Loyalty in Sports

I'm not one to be shy when it comes to giving my opinion, so excuse me if I offend anyone in this next article. The last months has been the hardest of my young, 17 year old life. You see, I'm a Cleveland Cavaliers fan. A lifetime fan. My favorite player, to this day, remains Zydrunas Ilgauskas, despite the fact that he just left for the Miami Heat. There's nothing special about Ilgauskas. He's tall, sure, but he doesn't have an outstanding post move, and his main move is a sweet jumper followed by a slow jog back. His story is amazing. Almost never played in the NBA after 3 seasons due to a year and a half of foot problems. Almost has an all metal foot due to breaking his foot multiple times and receiving metal plates. Almost won an NBA championship - 3 times.

But he didn't. And he has chosen to chase his dreams in South Beach. And I respect that. I do. I'm not mad, and I'll watch his games for that one reason. I'd be fine with the Heat winning an NBA championship, just so I can see Ilgauskas, or Big Z as us Cavalier fans lovingly called him for 14 up and down seasons, hoist that trophy over his big, bald, shiny head and smile as his wife and twins watch and cheer. Hell, I'd love that!

But I hope LeBron fails. I hope Chris Bosh fails. I hope Dwayne Wade starts thinking "Wow these guys are selfish, image based players who don't care about the team picture. Pat, I want a trade!". On July 8th, I finally accepted what I've been trying to find an exception to: There truly is no loyalty in sports. For 7 years, I cheered for LeBron. I bought jerseys, t-shirts, hats, and twice I bought tickets. All from allowance money I received from mowing my lawn and watching my neighbors cat. But that's not the point. The point is that I was loyal. To the team, not just LeBron. Was he our best player? No doubt about it. But he was the worst PERSON on our team. I used to think he was better than Jordan, Kobe, Russell, Magic, Dr. J, EVERYONE. Now, I think that he has no legacy. Sure, he'll put up great stats in Miami. But he will never again be compared to Michael Jordan or Bill Russell. Jordan and Russell would have wanted to beat the living crap out of Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. How do I know this? Jordan has said it. Not publically, but it's been revealed. Michael Wilbon, host of Pardon the Interruption, a program that airs daily on ESPN, is close with Jordan and many former NBA players. Apparently Jordan is OUTRAGED by LeBron leaving, and this whole "let's team up and win championships together!" mindset. That makes two of us.

I can tell you right now that I didn't watch 'The Decision', the now infamous LeBron announcement on ESPN held in Greenwich, Connecticut. Not because I didn't want to, I probably would have. No, I was busy working. And I think that saved my image of LeBron a little bit. Because from what I've heard, LeBron was arrogant in the way he answered questions. He didn't thank Cleveland, the fans, the millions of people who supported their "hometown hero". I would probably hate LeBron right now. I don't hate him, I just will never like him again. There really is nothing he could do to get me, and I'm sure thousands of others, back on his side. And I'm sure he's ok with that. I'm just a writer, and he's partying in Vegas and making millions of dollars. My opinion doesn't matter to him.

But it should matter. Fans opinions should matter to LeBron, and they don't. He seemingly doesn't understand that in order to have a legacy, you must be liked. You MUST be loyal. Loyalty is a two way street. If you are loyal to your team, and not give up in games (see: Celtics series, Magic series of 2009), you will be loved. And the fans will be loyal to you. It works both ways. He doesn't understand this. The greats have loyalty. Jordan stayed with one team his whole career (Wizards don't count!). Russell was loyal till the very end, and he's saved his legacy (more on this later). I just don't see LeBron saving his legacy. A sign in his hometown of Akron used to read "Akron. Hometown of LeBron James". Now this sign reads "Akron. Home of LeBron James, 2010 NBA Traitor of the Year. Akron Hates You, and so does the rest of Ohio". Ouch. That should hurt him. But I doubt it does.

LeBron "wrote" a letter for the Akron Beacon Journal that was published today, August 3rd. I doubt he really wrote that. It was too kind for him. He's angry, and everyone knows it. I don't think he has anything nice to say about Ohio, so I think one of his high school buddies who control his every move and will inevitably ruin his career and legacy wrote the letter. Cleveland isn't mentioned once in the letter. That's fair play. We burnt his jerseys, took back his "King" nickname, took down the egotistical billboard of him, and Dan Gilbert hilariously and wonderfully blasted him in all capital letters and Comic Sans font. Classic. So I'm fine with him having nothing nice to say to Cleveland, because we don't want to hear it.

I think most people are mistaken with why Cavaliers fans are upset. It isn't because he left. Honestly, it's not. I began to understand during the Cavaliers-Celtics series of this year that he wasn't coming back. And it made me numb to any further moves by James. We're upset that he left without a word. He didn't have the respect to call Gilbert and say "Hey Dan, I'm sorry but I've decided to go to Miami. It's the right place for me, and I want to win a championship. Thanks for the 7 years you gave me, I'll never forget them". That's all Gilbert deserved, and he never got it. That's what hurts the most, and I won't ever forget it.

Maybe I should grow up a little bit and realize that sports are a business first and foremost, and that I'm a child for thinking that a player could want to play in his hometown for the most money possible for the most loyal fans in the business. At least Toronto fans knew Chris Bosh would leave. He seemed disinterested this year, didn't care if the Raptors made the playoffs or not, and publically asked fans on Twitter where he should play next year. Now LeBron and Bosh are together. It's only fair that they should have to play with each other.

So that's it. LeBron will play in Miami for at least 6 more years, Cleveland will be rebuilding, Chris Bosh will be upset quickly that he's the 3rd wheel and will probably demand a trade. The cycle will continue. I should have seen the signs. Loyalty in sports doesn't exist. Whether it's Bill Russell leaving the Celtics with no center, no coach, and then selling his story for $10,000. Whether it's Roger Clemens giving a big F U to all of Boston, with eery similarities to LeBron James. And now LeBron James. I'm not a fortune teller, so I don't know how this will finish. But I can assure you that LeBron will no longer be universally liked, like Jordan, Bird, Russell, Magic, Julius Erving, and Pistol Pete. Even Kobe has less haters now. And it's sad that LeBron let Maverick Carter be his manager. Because LeBron's making all the wrong moves.

I'll finish with a quick story. Last week, LeBron held a 3 day party in Las Vegas. This story was recently on ESPN, and quickly removed by his PR people. But those who saw it, like me, had a taste of a LeBron James previously not seen before. An Akron DJ was hired to host the event. That was class by PRMR, Maverick Carter and companies firm, the group that advises LeBron. I'll give them that. But when the Akron DJ yelled out "Hey LeBron, Akron still loves you!" LeBron gave the man "the finger". And that's how this whole thing played out. The cities of Akron and Cleveland gave LeBron nothing but love, support, adoration, and financial security, and he gave them the finger as he dribbled a ball out the door.

It's not about you, LeBron. It's about the team. Good luck, Ilgauskas. LeBron, break a leg.