LeBron

I know this is a blog about the Cincinnati Bearcats, but all of this LeBron James bullshit has made me want to post something here. Great people are writing many, many, many, many things elsewhere on the web (pretend I inserted a ton of links here), and this is the opposite of that. Unlike them, I didn’t have a huge problem with the special. Granted, I only watched up until the part LeBron said “I’m going to South” and turned it back on the Reds game. The reason I didn’t have a problem with the special was because what the fuck else was ESPN going to show? World Cup something? Another wank off show? It wasn’t like they bumped a baseball game, or a 30 for 30 or anything interesting. Tons of people ended up watching, so that was a success for them. The biggest complaint out of all of this has been that LeBron is out of touch, a dick, has no emotions, and that the awful Jim Gray was involved. That was my biggest problem Jim Gray. LeBron is of course out of touch. He’s never been IN touch. He’s been living in a bubble since he was a sophomore in high school. Should he have said something about not wanting to upset Cleveland instead of talking about his fingernails? Yes. But really, would that have calmed down the Cleveland fans? Fuck no. Cleveland fans knew LeBron was leaving when he signed his 3 year extension a few years ago. 3 to be exact. I’m just happy that LeBron didn’t go to New York. Mainly because fuck New York. That sentiment will change when, like a hipster blogger, I move to New York in the autumn and fall in love with the Big Apple. Then I will say things like, “LeBron should have come to New York, you don’t need a car!” “Have you seen MSG? More like OMG, am I right?” “I like eating Subway while on the subway! LOLZ!” I would do all this wearing a red Yankees hat and a Jeter jersey. Don’t fret, I own no Yankees  hats, or Jeter jerseys. I totally got off topic here. I think we need a new paragraph.

This is much better. LeBron is very good. Chris Bosh is good. Dwayne Wade is very good. In fact, he’s my favorite NBA player. It’s mainly blind Conference USA loyalty, and the triple double he gloriously dropped on Kentucky in the Elite 8, but he’s my favorite. I don’t see how this tarnishes LeBron’s legacy by playing with them. Maybe it’s because I don’t understand the NBA. In college all the best players don’t mind playing together. In the NFL the best play together as well. Same with MLB, where sometimes the best players at the same position play together. I’m thinking A-Rod and Jeter on that one. But in the NBA, this is somehow seen as a stupid move by LeBron. It’s a cop out I’ve heard them say. How? Isn’t wanting to be on the best team what you want to do? Why would it be better for LeBron to stay in Cleveland, or go to New York where he’s not guaranteed to have a top 3 team in the East? Why does his legacy need him to be the alpha dog? Can’t he play on a team with his friends and legitimately compete for the title every year? Why does it matter who takes the shots in crunch time? Can’t they take turns? Can’t they go with whoever has the hot hand? How many times a year is that even going to be an issue? Like 6? 10? Of course, I know the answer is because the NBA is the most selfish team sport there is. It might as well be an individual sport half the time. I think LeBron made the right move. I probably won’t root for Miami, because I dedicated my NBA fandom to the Sonics and Bulls in the 90s, but I will absolutely root for them if they are playing Boston, the Lakers, or Orlando. I never got into Orlando. Not even during Shaq and Penny. Mainly because I hated Penny. I went for the Rockets in that series. Add Atlanta to that too. I think I don’t like Atlanta just because they wore the stupid uniforms with the bird stretched across them. I hated those jerseys. If we are getting to the point that I’m talking about jerseys I hate, maybe I have nothing more to add.

Oh wait, I do. Dan Gilbert is kinda awesome for popping off in his email and to the AP. As a non-NBA fan for the most part, I like the bravado. I like the fact he accused LeBron of quitting. I like the fact he writes in comic sans. If I were a Cleveland fan, I would be horrified. What a fucking douche that guy is. If you were anyone good, would you sign in Cleveland, knowing that if you wanted out the owner would rip you behind your back? What about LeBron’s friends still on Cleveland? If you were Mo Williams, would you like it if your owner accused your friend of tanking and causing you to lose? I don’t think so. Dan Gilbert should have probably shut the fuck up. He should have been the bigger man. He should have said “We thank LeBron for all  he did in Cleveland, and while he didn’t thank us or whatever so far, we know that he cares about Cleveland and is disappointed that we didn’t win. Good luck in Miami.” Even if you don’t mean it, just put out the appearance that you are the bigger man, and LeBron will be forced to do something nice.

In the end, this all boils down to millionaires with millionaire problems, the sports media having nothing to talk about in the boring summer, ESPN wanting ratings and not caring about anything else, and lots of fans caught in the middle. Oh one more thing, why would you burn your LeBron jersey? Why not give it to goodwill? I can understand not going to the games, but there are lots of people who aren’t well to do who need tank tops. Think of them before you burn the next jersey.