I think that, perhaps, as a sportswriter, you're simply too close to it to see it. You've spent so much time examining the event, and attempting to make it part of LeBron's narrative, that you're no longer actually talking about it.
I am not a musician, but I know a few. When the subject of guitarists comes up, they do love to go on and on about Steve Vai.
"The technique! The speed! He's a genius!"
To which I respond, "Yeah, I guess. But does it groove?"
It doesn't. It's soulless. I'll take Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, or Steve Cropper over Vai or Joe Satriani every time.
You discuss The Decision as it relates to LeBron's "mythos." His *mythos*! I am a fan of his, and would argue that he may very well be the GOAT, based on the fact that I don't think that MJ himself could have dragged the 2016 Cavaliers to a title.
But The Decision? It was a dick move, made moreso by the fact that LeBron James is not a dick. I do not agree with Bill Simmons on much, but keeping Cleveland fans in a state of torture over the preceding weeks and months, forcing everyone to sit through an hour of Jim Gray, and then raising a giant middle finger to his hometown fans? He didn't need to do that. When he left Cleveland the second time, he quietly took care of the negotiations, and signed with the Lakers. I can't stand the Lakers, but I absolutely respect how he just took care of business without manufacturing unnecessary drama.
If you're going to stay in Cleveland, obviously the less-desirable of locations when contrasted with Miami, maybe you do a stunt like this. Announcing that you've decided to stick with the underdog in the equation would have made a far more compelling impression. Attempts to water down the event by looking at it along with everything that preceded and followed feels like an effort to zoom out so far from the smoking crater, that you can hardly see the impact at all.
The show had no bearing on the career of LeBron James. His actual decision to join Miami, likely made weeks in advance of the show, was all that mattered. I think highly of the man, so my guess is that he got terrible advice, and went along with it.
The legacy of The Decision is that it places a smallness, a pettiness, on a person who has done very few things to indicate that this is who he is. The massive amount of expository about it comes off as an effort to obfuscate what it was: A publicity stunt gone wrong.
To me, and, respectfully, this whole argument rests on the expectation that LeBron needed to have special sympathy for Cleveland fans, which I don't agree with. I think another part of his legacy, which I respect, is his recognition of the cold heartedness and deceipt of the NBA business side of things (Isaiah Thomas, DeMar DeRozan, the Cavs' owner being terrible), and not allowing racist, unfair expectations to limit his flexing of his power *for self-autonomy*. I also think his expressing of joy, including in his wanting to celebrate during and after The Decision, led to extra criticism, which I think also has toxic racist expectations underneath it (policing Blackness, expecting him to be more quiet/'considerate'/grateful). I'm now remembering reading how many MLB players openly admired LeBron for his player empowerment-leadership as their league struggled with negotiating against exploitative team franchisees.
"Every team should do this, except the Blazers, since Oregon has compulsory vote by mail."
So does Colorado!
I think that, perhaps, as a sportswriter, you're simply too close to it to see it. You've spent so much time examining the event, and attempting to make it part of LeBron's narrative, that you're no longer actually talking about it.
I am not a musician, but I know a few. When the subject of guitarists comes up, they do love to go on and on about Steve Vai.
"The technique! The speed! He's a genius!"
To which I respond, "Yeah, I guess. But does it groove?"
It doesn't. It's soulless. I'll take Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, or Steve Cropper over Vai or Joe Satriani every time.
You discuss The Decision as it relates to LeBron's "mythos." His *mythos*! I am a fan of his, and would argue that he may very well be the GOAT, based on the fact that I don't think that MJ himself could have dragged the 2016 Cavaliers to a title.
But The Decision? It was a dick move, made moreso by the fact that LeBron James is not a dick. I do not agree with Bill Simmons on much, but keeping Cleveland fans in a state of torture over the preceding weeks and months, forcing everyone to sit through an hour of Jim Gray, and then raising a giant middle finger to his hometown fans? He didn't need to do that. When he left Cleveland the second time, he quietly took care of the negotiations, and signed with the Lakers. I can't stand the Lakers, but I absolutely respect how he just took care of business without manufacturing unnecessary drama.
If you're going to stay in Cleveland, obviously the less-desirable of locations when contrasted with Miami, maybe you do a stunt like this. Announcing that you've decided to stick with the underdog in the equation would have made a far more compelling impression. Attempts to water down the event by looking at it along with everything that preceded and followed feels like an effort to zoom out so far from the smoking crater, that you can hardly see the impact at all.
The show had no bearing on the career of LeBron James. His actual decision to join Miami, likely made weeks in advance of the show, was all that mattered. I think highly of the man, so my guess is that he got terrible advice, and went along with it.
The legacy of The Decision is that it places a smallness, a pettiness, on a person who has done very few things to indicate that this is who he is. The massive amount of expository about it comes off as an effort to obfuscate what it was: A publicity stunt gone wrong.
To me, and, respectfully, this whole argument rests on the expectation that LeBron needed to have special sympathy for Cleveland fans, which I don't agree with. I think another part of his legacy, which I respect, is his recognition of the cold heartedness and deceipt of the NBA business side of things (Isaiah Thomas, DeMar DeRozan, the Cavs' owner being terrible), and not allowing racist, unfair expectations to limit his flexing of his power *for self-autonomy*. I also think his expressing of joy, including in his wanting to celebrate during and after The Decision, led to extra criticism, which I think also has toxic racist expectations underneath it (policing Blackness, expecting him to be more quiet/'considerate'/grateful). I'm now remembering reading how many MLB players openly admired LeBron for his player empowerment-leadership as their league struggled with negotiating against exploitative team franchisees.