Why the LeBron James Hate?
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Clint":2m6plmd3 said:
Considering how bad their cap situation is, I'm not convinced that they would have ever put a proper team with him. Again, I see no reason why he should have said. He should have just handled himself differently.
Do you think he really cares about his reputation? He's 25 and gets to live and play in South Beach with his friends. Moving from Cleveland to Miami really is a no brainer, IMO.
Maybe, up until now he's been ULTRA careful to make sure his rep is good. In fact the only time in the entire train wreck of a special that he seemed actually to be showing real feelings was when he saw them burning his shirt in Cle and he seemed sad by it.
Honestly, if I had to peg Lebron, my feeling is he wants to be "loved". Some players are stone cold about winning, some want money, some want fame, others really want people to like them and when that doesn't happen it really bothers them.
I think he had NO clue how what he was doing was going to be viewed. I'm thinking he thought it would be fun, and much like College signing day ((which he never did)) where they pick the hat from several schools, everybody from the new place cheers and those that don't them go awww bummer and then move on.
That sais, the fact that he had no clue about how his special was going to go over in some ways makes it worse. You're such a douche that you don't even realize that you are one.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/20/calvin-murphy-lebron-jame_n_583135.html
Google Delonte West Gloria James and you'll find hundreds of links.
What's amusing or disturbing...
Google Delonte West Gloria James and you'll find hundreds of links.
What's amusing or disturbing...
Oh, that's actually some sort of tradition? I don't follow college basketball at all. But I saw some local high school kid doing that on the news a few weeks back, and thought that it ranked right up there in terms of stupid sideshow tricks with the LeBron after school special.
I'm continually reminded how I don't miss the fact that the sucky local NBA team moved away, and I no longer have any love for the game of basketball.
Yup, I think it was started in basketball where 1 awesome player can turn a meh team into a really good team, but it happens in college football as well.
I'm from Cleveland and I can't blame him for leaving. Cleveland is not a good place to be a professional sports player. Look at how great of an asset Brady Quinn turned out to be. We lowballed Jim Thome into going to Baltimore. Personally, I see Cleveland sports as a halfway point between the minors and the majors. While in Cleveland, you suck, but then we trade you and you end up being a solid player.
Could Lebron have done it better? Yep. Big Z's farewell is proof. Did I expect anything short of "The Decision"? Hell. fucking. no. We're talking about someone who becoming pro was a given well before graduating high school. The HS team's practices had to be moved due to his popularity and some of their games were nationally televised on ESPN. How many high school games do you see on ESPN!? His decision was the biggest sports event to happen it was going to get the publicity whether he wanted it to or not. Cleveland's worship made him into the douche he is today.
How many players have left Cleveland in less than ideal circumstances? Its a tradition.
Could Lebron have done it better? Yep. Big Z's farewell is proof. Did I expect anything short of "The Decision"? Hell. fucking. no. We're talking about someone who becoming pro was a given well before graduating high school. The HS team's practices had to be moved due to his popularity and some of their games were nationally televised on ESPN. How many high school games do you see on ESPN!? His decision was the biggest sports event to happen it was going to get the publicity whether he wanted it to or not. Cleveland's worship made him into the douche he is today.
How many players have left Cleveland in less than ideal circumstances? Its a tradition.
hux":2zl7qhko said:Bzzzt! Incorrect. The best part of a game at Camden Yards is the food and the beer.Duodecimal":2zl7qhko said:
Uh, grossly overpriced food. I've had better, but I'll take your word for it if it's the holy jebus of ballpark food.
Besides the unenthusiastic playing of the team (they weren't even trying, and they were up against Seattle), it was definitely the (small, widely dispersed) crowd that I remember most. Two fouls wound up landing about ten feet from me, and both times the same guy caught it. There was a little boy seated near him who would go for it as well. Some guy a couple rows back, after the second foul, started bellowing "AWWW GIVE DA KID DA BAAAAAWWWWWWL!" until the guy who caught them finally caved. Then the stadium crowd, such as it was, cheered.
His childhood friends "manage" him and his empire. It's not terribly surprising that they've made some monumentally huge mistakes... they don't have the experience needed to foresee the foreseeable in these extreme cases.RDeVoe":rxhq722h said:
I really doubt someone with 25+ years of experience managing athletes' images would have made the same kind of blunder(s).
Huh? Jim Thome never went to Baltimore. He signed a free agent deal with Philly after eleven years in Cleveland.luckyone":2xfc662o said:
They really are actually his hometown friends, none of whom have an education or any experience at all in PR.
I'm totally cool with pulling your friends up with you, but this isn't how to do so effectively. He should have hired real PR people and arranged a deal whereby his friends interned. Handing a kid the keys to the Kingdom, so to speak, rarely works out well...
Starbuck79":u3zhiwp5 said:
I would bet money that, after this display of self-aggrandizing cuntery, that he cares that he will now, always and forever, be Michael Jordan's bitch. Nothing he can do from here on out puts his name into the conversation with Michael Jordan. He's done on that front because he'd rather go conspire to play with the best players in the game instead of kick their asses, and he's only 25.
Pretty sure he cares about that, given his history (number 23?).
Also keep in mind thatthe most highly paid athletes get more money from sponsors then they do from playing the game. Reputation matters when it comes to selling products... ask Tiger Woods how many people are wanting to pay him tons of money to sell their goods now as opposed to just last year.
hanser":2r2c8pji said:
Or destroy it more, as the case may be. Miami THRICE baby!
I'm still confused about the love/obsession for adults playing the games we played as kids. The sports thing is just alien to me.
Because we don't all get to play the kind of sport you play?Crackhead Johny":11kusdw1 said:
RDeVoe":2asrp926 said:
It's remarkable that he's still the highest-paid "athlete" by a big margin due to his endorsements.
RDeVoe":12yr0qno said:
MJ was reportedly pulling in 9 figures in endorsement $$ during his heyday. That's why I never cared much about his golf wagers. $50K for him was like you or I betting $10 on who wins a hole. Not to mention that he didn't have the issues that many of the other players have with purchasing a new car for every day of the month and million dollar homes for their moms and hiring everyone in their HS Class for $200K/ year.
James went to MIami to join Wade's team. It's never gonna be his. Not to mention that even though Jordan was surrounded by talent, it wasn't like they were all #1 draft picks. Hell, University of Central Arkansas isn't exactly a hotbed of NBA prospects, even though Seattle picked Pippen 5th. Not to mention that the Bulls were an amazing team on defense.
Step back and look at the bigger picture: people like to watch other people do brilliant things. The best sports players are like the best figure skaters, the best ballet dancers, the best chess players, the best musicians, etc. etc. It's about human talent, ingenuity, grace and a whole host of other things. When you're that good at sports, what you do transcends sport and becomes art. Ultimately, that's what everyone yearns to see.Crackhead Johny":1is5zg7d said:
What remains to be seen is if this matters. It doesn't to me. I know people are making a bit deal about the fact that he's going to look, "tainted" since he had to go play with other super-stars. That's complete bullshit in my mind, as long as they win championships. Plural. Sure some people area always going to say it, but it doesn't really matter. It never hurt Magic Johnson, or Larry Bird and they both played with more talent on their teams. What gets talked about is the fact that they won championships.stephenb":2ysx80a2 said:
I think that this whole idea of "X's Team" or Batman and Robin etc is the Media/fans obsession. It seems pretty clear that he doesn't have the same killer insinct that Jordan had. He rather spend 6 months living in Miami and playing with his friends. Besides the big three Mike Miller and Haslem are really good role players. He is going to have a lot of fun playing with his friends in a situation which gives him the best chance to win.
It makes complete sense for him to leave. "The Decision" was his only bad decision.
What you also have to remember is that Cleveland has a long tradition of their sports going to shit constantly. Art Modell moving the Browns, half the winning Indians team traded off mid-season in the 90's, the reincarnated Browns sucking donkey balls, etc. Disappointment has become second nature, which is why they clung to LeBron like a parasite. They thought he was going to be the "beacon of hope" to revive their failing sports franchises.
Interesting. I had is as most likely tribalism, the comfort of numbers, or the brain chem boost when something you associate yourself with wins.. or some combination of those. I can add art to that list.hux":3rajuw6p said:
I also suspect that to want to see the brilliant you have to have a grasp of it. Watching a brilliant accountant create something more incomprehensible than derivatives and then make a mint would strike me as dull.
On the other hand I was competitive at paintball in College (went to the collegiate nationals). I say that watching paintball on TV even at the top levels is one of the most boring things you can watch. So maybe I do not get the art.
The other thing I've noticed (not being a native to NE Ohio), is that Clevelanders (and Akronites to a lesser extent) generally seem to be very negative about their cities -- the first thing quite a few people ask when they found out that you moved to the area is "Why?"Mortus":yw77ftpr said:
To be honest, I don't get this... I know the area is still dealing with the decline in manufacturing employment, but I actually do like a lot of Cleveland -- the eastern suburbs are very nice, University Circle has some terrific museums (and Case Western is a good school), and you can almost always find something to do around here. Not to mention you've got Cuyahoga Valley National Park and a number of very good metro parks if you favor more outdoorsy pursuits.
Coming from northwest Ohio where there's almost nothing to do, I love the Cleveland/Akron metro areas, and it baffles me why most of the natives here are so negative about it.
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