TheBron
I am a casual fan of NBA basketball, but I am a baseball fanatic. With that said, I do and do not understand the controversy surrounding LeBron James’ decision to leave Cleveland for Miami via free agency.
Professional sports are a spectacle, as much theater as athleticism. I love the soap opera dramatics that play out in the press...very entertaining. I 'love' the Mets and 'hate' the Yankees (and Braves and Phillies and...), but these are 'sports' emotions not real emotions. I've been known to chant "Yankees suck! Yankees suck!" during games, but if fact, the Yankees actually don't 'suck' they are really good. It doesn't matter though. When I'm involved in watching a Mets game I play the part. If David Wright, my favorite Met, leaves the Mets for the Yankees when becomes a free agent I will 'hate' him. If he makes his decision on a prime-time ESPN special, I will REALLY hate him. But again, baseball (like all sports) is a business, and you can't really blame a person for doing what's best for themselves. Likewise though, that player has to realize that what's best for them may not be what’s best for the fans, and they are going to let them know it! That's part of the deal. In the end, always remember: you can't really love or hate anything that can't love or hate you back.
This is why I am enjoying the LeBron James free agent drama so much. LeBron probably could have made more money and have become a bigger star playing in New York, but he chose to join a team that has great chance of winning a championship very soon. I admire that. I might be the only one. Sports writers are accusing him of taking the easy way out and being a coward! It's true that if LeBron had stayed with his hometown Cavaliers and won a championship, he would go down in NBA history as a Michael Jordon type player. Jordon spent years leading the Bulls from failure to glory, but that's not what James wants to do. He has chosen to become one of three superstars on a team that might win a bunch of championships. I don’t' see why that is bad.
With all that said, the way he left the Cavs, with the whole "Decision" ESPN special, was pathetic. And I loved it! Now, the best thing EVER is how the owner of the Cavaliers responded: with an emotional open letter posted on the front page of the Cavaliers web site! I had no idea that the NBA allowed owners to post anything they want on team pages! I would think that all the content is very closely scrutinized. I bet his letter was typed by him personally on his computer then copy and pasted onto the site. He used the Comic Sans font, a font not used by any respectable web designer. Yikes! This is no press release reviewed by the Team's or the League's PR people. What I like about the letter is that it is 'real', dripping with emotion. You just don't see that much anymore on official websites. I don't agree with a bunch of what the letter says, but I absolutely love that he has poured his heart out.
In the end, none of this matters. The Magic will win the Championship next year while the three Heat superstars will have a massive clash of egos. They probably won't even make the playoffs. ***Jinx!!!***
Open Letter to Fans from Cavaliers Majority Owner Dan Gilbert
