Oh, the horror. The horror of ESPN, the NBA and three free agents that decided to captivate the viewing audience. You know, for a long time I’ve been saying that the NHL needs to market their players like the NBA does…um, yeah, after watching THAT fiasco, I’d like to strike that from the record. Turst me, I’m a NBA guy, but this is the sort of garbage that makes the NBA seem like small time in Buffalo. No one in Buffalo likes a pro athlete that is an egomaniac and tries to force his brand upon thee.
Anyways, I’m sure we have all read the fallout from this. I mean, choose a topic:
1) James is an egomaniac.
2) Cleveland is cursed.
3) Dan Gilbert is awesome/kind of stupid.
4) ESPN is complete propaganda.
5) Jim Gray is just god awful.
6) Who the hell is Maverick Carter?
7) James made the right business and winning decision.
However, there is a dark sort of lining (opposite of the silver one) that affects WNY that not many people have written about. No, it’s not that Cleveland is our stepbrother and we feel their pain. It’s the pain that small market teams are getting smaller and the little guy is getting littler. Yes, Buffalo, we are the little guy. The whole James fiasco was all about catering to corporations and growing LJ’s brand. It was about sending the message that parting in a bigger city and sharing the wealth with others are bigger than ruling a smaller city. It was about telling athletes that the only way you can make it as a true star is if you do it in a bigger venue.
You see, all of this could have been avoided if Chris Bosh would have chosen to play basketball in Cleveland. By all accounts, LeBron James tried recruiting Bosh to come to Cleveland, but the so-called star player, didn’t want to take his talents to Ohio. He wanted South Beach, the ocean, the women and the nightlife. As for James, what would have happened if he played in New York City for the first seven years of his career? Hmmm, Something tells me that Bosh might have been more receptive in going there instead of The mistake by the lake or even South Beach.
Look, I’d be the first to say that Miami has more amenities than Cleveland, but you’re a fricken multi-millionaire! I’m sorry, but if I were that rich, I could party on either the Island of Samoa, Tatooine, the Hoth System or Miami and still have a great time. Plus, there’s this thing called an offseason, you know, you could always go down to Florida during that time and party like a rock star.
Now, don’t kid yourself in thinking that James and Bosh were the only ones that wanted Miami. The NBA and ESPN were salivating at the thought of having Miami Thrice play in a major market like South Florida. Sure, if the trio decided to pick up their stuff and goto Memphis, it would still make ESPN a ton of money, but not as much as in a market like Miami. Again, it’s just another way to shrink the small market. There’s a reason why the Bills get little to no exposure on ESPN. Yes, them sucking happens to be a major reason, but it’s because of the size of the city. It doesn’t matter how bad the LAs or New Yorks of the world get. They will always receive more exposure -even if their teams suck- over small market teams that are successful. In other words, it’s the size that matters, not necessarily how you use it (Um, ill).
Here are some of the factors on how the television exposure and the beaches of Miami can affect Buffalo. I’ve always talked about how my biggest worry in the Marshawn Lynch fiasco is his relationship with Buffalo. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, when your agent and teammates come out and say the cops in Buffalo are racist rogues, it doesn’t bold well for the Bills to court other players to come here. Cities like Buffalo, Cleveland and Pittsburgh can’t afford to have issues like those affect the recruiting efforts. Yes, I know, Lynch brought all of this onto himself, but football players talk to one another. What? You don’t think Willis McGahee hasn’t told his former University of Miami teammates that the nightlife in Buffalo sucks? Those things matter and some players want to take their talents to the sexy markets.
Bottom line: James going to Miami is just another nail in the coffin of stars NOT wanting to play in a small venue. Besides the players, you can blame it on ESPN, the beaches and corporate America for that. It’s as if the world has gotten smaller, but the money has gotten a whole lot bigger.
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More Quick Hits on James:
-Yes, Dan Gilbert totally drunk dialed his ex-girlfriend with his statement on The King. I’m sure the biggest problem for Gilbert will be on how that statement attracts or detracts other NBA stars from coming to Cleveland. You see, NBA players are probably the closest fraternity in all of sports. From New York to LA, star players are friends till the end. I’m sure some players are going to look at that statement as an indictment against Gilbert. Sorry, but Byron Scott can say all he wants that Gilbert wants to win, but in the NBA, sometimes, it’s how you get treated by your organization that matters more than whether the owner wants to win. Yes, I know, Gilbert let James do his own thing, but this wouldn’t be the first time a star player had his say like James did-
-As a fan, I loved the Gilbert statement. I would have been so pissed off had James left my team and pretty much kicked sand in my face on national TV. Having your owner come out and yell at the top of his lungs that James is a jerk and then guarantees a championship is something that I wish our local owners would take on. Hell, you have one owner who makes stupid jokes after his team embarrasses themselves after games (Toronto game vs Miami comes to mind). Then you get the other owner, who only appears on paid infomercials to discuss what he has been doing since moving out of New York State. Sorry, but that’s NOT the sort of passion I would love to hear-
-What would have happened if Tom Golisano released a similar statement after Drury/Briere left Buffalo? Yes, I know, the situations are totally different. However, if you believe the Sabres, Drury did choose New York’s money over Buffalo’s. Maybe some in Buffalo would have rallied around Billionaire Tom if he guaranteed a championship. Then again, it’s Tom Golisano, and unless politics are involved, he just doesn’t care as much-
-BTW, the NBA totally wins in this debacle. Miami has all of sudden become the New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, Ivan Drago, and Darth Vader of the NBA. Fans love to watch a team that is hated. They drool over the notion of seeing teams that they despise, fall flat on their faces. Those are going to be monster ratings when Miami takes on Boston, Chicago, Cleveland and LA. Personally, I haven’t hated a NBA team like this since the Bulls of the 90’s-
-As for what happens with the Heat on the court, how can you go wrong with them? Yes, there bench may be thin, but I’m sure they will find some vets who will be willing to take the minimum to play with those guys. The only question mark for the Heat is whether they can play team defense. That’s the biggest reason the Celtics were so successful when Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett joined Paul Pierce. Even with the edition of Bosh, the Heat are pretty small up front and don’t seem to have the toughness that the Celtics and Lakers possess-
-Can we lose the whole “These guys are going to have great chemistry because of the 2008 Olympics?” I’m sorry, but the competition they went up against aren’t even close to what they will be facing in the NBA. Plus, the majority of the players on team USA played like 20 minutes a game-
-BTW, who the hell is Chris Bosh? Here’s a guy that has never won a playoff series and he totally rode the coattails of Wade and James during this free agency period. That guy is the epitome of wanting to play in a larger market to get noticed. Did Pierce and Dirk Nowitski come out and say: “HEY! Look at me! I’m a free agent and I want the world to know that I’m so awesome.”-
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