At Least I'm Not A Cavalier Fan
"One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team."
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"We've just received news that LeBron James is in did going to Miami to join up with Christ Bosh and D-Wade," Someone on ESPN said. I couldn't hear what else they said because my Dad got up and began to shout.
"What the f*** is LeBron's problem," He shouted at thin air. "The bastard should have stayed in Cleveland."
"Why," I asked, which turned out to be a very bad choice.
"He's f***ing up the league! If he had stayed his a** put in Cleveland, then that makes a more competitive league. More teams that are able to compete. But no! He wants to run off to Miami and f*** s*** up!"
"But he wasn't getting any rings with the Cavs," I argued.
"Like he's going to get any with the Heat," He snapped back. "I'm going to sleep. See you in the morning."
"Night Dad," I told him, but he was already closing the door to his room when I said it. I didn't understand where all of this was coming from. What was the big deal about LeBron going to the Heat?
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About eleven days later, I learned what Dad had meant exactly. It was only about noon and I turned to ESPN in the nick of time. To see a headline about Jordan coming up.
"Well, it seems as if Michael Jordan wasn't too happy about LeBron's move to Miami. Here's what he had to say," Stuart Scott announced.
ESPN then went to a video recording of an interview with MJ.
"There's no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry [Bird], called up Magic [Johnson] and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team.' But that's ... things are different. I can't say that's a bad thing. It's an opportunity these kids have today. In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys."
I saw then exactly what Dad was saying. It was about having the highest level of competition possible. I mean, that's what the NBA is all about right?
At the moment, I realized that I didn't entirely respect LeBron for what he had done. In my eyes, it was starting to look like he was running away from the fight. Instead of manning up and throwing down.
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