Mantle2600
02-27-2006, 04:51 PM
As someone who finished high school in Cleveland, someone who lived there for 13 years, someone whose parents are Cavaliers season ticket holders, let me say this to the fans at Quicken Loans Arena:
What in the world are you thinking?
You booed LeBron James?
When I first heard it, I didn't believe it. I thought, "There's no way they could be so dimwitted, not the folks in C-Town." ABC ran with the story Sunday in Detroit, reporting that LeBron told Stuart Scott, "It makes you wonder ... ''
That made it sound like the whole building was jeering, but after checking it out for myself, I understand it was just a smattering -- though a noticeable, unmistakable one. Still, even a smattering of boos is too much.
So he shot 0-for-8 in the second half of a loss to Washington. So he missed eight foul shots and scored just four points in the final two quarters. So what?
You don't boo LeBron James in Cleveland. Not when he can walk out the door in less than two years and destroy your historically pitiful little franchise in the process.
Do you realize how many people, both inside and outside of the NBA, would love to see LeBron go to a bigger, sexier market? Do you realize he could go to Orlando and play with Dwight Howard or to Toronto to play with Chris Bosh for the next 15 years?
Do you realize that 20 years from now, this will be known as the beginning of "The LeBron James Era," that all of the other great youngsters -- D. Wade, Bosh, Howard, Carmelo, Tony Parker, Chris Paul, Amare -- will be viewed as supporting actors in his blockbuster, like Barkley, Ewing, Malone, Stockton, Olajuwon, Robinson, etc. are in relation to Jordan?
Do you realize that no one outside of Ohio would blame him for leaving what many regard as Podunk for the bright lights of Chicago, or elsewhere, as a free agent?
Luckily for you, LeBron hasn't been listening to the whispers. He's from tiny Akron. He's fine at Cracker Barrel; he doesn't need a five-star Zagat's-rated restaurant on Broadway. He wants to turn the hometown team into a winner, a champion.
But you just gave him a reason to at least consider listening to those who sing the praises of the large market, those who are eager to remind him that the modern-day greats, the icons on and off the court, didn't hang out in Cleveland, Sacramento, Portland, Milwaukee and places of that ilk. They were in L.A. (Magic, Shaq, Kobe), Boston (Bird) and Chicago (Michael).
Still, you booed him. You of the 17 wins the season before he arrived, you of the seven straight seasons outside the playoffs, you whose most memorable moment -- "The Miracle of Richfield'' -- took place in 1976. In the first round!
You boo LeBron for a bad half? Is he not averaging 31, seven and seven? Even in the boo game -- one of the worst performances of his career -- he finished with 25, nine and seven.
If he has a bad game, even a bad week, you don't boo him. If he has a month of 35 percent shooting, 10 Ls, and 16 ppg, then maybe you boo him. But he won't put up numbers like that until he's about 40 years old, so it's a moot point.
I hope you haven't been jaded by the recent and senseless hype about LeBron not being a closer. First of all, entering Friday's game, he was leading the league in FG percentage (.560) in the last two minutes of play. Secondly, he's only 21.
I remember Magic Johnson costing the Lakers a game in the NBA Finals by absentmindedly dribbling out the clock. I remember Isiah Thomas costing the Pistons a game and perhaps the Eastern Conference title by throwing a last-second pass into the hands of Larry Bird. I remember Kobe launching air balls in the playoffs against Utah.
Can we give LeBron a little time before we expect him to be as clutch as MJ?
And please don't start hating because LeBron refused to be in the dunk contest. In case you haven't noticed, as great as LeBron is, he's not as graceful and artistic as Michael, Vince, Dominique and Kobe.
He's a heck of a game dunker because of his power and vertical, but when he's on the court by himself, his dunks won't be as pretty as those of the legendary sky walkers. There's no shame in that.
Where does it say you have to win the dunk contest to be an all-time great? How many times did Magic or Bird win it? How many times did Oscar throw down on someone?
LeBron knows he's not the best dunker out there, and if he won the contest, it would only be because of his name. So why enter?
Look, you're paying customers, and you can do what you want, but please take this advice from one who would love to see you enjoy a Bulls-like run: Make last Friday the last and only time you reserve such treatment for LeBron.
Otherwise, you may end up with plenty of chances to boo him in the future --when he returns to the Q in a visitor's uniform
Now im as big a LBJ fan as there is, but if his ego is so sensitive that he would leave cause he was booed in one game, then see ya friggin later. The fans pay his salary and if he shoots atrociously and does absolutely nothin to help his team, then whats the big deal? And correct me if im wrong, but I know i've seen players booed in big markets too.
What in the world are you thinking?
You booed LeBron James?
When I first heard it, I didn't believe it. I thought, "There's no way they could be so dimwitted, not the folks in C-Town." ABC ran with the story Sunday in Detroit, reporting that LeBron told Stuart Scott, "It makes you wonder ... ''
That made it sound like the whole building was jeering, but after checking it out for myself, I understand it was just a smattering -- though a noticeable, unmistakable one. Still, even a smattering of boos is too much.
So he shot 0-for-8 in the second half of a loss to Washington. So he missed eight foul shots and scored just four points in the final two quarters. So what?
You don't boo LeBron James in Cleveland. Not when he can walk out the door in less than two years and destroy your historically pitiful little franchise in the process.
Do you realize how many people, both inside and outside of the NBA, would love to see LeBron go to a bigger, sexier market? Do you realize he could go to Orlando and play with Dwight Howard or to Toronto to play with Chris Bosh for the next 15 years?
Do you realize that 20 years from now, this will be known as the beginning of "The LeBron James Era," that all of the other great youngsters -- D. Wade, Bosh, Howard, Carmelo, Tony Parker, Chris Paul, Amare -- will be viewed as supporting actors in his blockbuster, like Barkley, Ewing, Malone, Stockton, Olajuwon, Robinson, etc. are in relation to Jordan?
Do you realize that no one outside of Ohio would blame him for leaving what many regard as Podunk for the bright lights of Chicago, or elsewhere, as a free agent?
Luckily for you, LeBron hasn't been listening to the whispers. He's from tiny Akron. He's fine at Cracker Barrel; he doesn't need a five-star Zagat's-rated restaurant on Broadway. He wants to turn the hometown team into a winner, a champion.
But you just gave him a reason to at least consider listening to those who sing the praises of the large market, those who are eager to remind him that the modern-day greats, the icons on and off the court, didn't hang out in Cleveland, Sacramento, Portland, Milwaukee and places of that ilk. They were in L.A. (Magic, Shaq, Kobe), Boston (Bird) and Chicago (Michael).
Still, you booed him. You of the 17 wins the season before he arrived, you of the seven straight seasons outside the playoffs, you whose most memorable moment -- "The Miracle of Richfield'' -- took place in 1976. In the first round!
You boo LeBron for a bad half? Is he not averaging 31, seven and seven? Even in the boo game -- one of the worst performances of his career -- he finished with 25, nine and seven.
If he has a bad game, even a bad week, you don't boo him. If he has a month of 35 percent shooting, 10 Ls, and 16 ppg, then maybe you boo him. But he won't put up numbers like that until he's about 40 years old, so it's a moot point.
I hope you haven't been jaded by the recent and senseless hype about LeBron not being a closer. First of all, entering Friday's game, he was leading the league in FG percentage (.560) in the last two minutes of play. Secondly, he's only 21.
I remember Magic Johnson costing the Lakers a game in the NBA Finals by absentmindedly dribbling out the clock. I remember Isiah Thomas costing the Pistons a game and perhaps the Eastern Conference title by throwing a last-second pass into the hands of Larry Bird. I remember Kobe launching air balls in the playoffs against Utah.
Can we give LeBron a little time before we expect him to be as clutch as MJ?
And please don't start hating because LeBron refused to be in the dunk contest. In case you haven't noticed, as great as LeBron is, he's not as graceful and artistic as Michael, Vince, Dominique and Kobe.
He's a heck of a game dunker because of his power and vertical, but when he's on the court by himself, his dunks won't be as pretty as those of the legendary sky walkers. There's no shame in that.
Where does it say you have to win the dunk contest to be an all-time great? How many times did Magic or Bird win it? How many times did Oscar throw down on someone?
LeBron knows he's not the best dunker out there, and if he won the contest, it would only be because of his name. So why enter?
Look, you're paying customers, and you can do what you want, but please take this advice from one who would love to see you enjoy a Bulls-like run: Make last Friday the last and only time you reserve such treatment for LeBron.
Otherwise, you may end up with plenty of chances to boo him in the future --when he returns to the Q in a visitor's uniform
Now im as big a LBJ fan as there is, but if his ego is so sensitive that he would leave cause he was booed in one game, then see ya friggin later. The fans pay his salary and if he shoots atrociously and does absolutely nothin to help his team, then whats the big deal? And correct me if im wrong, but I know i've seen players booed in big markets too.