Let's be real. There will never, ever, be another Michael Jordan. At least not in our lifetime. It's time to get over it. LeBron had the whole world in his hands a few years ago. We cheered him for attempting to bring his hometown a championship. After failure, we thought he would be back soon. Cleveland, along with everyone else in America who didn't have a die hard allegiance to a team, were Witnesses, myself included. Then in one foul swoop last summer, we all despised him. We, 99.8% of us despised him. The other .2% were people in Miami and myself.
I don't consider myself a Miami Heat fan. However, I admit, I want LeBron to succeed. I didn't think it would happen this year. The Big 3 almost exceeded my expectations. But the hatred from everyone else is a tad bit much, very distasteful, and quite annoying. This man did what he had every right to do, accept another job. I still maintain that the media stream had as much to do with the "Decision" as LeBron did. It was the media that was going goo-goo ga-ga in '08, claiming that the summer of '10 would be a free agency explosion. It was the media that chronicled every millisecond of LBJ's life since the moment he took off his jersey after losing to Boston in the playoffs. The "Decision" was the easiest way to answer the question that hundreds of thousands of people asked one person everyday. Did Boston care? Were the Lakers worried? No. Cleveland was bitter because they have been once again relegated to cellar dwellers in the NBA. Chicago was mad because they lost the contest. Everybody else was mad because they didn't have a chance. Get over it. Cleveland, your best deal to help LeBron deliver you a title was Antawn Jamison? You deserve to lose. Chicago, LeBron and D-Rose would have been a great 1-2 punch. You're doing alright without one of them.
Is LeBron guilty for teaming up with another superstar or two? Perhaps. But if so, he's not the only one. What about Clyde Drexler not being able to beat Jordan, so he goes to Houston to win a title with The Dream? What about Boston's Big 3 joining together? Did Shaq not go to Hollywood and win a few? What about the future of the NBA? Are we going to hate every player from here on out who decides he wants to go play somewhere else to win? It's not realistic. This is a new era in sports. This isn't the 1990s. This is the 21st century. We fire coaches after one season. We thrive on the instant fix. We have no perspective on the future. We want what we want, and we want it now. And because the Heat did not win the championship this year, he's a failure.
Guess what? LeBron's not retiring, at least for another 8 - 9 years. The Heat need more role players in order to accomplish their goal. Pat Riley doesn't like losing. We have not heard the last of the Miami Heat. LeBron didn't have his best showing in the Finals. He probably will be criticized until he wins one. It's not his fault. There's 11 other players on the Heat's roster that failed. Eric Spolestra failed to make adjustments. And let's give credit where its due. Rick Carlisle did a phenomenal coaching job. All the role players for Dallas progressively improved throughout the series. And Dirk, well, he went to another level.
Lebron has been excessively and repeatedly described as an arrogant asshole. If we step back and look at both of those words, we should find that he isn't the only one. Throughout the time of sports, those who have been pegged as the "greatest" of their field, have been arrogant at some point or another. Face it, you have to be even a little arrogant to be great. Those who are great and humble are in the minority. They include Peyton Manning, Hank Aaron, and others. And even they were arrogant at some point. Others like Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, even Kobe Bryant, are cocky. They had to be in order to succeed. I thought that Kobe was a pompous prick back in the day. Guess what? He has 5 rings to show for it. Did you see Michael's Hall of Fame induction speech? That was the most self-centered speech I have ever heard. As for asshole, or bad person, that's just not fair. LeBron has not committed a crime. He hasn't cheated on his wife (Tiger, Kobe, many other athletes). He doesn't have a problem (Charles and MJ - gambling). All he has done is play a game. And all he did was switch teams. If that makes him a bad person, then look at yourself in the mirror. Nobody is perfect.
This season is all said and done. We overanalyzed, overwatched, overdid every single little thing that the Miami Heat did this season. Next season, let's just watch basketball, as fake and entertainment-driven as the NBA is. LeBron is guilty because of our jealousy and bitterness. Not because he did something wrong. His punishment: expansion of the "HATE HEAT" and "LeBum" population. Not even winning a title soon will drop the charges. I'm convinced he's OK with that. I have lived life not letting things that you cannot control bother you. I'm sure LeBron is thinking the same way.
