One year ago today, the Boston Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, thus ending the LeBron James era in Cleveland.
As a sports fan, you have memories of certain games. You probably don't remember the finer points of the game, but you remember the big things, and you remember where you were and how you felt. I was at Ringside Cafe in downtown Columbus for an open mic. I watched the end of the game, remembering the Celtics fans in that Game 6 crowd shouting “New York Knicks! New York Knicks!” and then Mo Williams just walking the ball up the court in total defeat. I felt like I got sucker punched in the stomach as a fan, but more so, with the usual Cleveland depression, I had the sinking knowledge that James was leaving us. I remember just having such a defeated, sarcastic mindset while sharing commentary of those last few minutes with fellow comedian Dan Wilburn (side note: Dan Wilburn is one of those rare gems of a sports fan – a guy who I can't tell you who his teams are at all nor am I aware of what team he is rooting for in a game we are watching though he has a strong interest in what's going on in the game. All I can say is that if Brett Favre played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, he would have been cheering for them).
What transpired with “The Decision” isn't worth discussing at this point. It's been beaten to death, and I can say that my perspectives are in line with most Cleveland fans and sports pundits as to how it went down.
But, looking back on it now, my fan relationship with LeBron James is just as I expected it would be after he announced he was going to Miami. It's been a textbook bad break-up for me. There was anger and disgust in the beginning, acceptance, and then ultimately a total separation and general lack of care for the guy. That's where we're at now. We've moved on, and in a way, are leading completely different player to fan lives. I wish nothing negative upon him other than that he not achieve basketball success. Finding out his mom got arrested wasn't some type of jubilant moment but more of something I could chuckle at momentarily then not care about it anyway. He's not my guy anymore. I don't care what he does.
In that way, LeBron for me somehow this season was quietly the best player in basketball. What I mean by that is every way that I interacted with him as a fan was clouded by the controversy more so than anything. The losing streak, Spoelstra on the hot seat, off-the-court questions, a stretch where he completely lacked a clutch bone in his body, etc. You combine that with Derrick Rose's emergence as an MVP and a general disconnect with the NBA due to the Cavs' pathetic state, and it was just easier to live on separate planets from LeBron.
I'm still a basketball fan, but even the NBA has attributed to my distance from LeBron. I remember when I was a kid, I would watch playoff games like Suns-Rockets live in primetime on a weekday night. NBC basically said that Hakeem Olajuwon mattered more than their nightly line-up or the NBC Mystery Movie. It's how I became a NBA fan. Now, I still have no cable, and no access other than Internet articles to get my knowledge. The NBA and its networks have made the sport less appealing to the masses and less of a draw by not making it a part of a night like it used to be. If this were 1993, LeBron would be on multiple times a week to a lot more people's homes.
At this point, I think the Heat will win the NBA title, and I think they have everything in place to accomplish their ridiculous claims of 8 or 9 championships (well, maybe not that high but they have multiple rings in their future). Part of this is based off basketball knowledge and part is based off expectations that I have to feel more pain as a Cleveland fan. The Lakers and Celtics showed signs of age, a need for roster and/or transitional changes. The Heat could see competition from the emerging Oklahoma City Thunder. It's also possible that the other merger could come into play in New York with the arrival of Chris Paul or even Dwight Howard, so we could re-live the great Heat-Knicks rivalry of the 1990s but now in a more fraudulent, nice pick-up game among friends kind of way. It's just a time where the guys with major talent like LeBron have come into their own and are at their peak, and hey, they all happen to be on these same couple teams. Maybe it's no different than what it has been in the past, but it just feels worse.
At this point now, my hope is to just appreciate the NBA and LeBron as much as I can because I love basketball. But, like my earlier post following the Jim Tressel incident, it's a sport that's managed to bungle up all that it had going for it with dynamic athletes that could make the game exciting and has left me on the sidelines. Obviously, I'll still care otherwise why would I write this blog post? But, it's hard to look at someone who was once your guy, and really enjoy a great play that he makes. That's part LeBron's fault for the way he broke things off but part the NBA's fault for not maximizing on putting the great plays out there in the way the fans would want it. Oh well. I can still remember a moment like this one, where I lost my mind in excitement.
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