SPO: The LeBronathon

LeBron James is going to the Miami Heat. See that wasn't so hard, it didn't take an ESPN special to type. His highly publicized and closely scrutinized decision went along the lines of my earlier explanations although with less emphasis on global stage and more emphasis on basketball, glamor, and friends. I still thought that LeBron might choose one of the New York markets but it became clear that this whole free agency choice thing was really a ploy. There is no doubt that this whole LeBron, Dwyane, Bosh convergence has been talked about since the 2008 Summer Olympics within a few miles from where I currently sit. While they certainly hadn't settled things then and probably didn't even agree to a specific team, when it became clear that the Heat and only the Heat would be able to sign all 3 free agents I think the decision was locked in place. In my opinion, this whole week of pandering and visiting various teams and pretend anguish makes these guys, but especially LeBron, look very bad. The one hour television show was particularly absurd, and while I didn't watch it over here, it didn't seem like a very interesting watch.

LeBron could have gone to Chicago and arguably had a better chance to win a championship, and one that would be more rightly his. The difference between Chicago and Miami is that Chicago is cold, South Beach is a blast for a 25 year old multimillionaire bachelor, and the talent on the Bulls roster wasn't his good pals. Will this move pay off? Maybe, because those 3 are locked in Miami together for at least 4 years and probably at least 6. In that time they could become a dynasty for the ages. I honestly do believe they will succeed, and while I do see first year struggles with their current nonexistent supporting cast, I wouldn't rule out a championship this year. LeBron may have proven to be narcissistic and selfish as a human being, but he is surprisingly not like that as a basketball player.

If people didn't believe my theory that "LeBron is from Akron, not Cleveland," how else do you explain his television announcement? Cleveland was destroyed by the decision, and the high publicity instantaneous transmission of that decision made the rest of the country keenly aware of Cleveland's reaction. The best Facebook status quote that I've seen came yesterday from my friend Joelle Thomas: "It is raining in Cleveland today. The city is crying." I'm in the camp that LeBron didn't intentionally stick this knife in that city's back - he simply didn't realize the dynamics of this town from which he grew up 40 miles away and played 7 years in. Unbelievable.

I think the Heat are going to be fun to watch and very good, but I'm rooting quite hard against them. I hope they lose to the Cavaliers, the Celtics, the Knicks and even the Lakers. I hope the 3 superstars fight and squabble and embarrass themselves. It probably won't happen though.