This is not fueled by LeBron's new Rise commercial, it's fueled by the beginning of the NBA season and the debut tonight of the greatest player in the game getting ready for his new challenge. You wanna know how I feel about LeBron's summer?
I’m over it, it’s that easy. Prior to July 8th, 2010 I spent the last two years of my life dreaming that LeBron James would don the Knicks orange and Blue for the 2010-2011 season. Like many of my other dreams, it didn’t come to fruition, and I have to be an adult and move forward.
I was so angry during “The Decision,” and at LeBron for taking the easy road and playing with other elite players. I was mainly angry because he wasn’t coming to resurrect my dying (still) franchise, but a big part of me was disappointed that he could have been known as the guy who had a team built around him and won despite having another great player next to him. He went from being the guy who kept climbing the ladder of greatness, to the guy who took the elevator. Say what you want about Kobe, but at least when he asked for the team to be built around him instead of Shaq, he made good on his word and won HIS franchise two more championships (for now). It would’ve been great to see LeBrons’ hard work and diligence pay off with him winning with role players, but I think it’s unfair to take away from his greatness if he goes out and wins with two fellow Olympians instead.
Moving forward, it was his choice, it’s his life, and although he’s never won anything, it’s his league. He didn’t lose his title as the King because he went to Miami, he’s still the same player, but now he has help. Would you have been angry at Kevin Garnett if he would’ve signed with a powerhouse when he had his chance to get out of dreadful Minnesota? Cleveland had seven years of LeBron, they were very fortunate he resigned with them in the first place, and while I feel bad for the whole city of Cleveland, the NBA is a business and LeBron made what he felt was the best business decision.
He signed with a team that was in a location he liked, is owned by a man he respects, and is run by one of the greatest basketball minds of all time. Step outside of your box as a fan of the Knicks, Bulls, Cavs, Nets, whoever, the writing has always been on the wall for LeBron to upgrade his situation, and he did as good of a job as he could’ve with Miami. This has created an incredible storyline for the NBA and is really going to show us how good LeBron is with that big bulls-eye everyone’s painted on him this summer.
You can hate him for putting on a show, making a spectacle of his signing, and breaking the hearts of millions, but that’s not all on him. How can you be mad at LeBron for having an hour special about his signing when his free agency had been the biggest story in basketball for the last year and a half? If it feeds into his ego then so be it, he’s been a professional athlete for seven years (10 if you include the circus that was his high school experience) and every year there are more fans, there are more endorsements, there’s more attention being given to this man for one thing, what he can do on a basketball court.
If anything he’s better now than he’s ever been, so why hate him now? I’m not rooting for the Heat by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m a happy basketball fan knowing that the LeBron James season starts tonight.
NBA Season Preview up tomorrow...
1 comment:
People are forgetting that the hatred for LeBron has much more to do with "The Decision" than anything about where he decided to play. People want athletes to be superhuman. If LeBron can be worth countless of millions because of his image why can't fans and consumers expect to have an influence on his decisions? It is our adoration that makes him well over 50% of his income. It's US that even makes it possible for that stupid TV stunt to make money. If we don't like it we have every right to lash out at him. Everybody who says all LeBron has to do is win to regain his popularity is wrong. If this Heat team wins 70 plus games my guess is the rest of the league and country is going to be PRAYING for somebody to take these guys out.
I also HATE it when people say "souf" instead of "south".
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