LeBron, Loyalty, and the Suffering of Cleveland Sports Fans
Written By: Andrew | Category: Cleveland Cavaliers | Comments: 107
Loyalty in sports is dead. It’s been dead for quite some time, actually, but we’ve been too blissfully ignorant to open our hearts and let the truth in. We deluded ourselves into believing that even though Cleveland continuously gets stomped on and left behind by stars, that LeBron was going to be different. He’s from here, so he’s going to be the one to change everything. We heard for 7 years about what a loyal person LeBron is and how he loves this community and the people here and how he understands what it is to be a Cleveland sports fan.
The only problem is, we all forgot that loyalty in sports is dead. I guess we asked for this pain by daring to give our hearts to a spoiled millionaire athlete and to a spoiled billionaire owner, but for those of us who really truly care, that’s what sports is all about.
And so it is that we’ve been burned again. You’d think we’d be used to it by now. You’d think we’d have some kind of defense mechanism that evolved within our psyche to numb us from the misery and anguish. This is so real, though, that there’s no possible way to desensitize ourselves to it.
I’ll get to more specifics on The Decision and what it all says and what it means to me in a minute, but first I need to dive deeper into this experience as a Cleveland sports fan. It would be easy to look at this as us just wallowing in our own misery and wearing it as a point of pride….as a way of proving how much more it means to us because of the pain we’ve been through. There’s some truth in there somewhere, but we didn’t ask for this. For most of us, we didn’t even choose it. This was a birthright handed down to us by our fathers.
Cleveland isn’t a hotspot, it’s not known as a destination city. People don’t migrate to NE Ohio in droves. There isn’t a massive University that brings in people from around the world like Ohio State in Columbus. As a result, while Columbus is a mix bag of people from many different backgrounds, Cleveland is a home grown town. People there have been there for generation after generation and sports is not only intertwined into the DNA, but the rooting interests of the local teams is something passed on from birth.
Living in Columbus, it’s fascinating to see how almost every single one of my friends is from somewhere other than Columbus. It’s the reason why there’s a diversity of rooting interests in sports (other than the common bond of OSU, of course). I truly love Columbus and it has become my home, but I am always envious of the culture of Cleveland. The plight of the Cleveland sports fan, though, is something that gives us all a common bond, and for most of us, we can’t fathom it being any other way.
I’m not trying to say this is the only place that it works like this, but I’m just trying to drive home the point that this isn’t what any of us signed up for. It’s not a choice. It’s just who we are. And I know, I just know, that people are going to take delight in our misery and others will call us classless and will take Dan Gilbert to task for his letter (again, we’ll get to this later as well), but I’m sorry, unless you’ve been a lifelong Cleveland sports fan, you cannot possibly fathom what this is like.
To be perpetually stabbed in the back by our heroes, to face continuous reminders of the seemingly endless string of painful losses in the most heartbreaking manner possible on the biggest stages, to having our most beloved franchise torn away from us only to watch it win the Super Bowl in another city just a few years later…..and through it all we have the resiliency to get back up and to do it all over again. We move on to the next hero who we will put our hopes in, and ultimately, probably be let down by again. It’s who we are and it’s what we do.
So no, we don’t deserve this. No, we don’t revel in this latest devastation. But we will get back up from this and we will persevere as Cleveland sports fans. LeBron James took a lot from us last night, but I ask that we not let him take away our passion. That passions is ours and is what makes us who we are.
In a similar manner, then, I want to ask Cavs fans to please not turn your back on the franchise or on the NBA. Dan Gilbert’s letter may have been a lot of things to a lot of different people, but to us it was a rallying cry. For 7 years this franchise gave LeBron James literally everything he asked for. He didn’t ask the Cavs to make room for Wade and Bosh because he knew all along he was going to drive this stake through our hearts and spit on us by leaving for Miami, so instead he asked Dan Gilbert to mortgage the future flexibility of the team to try to give him one last chance at winning in Cleveland.
And when LeBron realized in Game 5 that he couldn’t beat Boston and that he was done in Cleveland, he quit on us. Even then, though, he couldn’t mercifully let us off the hook. No, instead, he dared us to still get our hopes up that he was staying even though he clearly knew all along that he was leaving. He lied to us all on Larry King and said we had the edge. Rather than just announcing with Wade and Bosh, he had to make us sweat nervously through 2 additional days. He challenged us to believe that we were still in the running. He leaked a far fetched story about how he was trying to recruit Bosh to Cleveland when it was a bunch of nonsense. The plan was hatched in China 2 years ago, and he all but admitted it on The Decision last night.
That’s the worst part. He didn’t have to do us like that. He didn’t have to continue to play with our emotions and string us along. He forced us to think that up to the very last day we had a chance, and as a result we all had to sit through those miserable last 2 days and he forced us all to watch his stupid little show on TV. We said there’s no way he’s going on national TV to do this to us. If he was going to Miami, he would have just announced it with Wade and Bosh. There’s just no way he’s going to destroy Ohio like that on TV. Except, he would, and he did.
So please, please, please don’t take the easy way out and just give up on this franchise. Take heart in what Dan Gilbert said last night. He is going to fight for us in a way that LeBron never did. We held our tongue on a lot of things with LeBron over the years because we wanted to show him the same support and loyalty we thought he was going to give us, and so did Dan Gilbert. So no, I’m not going to sit here and blame him for firing off that letter last night. I’m a little worried about the impact it could have on signing free agents in the future because LeBron is a very popular player with a ton of friends in the league and none of them probably thought it was too cool. But this was personal for Gilbert. It had to be. It may have “just been business” to LeBron, but it wasn’t business for us in Ohio. This was about as personal as it gets.
For LeBron to not even be a decent enough human being to be straight with Gilbert and give him a call and let him know before hand was so egregious. I can’t imagine the deep level of betrayal Gilbert must have felt after he did everything LeBron asked him to do over the years in belief the support and loyalty would be returned, only to have to watch The Decision on TV and find out the result like the rest of us. And then to find out that this was the plan all along, going all the way back to Beijing? Fine, maybe Gilbert could have taken the high road, but he gave us all a call to arms and something to believe in even in the wake of this disaster.
I will answer Gilbert’s call, of course, mostly because I love the NBA and my love is for the Cavaliers above all else. Yet I’ve heard so many people say they are done with the Cavs and/or the NBA, and it just breaks my heart even more. I hope everyone can find it in themselves to also answer the call and to continue to support this franchise. Gilbert is an owner who deserves and has earned our trust and support. I doubt he’ll be able to live up to his promise of giving us a Championship before LeBron wins one in the Heat. That’s how it works in the movies, but not in real life. But I’m excited to watch the Cavaliers try. It’s not going to be easy, and the Cavs now have a lot of work to do, but at least we know that our owner is not going to give up. I hope the fans don’t give up either.
We have a choice now. Do we give LeBron the satisfaction of this all being about him, or do we show him what true loyalty is and continue to support the Cavs and continue to go to games at The Q? We made the Q one of the premiere places to watch an NBA game, and it can continue if we want it to. It really can. We just have to continue to stand behind the team, continue to buy merchandise and tickets, and continue to show our passion.
In the coming days I’ll break down the cap for everyone and we’ll talk about the roster and where we go from here, but today is about reflection. I have no clue how to put the last 7 years into any kind of perspective. It wasn’t all for nothing, and it was the highlight of my life as a sports fan getting to watch a player like LeBron play every single night. That’s what I’ll miss the most. It will be far too painful to watch him play in Miami, and so now I’ll hardly ever get to watch him play anymore, and when I do, it will just bring back the deepest sports pain I have ever felt.
At some point I’ll probably be able to better appreciate everything he did for the Cavaliers and for the state of Ohio, but today it all feels so hollow because he just undid all the good deeds. It’s his right to do whatever he wants and he didn’t owe us anything. That’s not what this is about. Just because he didn’t owe us anything, though, it doesn’t mean that staying home wasn’t the right decision. The reason I have a problem with it is because of the lies about his intentions. It would have been nice to have known that what he really wanted was to be handed a Championship by Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The Cavs could have cut salary and tanked seasons too had they known. But he never even considered staying home, and that’s why it hurts so much more. We never even had a chance and we didn’t even know it. Now we all look like fools for actually believing he was decent enough to not put us all through this whole ordeal just to slay us on national TV in front of the entire world.
The joke was on us all along. After all, loyalty is dead is sports. Now we know for sure. Maybe this time we won’t forget.
Author: AndrewSchnitkey
Andrew Schnitkey is a founding editor of WaitingForNextYear. Though he has written about every Cleveland franchise over the years, his primary focus is the Cavaliers and NBA basketball in general.Andrew Schnitkey has written 533 articles for Waiting for Next Year.
“…so instead he asked Dan Gilbert to mortgage the future flexibility of the team…”
haha, Dan Gilbert, mortgage, Quicken Loans. Get it?
Absolutely wonderful piece. I feel no real pain now, it’s July and the weather is beautiful. But when its sleeting and dark in January and there’s nothing to watch on TV except for a Heat-Bulls tilt, I’ll feel some very real sadness and loss.
Great article, and I completely agree with you about supporting Gilbert and the Cavs. I’ve been a ghost fan of this website for quite some time, reading it each day but never commenting on articles. “The Decision,” however, has pushed me over the edge.
In my opinion, though, this is not about sports loyalty or about an all-star leaving his hometown; this is about hypocrisy. LBJ built his image on being the loyal, local hero. He has multiple tattoos on his body that confirm this purported commitment to Ohio, including my area code and the word “loyalty.” LBJ has made movies about Akron and has always professed to love his hometown and his home state. In short, he has improved his image and his bank account by associated himself with Ohio. As an Ohio native, I have no problem with a superstar leaving Cleveland to play on a better team or to live in a warmer climate or to even make more money. I accept the fact that an superstar has a right to change teams and move forward. What I don’t accept, however, is a superstar saying one thing and doing another. If basketball is just business, then don’t make it out to be more than that by building your image on hometown loyalty. You can’t have it both ways. If you do, then you are a hypocrite. I strongly believe that most Cleveland fans would have been fine with LBJ leaving as long as he was straightforward and classy about it. After the collapse, LBJ could have come out and said that while he does not know where he is going, he does know that he needs to move forward from Cleveland. People would have been angry, but they would have accepted it and accepted him. The idea that the hometown hero went on national television to destroy Ohio is what makes people sick.
If I had the means, I would go buy season tickets for the Cavs today.
Great post Rock.
Consider me not a ‘true fan’ of Lebron and a ‘true fan’ of the Cavs
Great article; pretty much sums up how I feel about this whole mess. The truly ironic thing is that we now have cap space but, because LeBron took so long in deciding, there is nobody left to spend it on.
The Alice in Chains song “Your Decision” is the perfect song to describe this event. Here’s a sample of some of the lyrics:
”Overwhelmed, you chose to run. Apathetic to the stunned”
“You feed the fire that burned us all When you lied”
“No one plans to take the path that brings you lower. And here you stand before us all and say it’s over. It’s over”
“It might seem an afterthought. Yes it hurts to know you’re bought”
As I said before I am such a bigger supportor of the Cavs after reading Gilbert’s letter than I was before Lebum left…
I am excited for the next chapter in Cavalier basketball and hope that Lebum regrets his decision until the day he dies…
Go Cavs!!!
My dream scenerio for this season, say the Heat get the 1 or 2 seed…and we sneak in the playoffs at 7 or 8 and upset Lebum and his new franchise…
On Rizzo’s show, somebody pointed out that all this time we were looking for a Pippen to LeBron’s Jordan, but now we find out that LeBron is actually Pippen and Wade is Jordan.
Amen, brutha.
I posted something similar last night. Like you, I’m a Cavs fan and basketball fan first, and for a glittering moment Lebron allowed me to revel in that for the first time in my adult life. He keeps saying he gave a lot to the Cavs, and he did, but he also took most of it away with the way in which he’s carried himself since he signed his extension. He all but admitted yesterday that the last three years have been a farce. Watching him smugly say how “humbling” the experience had been and talking about how his “real fans” will still follow him made me retch.
I’ll still watch the games (I don’t live in Ohio anymore so I can’t really go to them) and cheer for the team and agonize over the roster and trades and salary cap space, and I’ll do it as fervently as I have been for most of my life.
Go Cavs!
Great article! lebron has become so obsessed with himself he probably believes he IS Cleveland. Just look at how he referred to himself in third person last night, you don’t do that unless you have become self-obsessed that your ego now out-rivals your actual skill.
Great article. I’ve been so flip flopped about this whole thing. One hour I’m done with the NBA, the next I’m not. I think it’s just because of disgust and pain. Being “done with the NBA” is a defense mechanism to make sure this doesn’t happen to me again. But I’m a Cleveland sports fan but I must put this behind me and press on. I’ll let the #23 jersey hang in my closet, no it’s not going up in flames. But I do plan on buying a #2 Cavs jersey because I want to do my part to continue my support of the Cavs.
And to think I was so close to buying a James jersey this year…so glad I choose Jamison instead! Just saved myself a 75 dollar fire pit!
A few thoughts…
1)I am still convinced that he would have preferred to win in Cleveland. He just didnt think Cleveland quite had it, then saw somewhere that did. He needed to listen to some Kid Cudi.. “I’m on the pursuit of happiness and I know everything that shine aint gonna be gold”
2)Yes, he could of and should of given the Cavs more of a direction a few years ago. It came off as I want to win now rather than I want the best position to be surrounded by young talent and another All Star to win for years. In reality, he probably didn’t say much of anything, but interperetations were made
3)As much as I would like the Cavs to keep contending, I really feel that the most successful way would be to trade the assets that we still have for young talent and picks, save some money, and we sign an All-Star right before we have to pay the young guys to keep them. But… if Gilbert really thinks he can pull it off, I will support him
Check out this pic for a new billboard to replace Lebums.
http://www.cleveland.com/ohio-sports-blog/index.ssf/2010/07/josh_cribbs_tweets_a_pic_of_a.html
I Love it!
Whoa, hold on a sec.
Saying loyalty in sports is dead presupposes it ever existed. Sorry, it’s entertainment and always has been. We tend to infuse these games and players with our own fantasies until we imagine the type of relationship that maybe never existed. Disagree there was ever a time when a player altruistically remained to help a fanbase. Had unrestricted free agency existed in bygone eras Cleveland may not have kept any of its stars – the Jim Browns, Bob Fellers, Bernie. When a player chooses to stay it’s for his reasons – not ours – even if those reasons include his family is comfortable, he’s using his poplularity for side businesses, the fans love him, etc. And the same goes for owners, and fans. Frank Lane wasn’t “loyal” to Rocky Colavito, fans weren’t “loyal” to Earnest Byner after his mistakes.
Not defending how LeBron went about it. He’s a narcissitic monster that we helped create. He’s not a mensch, personally or in his business dealings. I think we are stunned that this young man is so clear eyed and unsentimental about us while we were telling ourselves the relationship was something else.
I have read the various posts and can feel the hurt we all are experiencing. I understand that to give up on the Cavs is to let Lebron have the last laugh. We all want to be able to actually do something to get back at Lebron for his complete lack of loyalty. How about a boycott of his biggest sponsor? Nike. Whatevere they make, there is another brand that is just as good. We can’t make a large dent in their income, but we can make a difference. This would at least send a message about the cost of betrayal. No more shoes, gym bags, shirts golf stuff and anything else.
The only things that really gets me riled up this morning are comments from Marc Jackson and Ian Thomsen that his decision “cannot be considered selfish.” See, that’s assuming a static standard of selfishness, like wanting the most money, most limelight, etc. But that’s not how selfish/selfless behavior is evaluated. You actually have to sacrifice SOMETHING YOU WANT for it not to be selfish.
LeBron didn’t sacrifice anything he wanted. He didn’t want an extra two million, or “the man” status, or the pressure, or the satisfaction of working hard to overcome a difficult satisfaction and achieving the ultimate satisfaction.
He didn’t give up anything he wanted. He wanted the easy way out. He’s never had to work for anything his whole life, and he doesn’t want to start now.
@tsm, Nike boycott? I’m in
I agree with just about everything, except one thing:
Loyalty in sports isn’t dead. WE are loyal. Look at this site, look at all the hell we have been through with our teams. So many younger kids in this town didn’t grow up with the Browns, but they are loyal now.
The Cleveland fan base is proof that there is loyalty in sports. I’ll never buy a jersey with a name on the back, (except for maybe Omar Visquel) but I will continue to buy Cleveland jerseys.
FOR WE ARE LOYAL!!! Not loyal to a king, but to the nation!!
Gilbert’s letter was funny but will actually hurt his long-term interest with future free agents. I knew he was going to leave, but was more shocked by how cold and calculated he was during the entire thing. From telling everyone that this was in the works for years, to showing little to no emotion about leaving his home state. Karma has a way of evening things out, if there’s any truth to this the whole Miami experiment will fail miserably..
I’m not surprised by LeBron’s decision. LeBron has been hinting about leaving for a championship for some time. I’m surprised about how he has carried out his business, professionally. The rumors about LeBron and Mike Brown openly fighting in the locker room during the playoffs, the “hurt elbow” and the perceived lack of enthusiasm by the “leader” of the team in the playoffs. These are not positive qualities for a “leader” to show. LeBron showed us about the least classy and professional way to leave your first PRO gig. He left the Cavs in a lurch. Free agency is winding down and the draft is coming up. I wonder if Miami head office likes this.
I kick myself in the rear each time this free agency scenario happens. These people are ENTERTAINERS; I don’t understand why we treat them like GODS. Now I know in my heart why my father only watches college sports.
/starts slow clap
I didn’t watch much basketball late 90s, early 2000s because the team had no direction, no leadership. While I will not be watching 60+ games this year, the Cavs are still my team (as in my favorite team in all of sports).
Sad realization: I will never enjoy hating LeBron. There is satisfaction and fun in hating on Kobe, Favre, Tebow, etc. The LeBron hating will be an emotional black hole.
Nice write up.
I too live in Columbus, and while I will continue to support the Cavs and hate LBJ for the rest of my life, you’ll understand how hard it is to drive up from C-bus (actually south cbus) and go watch the Cavs (much like the Indians right now) now that LBJ is gone. I’m not saying it’s not going to happen, I’ve seen Cavs games before LBJ so why not after? What I am saying is that it’s so difficult for me because I have a fulltime job, Im also a student, and to go up there is a day trip. I have Browns season tickets so I already go up 8x a year and come home miserable 80% of the time. So going up there to support the Indians/Cavs will just take so much out of you. Before he left I averaged probably 3 regualar season games and 2 playoff games (including ECF game 1 & this year’s game 5, thanks lbj). And now I dont see myself going to more than 1. Just the sad facts.
Loyality in sports isn’t dead. You are just the type of person that would start rooting for the Steelers because the Browns can’t beat them. You are part of the problem. You and LeBron.
Don’t push your (WFNY EDIT) opinions on us. The people that are Loyal and understand what it means.
(WFNY: this is an opinion piece. WHy would you read it if you don’t want to know opinions?)
“Saying loyalty in sports is dead presupposes it ever existed. Sorry, it’s entertainment and always has been. We tend to infuse these games and players with our own fantasies until we imagine the type of relationship that maybe never existed.”
Maybe, but Victor left crying and Lebron left during a 1-hour TV extravaganza.
Sure Victor was traded but I’m just saying there are ways to do things and there are ways to do things. I didn’t expect loyalty to be the entire motivating factor to make him stay. I expected loyalty to be a motivating factor for him to not be a word I’m not allowed to say on a family-friendly forum.
I’ve said I’m done w/ the NBA, but after reading Gilbert’s letter, I’ll stick around for a bit. Love the Cavs and will watch most of the games. Just going to have as much heart into it as in the past. Not going to make sure I see every game like the last couple of years, but I won’t give up yet.
Really interested to see how the guys on the team take this. Hopefully some of them are offended by it and take their game to the next level.
Doesn’t LeBron know that Miami won’t even be there in 5 years? Global Warming is real.
Get over it you cry babies. The show raised a bunch of money for the Boys and Girls club, the show helped the NBA, and your stupid owner doesn’t understand what it takes to win championships, for god sakes, get the dude one more guy to help them win a championship.
The only thing I can add to this is, Joe Mauer and Kevin Durant….that’s about it I can’t think of any other “loyal” guys.
you think Peyton Manning would pull something like this? the answer is no.
@ EZ: I thought a lot about Victor last night. Two paths diverged in a wood…
@28…GET A CLUE…OBVIOUSLY YOU HAVENT BEEN FOLLOWING THE CAVS THE LAST 7 YEARS…
Get out of here
It’s so sad, and LeBron just comes off as weak and insecure from all this. I feel stupid because I defended LeBron throughout the Boston series, especially in Game 6 where he had 18 rebounds and a triple-double. I thought that the elbow was worse than everyone knew and that maybe there was something that had disrupted team chemistry or made Mike Brown lose the team. Oh well, but I’ll be very interested to know what Gilbert and the Cavs let out about all this.
I’ve only gone to one Cavs game each of the last few years, being a student at OSU and not having a car. I’m going to try to get to at least a few games per year now to support the Cavs more. I vote for Jordan rules every time LeBron plays in Cleveland, and when he rolls his shoulders and makes 1 out of 2 at the line, knock him down again the next time.
tsm – im with you, im banning my favorite drink in the world. Vitamin Water XXX. I wont drink it ever again. Nike will be tough since they make OSU stuff but Ill try as best as I can. I dont know if Ive ever hated someone so much.
Only $2.5M out of the $6M raised went to the Boys and Girls Clubs, Windhorst reported. That’s nice, but who’s getting the rest?
@32 When Lebron was in Cleveland, who was the second best player?
@35 First off, where you get your numbers? Second, 2.5 million is a lot of money, thank you Lebron for caring about something that really matters, deprived kids.
@37- Brian Windhorst tweeted it last night, just like I said in my last post. I said that $2.5M is nice, but clearly other people made a lot of money on this too.
Let’s not feed him, guys.
@ Fani – Windhorst is an extremely reputable source for those numbers so I doubt their wrong. And, he’s right…someone got a nice fat pay day from last night. You think 2.5m to B&G all over the nation is going to make a huge difference….keep livin the dream brother.
As far as getting him someone else to take the load off I’m pretty sure that was the idea behind Shaq, and ‘Twan…both guys he OK’d himself. The cavs also assembled the deepest bench in the league..literally. It’s not their fault Lebron called ISO 23 everytime down the court and dribbled out the shot clock either to brick a shot or dish to a guy that gets a look maybe 5-7 times a night.
/be-gone troll master
Windhorst, thats right, it must be true, who cares. And the winners are, Lebron, Boys and Girls Club, Phoenix University,NBA, and me!!!
@41 – I literally laughed out loud at that thanks.
@ 35 I saw an article somewhere in my internet travels last night that talked about this. It might have come from CNBC, but it definitely looks as if the numbers don’t quite add up to make this purely an act of charity.
40 year old Shaq, and Twan who? Take a look at the teams that win championships. They all have multiple ‘stars’. An old beat up Shaq and some Twan dude is not enough to compete with Kobe/Artest/Gasol, or a Garnett/Pierce/Allen, or a Duncan/Parker/Ginobili or a Kobe/much younger Shaq
@43, Duh its not a pure act of charity. It’s about winning and hot babes on the beach.
Afnani- Did it ever occur to you we couldnt get a good supporting cast because LeBron was holding our team hostage? Nobody wanted to come here without an commitment from him, which he wouldn’t give. Get a life dude, you act like we don’t know what were talking about. Have fun with LaDrama, we’ll be rooting against you every single game.
Thanks Cleveland, this is fun, for me at least, laters, Go Browns and Indians. By the way, give him a little time and I think yall will enjoy and respect the Colt kid from Texas.
The only B&G clubs getting money are NYC, Chicago, Miami, Cleveland, and Akron. And for the record, that is a lot of money for any charity. I don’t fault LeBron for donating the money to charity. What I do fault him for (pay attention Afnani) is rationalizing that doing this for charity makes it perfectly acceptable to do what he did. We have a problem with it because he thought it was OK that he feeds his ego, toys with peoples emotions, and humiliates an entire city on national TV… oh, nevermind, its OK, its for charity
As an impartial observer, I have to say great post. I’m not a cleveland fan and generally I don’t begrudge an athlete doing what he wants to do in situations like this, teams cut players, trade them, bench them, etc all the time when they don’t perform. I suppose the players should be able to hold the organization accountable for giving them the best chance to win.
But the way this whole thing played out just came across as arrogant, contrived, and downright mean spirited. Sorry Lebron, but if this was your first move in taking “the Lebron brand” to the next step, it wasn’t a good one. Couldn’t agree more with the original poster that this has clearly been the plan for a long time.
Interesting note I saw on ESPN last night: According to ESPN the last two players in the major sports to switch teams following winning their league’s MVP awards: A Rod in 2004 and Barry Bonds in 1992. Congrats Lebron, that’s some impressive company you just put yourself in…Suddenly with the way he handled himself in this process, LBJ looks every bit as self involved as those guys are.
Good Luck Cleveland, so long as you aren’t playing the Pistons in the playoffs (not likely), I’ll be cheering for the Cavs.
Afnani-
An old beat up Shaq and some Twan dude is not enough to compete with Kobe/Artest/Gasol,
-Oh really? We dominated them twice in the regular season.
or a Garnett/Pierce/Allen, or a Duncan/Parker/Ginobili or a Kobe/much younger Shaq
- Best regular season record in the NBA, we can’t help he QUIT on us.
Duh its not a pure act of charity. It’s about winning and hot babes on the beach.
- Oh you mean like the 140something games we’ve won over the last 2 years? That kind of winning? Gimmie a break dude, you’re pathetic.
Right and that’s how Detroit won with all their start power? Just because you call them stars doesn’t make them that. San Antonio is a solid core of players but those guys aren’t stars along the lines of a Kobe, Wade, James…etc. Boston? LA? Ok sure….what about Miami when they won? Old Shaq and young Wade and…….? Yeah.
It boils down to the fact that Lebron never trusted even the guys that he hand selected to be put around him. Just because Lebron felt like he had to do it all himself didn’t mean he had to.
@ David Afnani — Obvious troll is…obvious.
kind of interesting, for what its worth….ratings for “the decision” (i suddenly feel dirty): Cleveland a staggering 26 rating…….Miami 12.8.
I do act like you don’t know what you are talking about. You’re obsessed with laundry, worn by millionaires who don’t give a [crap] about you. Really dude, take a step back and reflect on what you’re crying about. It’s going to be okay, so a guy made a decision that benefits himself, OMG, what is this world coming too, Lebron is so selfish and cares only about himself, his family and friends.
Last night was about the attention heaped on Lebron and that alone….the money (except for the missing 3.5 mil that went god knows where) meant nothing. Anyone who can’t see through this “generosity” must not be looking hard enough…or they just don’t want to. @Stink that you for pointing out it only went to those specific cities, I wasn’t aware.
i’m starting to think that lebron seriously believed that most cavs fans were his fans more than cavs fans and they would follow him wherever he went.
and @48
i hope that the B&G clubs of akron and cleveland take a long piss on that check when it arrives
@50 Yay we won the regular season!!!!!!!!
@ Afnani….You are so clueless it’s unreal to me…
To answer your question at me I need some clarity on your question. Over the last 7 years the second best player on the Cavs has changed from year to year. The Cavs front office did everything they could to improve the roster for Lebum. Which years would you like the second best player from?
You surely don’t know anything about the Cavs so why are you on here posting making sure everyone knows you know nothing?
Go move to South Beach, root for Lebum, watch out for Stallworth leaving after parties and leave us TRUE CLEVELAND Fans alone
Quitter, Trader, Low Life, NO LOYALTY. Why would we expect Lebron James a Selfish young man to understand that this is his option to do, but did you need to pants Cleveland and we as fans in the process??? Did that make you a bigger Icon?? A global Icon?? No just another spoiled kid who took his ball and went elsewhere. FACE FACTS, YOU QUIT ON THE CAVS AND ON YOURSELF IN THE BOSTON SERIES. The Cavs were the best team, LeBron just could not get it done. So Good Luck in South Beach what will the excuse be there?? Wade did not pass me the ball? It is HIS TEAM. Bosh hope you continue to not be able to finish a season you injury prone stiff. Leave it all on the court, Your Jersey will be burned all your sports collectables will be for sale on LEBRONISALOWLIFE. COM or LEBRONISAQUITER.COM LBJ, YOU SUCK!!
@58 You asked me, “Which years would you like the second best player from?” The fact that you just asked that question means there’s a problem on that team. For real? what the hell were yall thinking when yall got Shaq? Is it because he almost beat the golden boy in the ring or beat Michael in the water, wtf. Get rid of the little boys on the bench, clear some room, go overseas and see the talent being generated over there and build something in Cleveland so the city helps market in players.
Great article, and I agree whole heartedly. The media that is criticizing Gilbert is not from Cleveland, and will NEVER understand.
You still didn’t clarify you question…to me that just further explains you are clueless…get off a CLEVELAND SITE if you hate CLEVELAND…
And if you followed the Cavs and knew anything about the Cavs you would know the answer to you question in 58. Pretty sure this was well covered, but Shaq was one of the best available players that could improve our roster last off-season and they wanted him to guard some guy name Dwight Howard in the play-offs. But you right, nobody covered that.
And is it really a problem that over a course of 7 years that the Cavs second best player wouldn’t remain the same. I mean what would expect over 7 years??????
YOU ARE CLUELESS
Is it too early to start the David Afnani for GM talks? Isn’t yall supposed to be y’all?
/not the Lebron/Wade/Bosh of grammerz.
BTW you said you were leaving a long time ago…SO GO to Miami and worship Lebum
@29 — Right. Joe Mauer is the true hometown player and hero. He grew-up a Twins fan and when he had a chance to sign long term for the team he loved, he did it, even though he probably could have pulled in a boat load more of cash and had a better chance to win elsewhere.
LBJ never fit into this category of player. While he grew-up in the area, he wasn’t a fan of the local teams.
Nothing new here. Just saying.
I would have to say I disagree for two reasons. See Joe Mauer in MN as a perfect example of loyalty. And are we sure Lebron ever was a “Cleveland Guy”. The quick answer is that he is a Cowboys, Bulls, and Yankees fan. That’s not a Cleveland guy to me, whether he plats basketball or not.
The Morning After and realizing it wasn’t a bad dream, wiggle fingers and toes to make sure everything’s still working, and wonder what’s left for us to watch in the next few years?
Cavs – guessing 3 years minimum. After shaking my fist and yelling “razzus” with the Gilbert letter, worry that last night might have revealed “Mark Cuban 2.0,” an innately activist owner who thinks the real lesson is that no one should again tell him to let his so-called experts run his show. He ran right over any warning that blasting your former player so personally might impact future free agent, coaching or general manager signings. Or maybe he didn’t ask anybody to read his letter first. LeBron might have scarred him worse than anybody, and that would not be so good for us long run.
Indians – right …
Browns – and here we go again, pulled magnetically to Berea, as if this Lebron thing was just a stupid affair that made us temporarily lose our heads until we remembered where we really live. Dying to believe in The Walrus to save us, scared to believe but needing to. Holmgren, if you thought Green Bay was intense, just wait til you see us when the other teams are down.
Sorry for rant.
@Harv21 – re:Browns…that’s honestly a perfect analogy. Well done.
I have to think LeBron is really too young still to realize what he’s done. One would hope that despite living in a bubble of adoration, he will someday regret how this played out.
But that’s just how it goes for Cleveland. When it was a growing, thriving metropolis the 20 years after WWII we had great teams and championships and stars wanted to play here. Today the action (and money) is elsewhere. Loyalty is a quality of the fans, and I’m not sure it has ever been a driving force of owners and players. In any event, a 26 year old doesn’t have the perspective to see his life’s legacy wil be built of something beyond pay stubs and championship rings.
Go Cavs.
Hey, hey, LBJ, how many hearts did you break today?
@67 Gilbert’s reaction is certainly surprising and may have some negative consequences down the line, but these are unique circumstances. LeBron left in free agency in a manner that no one ever has, after having been appeased for 7 years in Cleveland. No player will ever have that sort of power, and so free agents don’t have to worry about getting ripped like this because nothing like this will ever happen again. Gilbert will continue to pay a lot of money for talent, and that is what most players care about anyway.
terrific article, my feelings exactly. GO CAVS! GO GILBERT! Please stay true to your word, make this team better, aim to win. Your guarantee was a bad move, but we understand.
I want to see the same towel-waving, loud, excited, andy-wig-wearing, ZZZZZZZZ! chanting crowd out at the Q! Unlike the sad Indians, the Cavs have an owner that’ll spend, so lets help him DO it!
LeBron’s exit last night adds to the long list of disappointments we’ve all suffered as Cleveland fans. While I was alive when “the Drive”, “The Fumble” and “The Shot” occurred, I was too young to really experience these, so they don’t count for me (I do feel I’ve inherited the general culture of losing that developed from these events, but I can’t claim them as my own). I personally became “sports conscious” in 1994 at the age of 11 when I attended my first “real” Indians game (before that, I had only seen the Canton-Akron Indians, their AAA affiliate, in person). So, starting in 1994, these are the major let-downs that I vividly recall bumming me out.
1994: Jacobs Field opens and for the first time in 30 years, the Indians are competitive. But, the MLB strike ends 1994 baseball season just as the Tribe is one game behind the White Sox, depriving them of a chance to win their first ever division title.
1995: Indians win 100 games, advance to World Series only to lose in 6 games to the Braves. I cried.
1995: Art Modell moves the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore.
1997: Indians are one out away from winning the 1997 World Series only to lose to the Marlins on an 11th inning, walk-off single from Edgar Renteria off of Jose Mesa in Game 7.
2000: The former Browns, now the Baltimore Ravens, win the Super Bowl. Art Model celebrates.
2000: Manny Ramirez leaves the Indians and signs a huge free-agent contract with the Red Sox. He goes on to win championships with the Red Sox in 2004, 2007.
2002: After hitting a career high 52 home runs in 2002, Jim Thome (probably my favorite Indian all-time) leaves the Tribe for a lucrative contract with the Phillies. The Indians are officially dismantled. Thome goes on to win a championship with division rival White Sox in 2005.
2002: Browns make playoffs for first (and, incidentally the only) time since returning to NFL in 1999. They lose to their rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in overtime.
2003-2009: Browns lose 12 straight games to the Pittsburgh Steelers, including one Christmas Eve game in Cleveland where the Browns lost 41-0. That just happened to be my first, and only, NFL game experience.
2004: Cavaliers release Carlos Boozer from his contract because he verbally commits to resigning a long-term deal with the team immediately. Instead, he reneges on his word and signs a more lucrative contract with the Jazz. Boozer goes on to become an All-Star in Utah. There’s no telling how good the Cavs could have been had he kept his word.
2007: Cavaliers are swept out of The Finals by the Spurs.
2007: Indians are up 3-1 on the Red Sox in the ALCS only to implode, losing three straight games and a chance to advance to the World Series.
2008: After finishing 10-6 in 2007 with a dynamic offense, the Browns are a trendy pick to get to the Super Bowl in 2008. The do not live up to the hype, finishing 4-12.
2008: Indians trade Cy Young pitcher CC Sabathia to the Brewers. Sabathia goes on to win a championship with the Yankees in 2009.
2009: Indians trade their second Cy Young pitcher in as many years, Cliff Lee, to the Phillies. That summer Lee and Sabathia pitch against each other in the World Series.
2009: The Tribe further dismantles the team by trading Victor Martinez to the Red Sox. Rebuilding officially begins again.
2009: Cavs finish with best record in NBA only to be stunned by the Orlando Magic in the EC Finals.
2010: Cavs again finish with best record in NBA only to be stunned by the Boston Celtics in the second round of the playoffs. In pivotal Game 5, LeBron seemingly plays with no effort, baffling Cleveland fans.
2010: “The Decision”
I was gonna do a state of our teams address but Harv you nailed it…I was a Cavs fan way before LeBron, but I need to see a plan put in place for me to follow the team w/ the same passion. Even if that means blowing the roster apart and suffering for a couple of years to (hopefully) get the next Durant. Gilbert cannot think that Tawn, Mo, Andy, Hickson are anything better than an 8th seed. Worst thing that can happen is the Cavs run the mediocrity treadmill of 40-45 win seasons w/o the hope of getting that young blue=chipper via draft. We lived thru that during the Mills/Phills/Hill/Person years. Tear it up NOW Gilbert and let Grant/Scott do their jobs.
otherwise, to Afnani et al, it’s the classless way LeBron handled “the process” that has fans so rankled. Sure, he’d have his haters even if he did a nice subdued presser in Miami, but making a spectacle out of his Decision on nat’l TV is something we will NEVER forget, or forgive. You have to be from Cleveland to truly get the ramifications of Bron’s callousness. What he did was indefensible, and far worse than Gilbert’s emotionally satisfying if grossly unprofessional response. Now our best hope is the Browns…let that sink in.
why would someone feel the need to go on a Cleveland sports blog and rub the noses of fans that were just thrown off a cliff?
also: I know it’s tought to admit, but the Indians are the closest to a championship at the moment.
Cavs – You don’t win the NBA without an elite superstar or a collection of stars. The Cavs now have neither and no known path to get either. If we build the right way, we are at least 4-5 years away (and there’s a fair amount of luck involved). If we don’t build the right way, we’ll be a 1st/2nd round playoff team at best.
Browns – as much as they try to claim to be a parity league, look at the past 10 years.
elite org’s: Patriots, Colts, Steelers, Chargers, Ravens, Giants. 2 of them in our division.
good org’s: Cowboys, Eagles, Vikings, Packers, Falcons, Jets.
maybe Holmgren gets us into the good organization category, but even so, none of those teams have won a championship. you need an elite QB now, and we have Jake (who at his best is not elite). Colt is not likely to be that elite guy. So, we need to find that critical position still.
Indians – Braves, Padres, Giants, A’s, Rangers. Teams last year that were terrible that are contending this year. It happens if you have talent in the minors, which we have acquired over the past 2 years.
Yes, it stinks that the Yankees, Red Sox, etc. will continue to acquire megastars every year and keep the stars from their minor league systems. Yes, we have to have an incredible stretch of luck from injuries and youngsters coming up big.
But, in baseball, it tends to happen every now and then. Does it happen to the Tribe in the next 3 years? Probably not. But, ‘probably not’ is still more of a chance than the Cavs and Browns the next couple years. Sadly.
@Tim: “Gilbert’s reaction is certainly surprising and may have some negative consequences down the line, but these are unique circumstances.”
Agree, absolutely. But there is a line, somewhere, that you don’t cross, because it is self-destructive and indicates “total freak out and no one can stop me!” That was Go to Heaven w/o Dying” and the personal guarantee that we will win before him. So over the top irrational and personal as to indicate a lack of impulse control. I’m sure at Quicken Loans he encourages some version of the “24 hour rule.” He could have used a 6 hour version. I love that he feels my pain, but I need him to be the rational adult when the nation is listening to him. Just guessing today he knows that.
@ Harv 21
Agreed. He did appear to lose his mind a little last night. And, the guarantee was clearly misguided. But, I can’t help but admit that “The Letter” endears me to Gilbert even more. He’s the champion of our cause! He’s the owner that we’ve been waiting for! Right now, I’d probably follow him into battle, even if it meant certain death. (OK, that’s an exaggeration, but you know what I’m saying!)
@Harv, yeah, you’re right, some of it was over the top, and it’s very unlikely the championship guarantee holds. And from what people who know Gilbert were saying last night, the letter was probably have even been toned down from what he really wanted to say, so I guess it could have been worse.
@mgbode- it seems like the Indians would need to get lucky during one of their small windows of contention to actually win it. They would need to players they sign long-term to work out better than Hafner, Westbrook, and the way it’s starting to look, Sizemore, and have young players perform very well during the playoffs. Also no implosions from 19-game winners in ALCSs.
In my mind at least I am dubbing last night as “The Letter” and not “The Decision”…much more positive.
As a long distance Cleveland fan, there are some lessons here for all of us.
Never rely on a “superstar”, ever again. Build teams, and never stop focusing on team play. Let the “ESPN cities” overpay for egotistical idiots, and enjoy their antics from afar. If we ever (unlikely) get a home-town kid again, on any of our teams, put him in his place as a teammate, or trade his ass. Buh-bye, Sabathia, buh-bye, Manny, buh-bye Lebron. Enjoy your new-found wealth and don’t let the door hit ya on the way out of town. We’ll be fine with players who are good teammates above all else.
Never EVER put up a single player billboard again. Other teams found the Witness crap distasteful and over the top, and they were right. Cleveland, the quintessential blue collar city, should celebrate TEAM above all else—no one player should ever be put on a pedestal. Stand for one thing—teamwork and winning. Josh Cribbs can tweet all he wants–putting up a billboard to him would be feeding the beast of self-promotion and egomania. Forget that! If he can’t handle it, trade his ass away when its time and stay focused.
Every team we have is rebuilding now. Celebrate it! Stop whining about owners, payroll, and kids making mistakes. Stand for one thing, Cleveland fans—TEAM!
I grew up making the long (2 1/2 hour) pilgrimage to Muni back in the 70′s, watching bad Indians teams with 400 other strangers. Still some of the best memories of my youth. And I was in a luxury box for a World Series loss in 97–36 degrees and a shellacking. Tough loss, and still a great memory.
C’mon, Cleveland– man up and take a lesson from this! And realize that ESPN makes it’s money from the Coast cities. Ignore those idiots.
Let’s send LeBron a Spanish dictionary, a rancid mojito, and a coupon for a free Cuban cigar–and get back to rooting for our TEAMS. Screw him!
stin: “The Letter.”
Like it. Why should he first orchestrate the fiasco and then get to define it for the fans? Feel better already. Thank you.
@74 So you say it’s not so much what he did, but how he did it. Why did Lebron leave the way he did? Why the show? Why did ESPN agree to play along? You think Lebron did this because he has personal malice towards Cleveland? He did it because he can (I’m Rick James, f** your couch, I’m rich) and no one has ever done it. Moneymaker!, yes it is about the benjamins and winning. Lebron has created something intriguing, exciting, and it makes money!!!! Look, I’m not even a blogger let alone an internet user, but man, Lebron has drawn me in. You guys are so entertaining. Look, Lebron has made yall entertainers too..
@82….
YOU STILL NEVER ANSWERED MY QUESTION…you continue to make yourself more and more clueless…
wow your still crying about what made Detroit a good team. They had a team of role players that played their roles very well. They also believed in team-defense and hussell. When will you get it, it takes a team, as in more than one person. And its not just the players, but owners and management. the CAVS have never had the best team in one season.
Detroit also had some luck that year, the talent that year was very distributed thru-out the league and San Antonio suffered some key injuries as well that year. You need to open your eyes and witness what is going on in the NBA right now. Their is a shift in power. Stars are joining together, and what better cities to united at, Boston, Miami, Los Angeles, like I said before, use some of Obamas stimulus money, build something big and cool in Cleveland, and maybe things will change.
Personally, this whole spectacle has made me want to support the Cavs more than I ever have. I didn’t care about them before Lebron, but I care more now than I did a week ago. Whether they win a championship before the Heat, after the Heat, or some time after I’m dead, I’m down. Go Cavs.
Hey big mac with cheese, why do your teams suck?
Take it from a physician!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is no loyalty anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We don’t suck…why are you still here you said you were leaving???
Why do you get on other teams blogs and talk trash about things you have NO CLUE about???
Oh, and since you are so smart and all knowing, I never asked you anything about the Pistons…
Once again…YOU ARE Cluess
*CLUELESS
hey dumb ass, then what is your question? for god sakes, ask it, you idiot
I already did…try reading
David Afnani 47. July 9, 2010
“Thanks Cleveland, this is fun, for me at least, laters, Go Browns and Indians. By the way, give him a little time and I think yall will enjoy and respect the Colt kid from Texas.”
I thought you were leaving???
@Tim – absolutely correct. it would take a huge amount of luck during a narrow opportunity for the Tribe to win.
sadly, I think that even accounting for that, they are now the closest.
@89…Do you have any idea how idiotic you make yourself look…can you not read??? You really don’t get it…you still have no clue of anything you said on this post…you are a joke to Cleveland fans.
Enjoy Lebum! Sounds like he is your kind of guy!
@mgbode – Yeah, that really might be true about the Indians being the closest. Browns need a lot of help and a quarterback, and even if they landed a veteran, it would still take a few years to develop a championship team. I can’t see the Cavs winning in the next 5 years, but with a big trade and a free agent or two, who knows?
Big Mac really needs to get a life.
Lol…you still can’t even have an once of respect can you!!!!
Lol…I need to get a life…you are hijacking a cleveland blog and dissing the Cavs and their fans on the worst day in franchise history for Cavs fans….
Lol…You can’t answer a single question that is asked to you…Am I really supposed to take you seriously??????
Lol…You are beyond clueless…Lol…You are a joke in every since of the word…Thank you for making me laugh…
Lol…I seriously can’t stop laughing at David Afnani…
Lol…Weren’t you supposed to be “out of here” like hours and hours ago…
WHAT A JOKE U ARE
Well written article. In addition to being a Cleveland sports fan, I am a graduate of Marquette University. On April Fools Day in 2008, it was announced that our men’s basketball coach, Tom Crean, was leaving MU for perceived greener pastures at Indiana University. At MU Crean had a roster of returning players that were favorites to win the Big East and also have a potential run at the national championship. 4 seniors on that team (one being Wesley Matthews, the UDFA in 09 playing for the Jazz). Crean didn’t even have the decency to inform the players first, they all found out on ESPN. As a MU fan, I experienced much of the same feelings of heartache that I do now. Initially I thought it was a huge April Fools joke. But it wasn’t. And the way Crean left Marquette for IU was disgraceful.
MU fans everywhere were in a state of disbelief. Marquette’s administration was even shocked. The president of the university and athletic director were out of town at the women’s NIT Championship when it happened. The man Marquette hired in Crean’s place was initially unpopular and divided the fan base because he didn’t have much name recognition and was basically a career assistant with no real head coaching experience. Things have a way of working themselves out though. Since Crean ditched MU, Buzz Williams has coached the team to 2 NCAA births in 2 years and also to at least 10 wins in the big east conference games (MU and Pitt remain the only 2 teams in the BE to win at least 10 conference games/season since the BE expanded). He has a top 10 recruiting class coming to MU this season and has essentially outperformed Crean to this point. Meanwhile, Crean’s greener pastures at IU are not so green. His recruiting is absymal and his teams all suck. He probably is also on the hot seat.
So while Lebron may think that going to the Heat will be a better career move for him than remaining in Cleveland, they are really one ACL tear from the plan going to hell. Cleveland will bounce back. We are resilient and take pride in our teams no matter how poorly they play, or how many times our hearts are ripped out of our chest.
Andrew, great article, but I think you maybe a better fan than I am. I’ve had partial season tickets for the last 5 years and playoff tickets too. I have a deposit for next year that I’m giving serious consideration of walking away from and not buying the tickets.
Your point about Gilbert is true …. he deserves better (just like the fans) and I would like to show financial support for him, however, I don’t think I can support the NBA anymore. Stern is probably thrilled that the Super Friends are now in Miami.
What chance do these “non-destination” teams have now? No one had EVER walked away from max deal in the history of the NBA and guess what Bosh (he got his sign and trade in the end, but he was willing to risk not getting it) AND James both did during this Free Agency! Just watch, New Orleans is next Chris Paul when in two years he takes less than max to join Miami and New Orleans will feel our pain.
Why should I pour in my hard earned dollars to see guys play that have no commitment to Cleveland and bolt first chance they can (even though we can offer more money!!!!). I mean if a home town guy doesn’t want to stay here, why would anyone else?
I am very concerned that even with Gilbert (a great owner) that after next season, ticket sales will drop to Gund levels and with a lack of ticket sales over the next decade or so Gilbert will be forced to either sell or move the team (before you mentioned he would be locked in the casino , he is already looking for Hannahs to run it … he could always sell it to them if he wanted out).
I’ll still be a Cavs/Cleveland fan, but I won’t be invested emotionally or financially as much. I went to game #5 against the celtics and that was far from “fun” or “entertaining” when your best player appears to “quit” with no explaination other than “I spoil the fans”.
I like Gilbert and I wish him nothing but the best, but I have no love loss for the NBA and it’s players.
The NBA, where “non-destination” cities fans get hosed happens.
I, for one, will not miss the LeBron fans who jump ship and follow the man. I root for a team, and that team is still in Cleveland.
[...] took something from me, and from numerous other Cleveland sports fans like the writers of the Waiting For Next Year crew. As those men indicate in several of their latest posts, we all feel like we were dragged [...]
I’m sorry, but David Stern needs to be bringing the hammer down here people. About 27 times tonight in their little presser, you saw what we knew, this has been planned for a LONG time. Bosh let it slip when he said “months…ugh, weeks.” The whole Bill Simmons article about a pact is becoming more true by the minute, and I’m sorry but we seriously need to have a long hard look at the possibility that LBJ just purposefully threw that Celtics series. Seriously.
@jack17
i have no idea how or why this browser window was opened and pointed to jack’s post #17 hours after i read it. but it’s so right that i’m just going to repost it.
“…that’s not how selfish/selfless behavior is evaluated. You actually have to sacrifice SOMETHING YOU WANT for it not to be selfish.
LeBron didn’t sacrifice anything he wanted. He didn’t want an extra two million, or “the man” status, or the pressure, or the satisfaction of working hard to overcome a difficult satisfaction and achieving the ultimate satisfaction.
He didn’t give up anything he wanted. He wanted the easy way out. He’s never had to work for anything his whole life, and he doesn’t want to start now.”
i need to imprint this. because lebron’s true facilitators at espn are already starting to spin lebron’s team spirit and selflessness as why he left.
we all need to be able to call b******t on it when it happens.
Once again, great stuff from Rock. I’m still a Cavaliers fan, but I won’t watch random NBA games anymore, or at least not for a long time.
O and the letter was absolutely genius. It got people talking about it as much, if not more, than the decision…it took people’s attention from the attention whore (which I believe was the point). It was a lot of hyperbole and anger, but Gilbert took our disappointment and anger on himself and gave CLE something to rally around. He’s the kind of owner who will have my support.
And Mack, why are you placating a guy who, like all others outside CLE, takes pleasure in our misery because it makes him feel better about himself?
[Quote]Just because you call them stars doesn’t make them that. San Antonio is a solid core of players but those guys aren’t stars along the lines of a Kobe, Wade, James…[/Quote]
Kobe, Wade, and James are huge personalities, which makes them into marketable stars. Duncan isn’t like that. But when it comes to Tim’s ability to play the game especially in his prime, its just frankly ridiculous to argue Tim isn’t at the same level as those three. Tim’s the type of player you build championships around, one of the best big men to play the game. Period. And while Tim had a great supporting cast, he never had the kind of help Kobe or Shaq etc had.
duh