Never in a million years did I think that the world's premiere athlete agreeing to take less money and becoming a role player would make me so nauseated. For the better part of my lifetime, I've heard critics bemoan arrogant athletes for putting themselves ahead of the greater good and yet on the surface that's exactly what it seems LeBron James has done.
Let me preface this by saying I've never really been a basketball fan. I grew up in the era of Michael Jordan and by the time I was a senior in high school watching the Bulls win NBA titles was boring. But when the free agency a-bomb was dropped on the NBA this summer, I became sucked into the entire fiasco. I guess it's because I'm a big listener of WSCR The Score sports radio in Chicago and have been bombarded by up to the hour updates of where the these mercenaries were heading. Three weeks ago, I had no clue who Chris Bosh and Carlos Boozer were and today I hate the Miami Heat with same fire and passion usually reserved for the 90's Dallas Cowboys and the everyday New York Yankees.
Free agents leaving for greener pastures is nothing new, my Mom wept when Greg Maddox left the Cubs for Atlanta, but something about this feels different. I can't remember a time when a guy who, for all intents and purposes, was "the man" stepped back and decided to be "the other guy."
The former King would like to have us believe that this is a victory in the name of teamwork. As a high school coach, I see athletes who think they are greater than the team all the time and each time we wish they were a little more cognoscente of the bigger picture. On the surface, that seems to be exactly what happened on ESPN's laughable "The Decision." The three of the best players in the game have formed a Juggernaught in South Beach (why call it Miami? LBJ doesn't) for the greater good of the NBA.
The truth is LeBron James isn't a leader and if you watch the phenomenal documentary "More Than A Game" you can see that he never has been. LeBron followed his friends and AAU coach to St. Vincent-St. Mary's. He certainly wasn't the leader of the St. V's team, he was actually the most immature and self-absorbed. The film would have you believe that the Irish's loss in the 2002 Ohio State Championship changed James' life and refocused his dedication. Guess not. Guess the South Beach Clubs have more to offer the King than being the focal point of an NBA dynasty. Perhaps the King was wearing a crown of thorns and it was just too much for him. I guess a beer helmet will rest more comfortably on his head. Sort of a fitting analogy for a who crucified himself on a downtown Cleveland billboard.
While LeBron might have cashed in his legacy, this could the event that finally cements Kobe Bryant's. Kobe had his fair share of issues in his youth but since then, he's been a man driven to succeed and surpass his idols. Could slaying the three-headed monster in Miami be what finally makes us call Kobe "the greatest?"
