitlement that I have ever witnessed. And what hurts the most is that it was by someone who, two months ago, I never thought would have stooped so low.
I made the comment on my Facebook and Twitter that maybe LeBron should have taken note from the book of the Browns' Josh Cribbs on how to be loyal to your fans that have given you so much when it comes to these business decisions. One of my friends asked if I was referring to the same Josh Cribbs that publicly dissed the Browns organization. Yes, the same Josh Cribbs that dogged an organization that was not treating him fairly. It was the same stance that any employee would have made to their boss if they were not being properly rewarded for the above-average work they were putting in. Cribbs loves playing for the Browns and deserved to be paid more than what his contract orginally stated, just like when someone working for a corporate firm makes a badass deal and gets a promotion. He made it clear that he loves the fans and that none of his actions had to do with them. He never made a scene in front of national TV that he knew would hurt so many.
The other thing I learned most from all this besides trusting my instincts is that it is possible to change your opinion of someone overnight, just by one action, whether it be simple or extreme. Now that LeBron is out, Cleveland fans are saying how it is proof that Cleveland will always be Browns town. Football season isn't for another couple months, but I cannot wait. Cribbs might not completely realize it yet but he is now going to become the new face of the city. Let's just hope that our opinion of him will always remain one of respect.
