![I’m not mad at LeBron. How can anyone be mad at LeBron? Disapointed? Sure. Expectations are super high. Sad? Yes! We all want the King on our team. But angry? Definitely not.
Take a step back, just for one second. A 25 year-old just had to make the toughest decision of his life, a decision that affected millions and millions of people. LeBron was in a lose-lose situation. Nothing he said or did could make everyone happy. And in the end, he made a lot of people sad. But that was always going to happen. When LeBron announced his intentions to “take [his] talents to South Beach,” he let a lot people down. That was inevitable. There was no way around it.
From a branding aspect, the move is not good. First, not sure why he decided to have a one hour national TV special just to announce he was leaving Cleveland. That’s a rough way to let your home town and home state know of the worst sports moment they’ve ever experienced, arguably. He promised he wouldn’t leave Cleveland without a championship. But after seven seasons without a ring, LeBron decided he’d had enough. The city of Cleveland has a right to be upset, but they should be more angry with their organization, for not bringing the proper pieces to help the King win his ring in seven years. Second, LeBron immediately & permanently falls out of a lot of people’s conversation about “best ever.” No matter what he does in the league from now on, James will always be criticized by many for not being able to win without two superstars.
LeBron is all about legacy. The logical legacy decision would have been to stay in Ohio and find a way to win for his home state. This day LeBron left Cleveland behind will always be looked at, and Cleveland will likely never forgive him. But LeBron felt like that wasn’t going to be possible to win there, so he decided to leave. He wants to be a billionaire. He wants to be the best ever. With this move, he might have thrown both of those out the window. But who really knows?
When it comes down to it, LeBron just wants to play with friends and win some championships. That’s it. And who’s to blame him? Sure, I’d think LeBron, being the competitor he is, should want to play against Wade & Bosh, not with them. But no one, besides LeBron James has ever lived a day in LeBron James’ shoes. When was the last time you had to make that kind of a choice? Be careful before you judge. He didn’t seem happy about the decision he made, but he did seem confident. And if that’s the way he felt, that’s the decision he had to make.
As a sports fan, I’m excited to see these three play together. I’m intrigued by what they could potentially do on the same court. They could win five straight rings. On the other hand, they could implode. Will I root for the Heat? Probably not. But I don’t respect any of them any less for wanting to team up and give it a go.
These are just my initial thoughts. Many more to come.
Update: I think expectations are so, so, so high for LeBron James. We all wanted him to be the “perfect” superstar… A team player… A relentless competitor… LeBron has always tried to stand somewhere in between. You know what made Michael Jordan so great? He didn’t give a f*ck! He just wanted to win. He made sure he did his part to get his done, and he made sure his teammates did their parts, too. Over the past two seasons, between walking off the court without shaking hands in ‘09 & then seemingly giving up a bit in ‘10, we’ve seen a bit of LeBron’s true character. He has been under insane pressure since he picked up a basketball. Pressure to win, to make money, to make people happy, to bring happiness and good fortune to an entire city & state. And while it’s horrible to see LeBron leave Cleveland (I really feel bad for them), I just can’t blame him for the decision he made. Just how I feel.
Update 2: Stay classy, Dan Gilbert! The Cleveland Cavs’ owner, wrote a scathing, hateful, and obnoxious letter to Cavs fans. While I understand his reasons for writing it, I think it’s completely tasteless. Take some of the blame, Dan! You are to blame, too, for never winning a championship with LBJ. You had seven years! You messed up. And what do you think this letter does for future stars you try to bring in? Not the kind of ownership, necessarily, that players want to play for. I understand initial disappointment, but I hope this intense hatred for LBJ coming out of Ohio does not last forever. All of this LeBron hatred in general frustrates me. I like LeBron a lot. I’ve definitely been disappointed by LBJ, but this is ridiculous.
Update 3: Funny, but this move makes Kobe looks a lot better in my eyes. And I HATE Kobe. Kobe has never pretended to be someone he’s not. He’s a relentless competitor and very similar to Michael Jordan in his mentality. LeBron, for me, was going to be the anti-Kobe, the perfect superstar. And he’s not. Sigh. WHY did he have to have an hour-long ESPN special to announce that decision?! WHY?! LeBron set himself up for disaster with that one. Bad move.
Update 4: Great article from J.A. Adande. Boy, did LeBron damage his reputation and his legacy last night. Still don’t blame LeBron, but he brought all of this upon himself. He had to have known this would happen.
Update 5: The shock is really starting to hit me. Had so many expectations for LBJ and never had a doubt he would fulfill them. The game of basketball will forever be different because of this move. It’s tough to realize we’re not going to witness the best player ever to play the game. Seems LBJ just wants to win some championships. Not thinking long-term. Maverick Carter is an idiot. LeBron was foolish not to go with more established representation.
Update 6: Done for now. http://twitter.com/gosam/status/18126880429](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l59sniFm531qzx6igo1_400.jpg)
I’m not mad at LeBron. How can anyone be mad at LeBron? Disapointed? Sure. Expectations are super high. Sad? Yes! We all want the King on our team. But angry? Definitely not.
Take a step back, just for one second. A 25 year-old just had to make the toughest decision of his life, a decision that affected millions and millions of people. LeBron was in a lose-lose situation. Nothing he said or did could make everyone happy. And in the end, he made a lot of people sad. But that was always going to happen. When LeBron announced his intentions to “take [his] talents to South Beach,” he let a lot people down. That was inevitable. There was no way around it.
From a branding aspect, the move is not good. First, not sure why he decided to have a one hour national TV special just to announce he was leaving Cleveland. That’s a rough way to let your home town and home state know of the worst sports moment they’ve ever experienced, arguably. He promised he wouldn’t leave Cleveland without a championship. But after seven seasons without a ring, LeBron decided he’d had enough. The city of Cleveland has a right to be upset, but they should be more angry with their organization, for not bringing the proper pieces to help the King win his ring in seven years. Second, LeBron immediately & permanently falls out of a lot of people’s conversation about “best ever.” No matter what he does in the league from now on, James will always be criticized by many for not being able to win without two superstars.
LeBron is all about legacy. The logical legacy decision would have been to stay in Ohio and find a way to win for his home state. This day LeBron left Cleveland behind will always be looked at, and Cleveland will likely never forgive him. But LeBron felt like that wasn’t going to be possible to win there, so he decided to leave. He wants to be a billionaire. He wants to be the best ever. With this move, he might have thrown both of those out the window. But who really knows?
When it comes down to it, LeBron just wants to play with friends and win some championships. That’s it. And who’s to blame him? Sure, I’d think LeBron, being the competitor he is, should want to play against Wade & Bosh, not with them. But no one, besides LeBron James has ever lived a day in LeBron James’ shoes. When was the last time you had to make that kind of a choice? Be careful before you judge. He didn’t seem happy about the decision he made, but he did seem confident. And if that’s the way he felt, that’s the decision he had to make.
As a sports fan, I’m excited to see these three play together. I’m intrigued by what they could potentially do on the same court. They could win five straight rings. On the other hand, they could implode. Will I root for the Heat? Probably not. But I don’t respect any of them any less for wanting to team up and give it a go.
These are just my initial thoughts. Many more to come.
Update: I think expectations are so, so, so high for LeBron James. We all wanted him to be the “perfect” superstar… A team player… A relentless competitor… LeBron has always tried to stand somewhere in between. You know what made Michael Jordan so great? He didn’t give a f*ck! He just wanted to win. He made sure he did his part to get his done, and he made sure his teammates did their parts, too. Over the past two seasons, between walking off the court without shaking hands in ‘09 & then seemingly giving up a bit in ‘10, we’ve seen a bit of LeBron’s true character. He has been under insane pressure since he picked up a basketball. Pressure to win, to make money, to make people happy, to bring happiness and good fortune to an entire city & state. And while it’s horrible to see LeBron leave Cleveland (I really feel bad for them), I just can’t blame him for the decision he made. Just how I feel.
Update 2: Stay classy, Dan Gilbert! The Cleveland Cavs’ owner, wrote a scathing, hateful, and obnoxious letter to Cavs fans. While I understand his reasons for writing it, I think it’s completely tasteless. Take some of the blame, Dan! You are to blame, too, for never winning a championship with LBJ. You had seven years! You messed up. And what do you think this letter does for future stars you try to bring in? Not the kind of ownership, necessarily, that players want to play for. I understand initial disappointment, but I hope this intense hatred for LBJ coming out of Ohio does not last forever. All of this LeBron hatred in general frustrates me. I like LeBron a lot. I’ve definitely been disappointed by LBJ, but this is ridiculous.
Update 3: Funny, but this move makes Kobe looks a lot better in my eyes. And I HATE Kobe. Kobe has never pretended to be someone he’s not. He’s a relentless competitor and very similar to Michael Jordan in his mentality. LeBron, for me, was going to be the anti-Kobe, the perfect superstar. And he’s not. Sigh. WHY did he have to have an hour-long ESPN special to announce that decision?! WHY?! LeBron set himself up for disaster with that one. Bad move.
Update 4: Great article from J.A. Adande. Boy, did LeBron damage his reputation and his legacy last night. Still don’t blame LeBron, but he brought all of this upon himself. He had to have known this would happen.
Update 5: The shock is really starting to hit me. Had so many expectations for LBJ and never had a doubt he would fulfill them. The game of basketball will forever be different because of this move. It’s tough to realize we’re not going to witness the best player ever to play the game. Seems LBJ just wants to win some championships. Not thinking long-term. Maverick Carter is an idiot. LeBron was foolish not to go with more established representation.
Update 6: Done for now. http://twitter.com/gosam/status/18126880429
