Lord Stan The Man

Le-Gone

The LeBronathon has been unlike anything else in the history of professional sports. Nonstop coverage of LeBron James’ future job site since the Cavaliers’ mid-May exit from the NBA playoffs has finally culminated in a ridiculous television event put on by ESPN called “The Decision.” And the decision for LeBron, as reported by many, turned out to be joining forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami.

This so-called decision was the biggest sporting event that wasn’t actually a sporting event that I can recall. It bordered upon the absurd, yet made for very compelling television. That one athlete could make ESPN, the apex of American sports media, completely bow down to him speaks volumes about the global icon that LeBron has become. Dwyane Wade is just as good as James, yet when Wade decided to return to the Heat, the instant analysis immediately shifted to speculation on whether his choice to return would affect LeBron’s decision.

For nearly two months, LeBron has commandeered ESPN. The buildup to his personal press conference was a three-hour SportsCenter, something reserved usually for events like the Super Bowl. Rachel Nichols, live from New York with the Knicks. David Amber, live in New Jersey. T.J. Quinn, ESPN investigative reporter, live in Greenwich, the epicenter of LeBronapalooza. Bob Holtzman in Miami. George Smith at the Chicago Bulls’ practice facility. Shelley Smith, live from a Cleveland bar with patrons already looking depressed. ESPN made this event far bigger than the NBA Finals; it felt like some milestone upon which the future of Western Civilization hinged (for ESPN’s NBA reporter and designated free agent guy Chris Broussard, this was absolutely the case).

So then we finally reached “The Decision,” the actual name of the one-hour special that LeBron’s camp pitched to ESPN. LeBron would say during the program that the free agent period had been a humbling experience. Humbling? How is having a one-hour special on yourself called simply "The Decision" humble at all? And the name “The Decision” in itself is ridiculous. It sounds like a terrible Tom Cruise movie, built up a lot with previews and a corny Tom Cruise line every 15 seconds (oh wait, that’s Knight and Day, and it’s currently in theaters).

The buildup literally felt like we were waiting for a major presidential address, especially with the way LeBron hijacked the network like President Obama would do for an address on the BP oil spill. It sort of felt like 2002, as we waited for President Bush to announce whether we would go to war in Iraq. Or it seemed like we were waiting for the results of a close presidential election. Actually, as the deadline drew closer and closer, and I began to suspect that LeBron leaked false information about wanting to go to Miami just to play mind games with the public, it felt a lot like Bush and Gore all over again, in that nobody knew what the hell was going on.

I was literally dreading LeBron in Miami for a few reasons.

1) The bandwagon Heat fans would come out in full force (there are some very loyal Heat fans in South Florida, but overall the area houses some of the worst bandwagon fans in the country).
2) With LeBron in Miami, the NBA would essentially be two exciting teams (Lakers and Heat), three possible Eastern Conference foils to Miami (Magic, Celtics, and Bulls), 24 other teams, and the Los Angeles Clippers.
3) Bandwagon Heat fans (it warrants being mentioned twice).
4) Stephen A. Smith nodding arrogantly and ferociously while declaring on every media outlet in America that he was the first to call the trifecta in Miami.

Finally the big moment had arrived after a countdown that felt like New Year’s Eve, except we were waiting for 9:15ish instead of midnight. LeBron, looking nervous in crunch time as always, was sitting directly across from interviewer Jim Gray. Literally as soon as he comes on screen, I got a text from my cousin and diehard Cleveland fan Ryan: “I hate him.” And he hadn’t even made his announcement yet! We may have to deploy the military to the Cleveland area. (By the way, Jake Delhomme might now the most famous athlete in Cleveland ... just let that sink in for a few minutes before you start complaining about your own city’s sports teams).

I have always hated the Cavs, but I was already feeling bad for the good people of Cleveland at this point, so I began considering the only ways I wouldn’t totally despise LeBron after this announcement.

1) He could announce he was staying, in which case I would have continued to hate the Cavs and LeBron. But it felt like the righteous choice.
2) He could sign with the Pistons and revive the city of Detroit (and my own interest in the NBA), and both Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon would agree to give back their terrible contracts (still holding out hope on the second part).
3) He could announce he was coming to the NFL to play wide receiver, and that he would sign with the Redskins and win ten Super Bowls.
4) He could say that he was switching to soccer to help the USA win a World Cup.
5) He could go to the Middle East to promote World Peace.
6) He could pull a Gale Sayers and retire.

Obviously, I was not expecting any of the aforementioned scenarios, though it would have been one of the great moments in American sports history if any of it actually happened. Nevertheless I was envisioning a burgundy and yellow clad LeBron James hauling in a touchdown from Donovan McNabb in Super Bowl XLV. But then, along with everyone else, I was sucked back into the drama. At that moment, it was LeBron’s world, we were all just living in it. Would he join the Wade/Bosh duo in Miami? Maybe he would go to Chicago and start a great rivalry with the Heat in the East? Would it be New York for the ultimate challenge of bringing the Knicks back to prominence? The Nets in a major surprise? The Cavs in the ultimate display of loyalty?

It literally felt like an American Idol finale, except with four or five contenders instead of just two. As I was anxiously waiting for Ryan Seacrest to make his way on stage with a flipcard containing the name of the winning city, the camera began to slowly zoom in on LeBron’s face.

Jim Gray (clearly has been rehearsing this for the last 48 hours): The answer to the question everybody wants to know. LeBron, what’s your decision?

(As Jim Gray asks this question, LeBron does not look confident at all. He nods nervously as he realizes this is his moment).

LeBron (unlike Gray, clearly has not rehearsed): Um, in this fall, man this is very tough. Um, in this fall, I’m going to take my talents to South Beach (ed. note: LeBron, we know you are talented….you don’t have to remind us), and um, join the Miami Heat.

Even though I heard Chris Broussard tell me that LeBron was 99% headed to Miami way too much over the past 48 hours (other fallout from LeBronapalooza besides the city of Cleveland declaring war against LeBron James: Chris Broussard's voice playing on loop in everyone’s head), it still shocked me. In a way, I respected LeBron for taking less money to win a championship. In an era of athletes caring so much about the money and not enough about winning, it is definitely admirable. But in every other way, I despised his decision.

(I got the following text from the aforementioned Cavs fan Ryan just before LeBron broke the news: “To be honest? I’m f****** mad. If he thinks he can go on national TV to slam our city for 55 minutes, he will take all the Clevelanders who would have understood and turn them on a dime. He will literally be number two on Cleveland’s most hated behind Art Modell.” When you have a die-hard Cleveland fan put LeBron James ahead of John Elway, you know that it’s going to be an ugly divorce.)

Even though the prospect of having two superstars and one all-star on one team is enticing, I know that I’ll watch the NBA less because of it. I’ll watch the first game the team plays together, purely out of curiosity. Maybe I’ll watch the first quarter when they play the Cavs, just to see if World War III breaks out. I’ll be interested in Lakers-Heat, mainly because it could be a Finals preview (though I don’t think Miami will necessarily make the Finals in year one of the trifecta). If LeBron goes to the Knicks or Bulls, then the league would have an awesome rivalry with the Heat for the next five to seven years. Instead? The NBA literally has two great teams, and that’s it. And they have a lockout to worry about in 2011 (when Brendan Haywood gets a 6 year deal worth $55 million, there SHOULD be a lockout).

For the Heat, anything short of a championship will be a disappointment. There is more pressure on this team to win than possibly any other in NBA history. During the regular season, players can’t possibly give 100 percent effort in every game—the season is simply too long of a grind to do so. But you bet that every team will give its all when they play the Heat come next season. The Miami Heat have become the villains of the NBA.

The consensus seems to be that next year’s Finals will be the Heat and Lakers. Even though I don’t think it’s a given, I wouldn’t be surprised by any means if it happens. A possible Heat-Lakers rivalry over the next three years (when Kobe will likely begin to decline) would mean a few things for the league.

1) The NBA would be a sports equivalent of the Cold War, except there would actually be a city annihilated ... Cleveland.
2) We would see some of the worst regular seasons in league history, followed by a bad playoffs but potentially very memorable Finals.
3) If Kobe was successful against the Miami trifecta, we would have to seriously consider the Kobe/MJ conversation for best player ever (you know Kobe is salivating over the possibility of defeating LeBron/Wade/Bosh in the Finals for his sixth ring, which would tie Jordan).

But as I write this a few hours after the LeBronathon came to an end, it is far too early to begin speculating about Heat-Lakers next June. We do know a few things, however. LeBron just went on national television and tore out the heart of his hometown in the cruelest way possible. Instead of becoming possibly the most beloved athlete in Cleveland history, he becomes its second most hated sports figure. We also know that he took to heart the phrase “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” In the end, his legacy will pay for that attitude. There’s no way that MJ or Kobe takes the easier-looking road to the Finals like LeBron did.

The most significant result of “The Decision?” With a few words, LeBron became the NBA’s primary villain. Of course he will sell jerseys and remain popular; all great players do. But besides being reviled in Cleveland, he won’t have the same support in other places, especially New York or Chicago, because of the way he went about this process. The casual NBA fan will too recognize the debauchery of his free agent process, and how the trifecta isn’t necessarily all that great for the league.

The Miami Heat have clearly become an unprecedented collection of stars not just in the NBA, but in all of sports. Ocean’s Eleven and The Departed made it work on screen, and the Miami Heat will probably make it work too.

Every great story has its villain. In the NBA, it looks like LeBron James has assumed that role.


You can e-mail Stanley at lordstantheman@gmail.com with any comments or questions. Stanley writes a Detroit Lions blog for NFL.com's Blog Blitz powered by SportsFanLive.com.