It's a long read, but it takes on a perspective that I have never seen. Jason Friedman tweeted the link. http://joeposnanski.si.com/2011/06/15/the-case-for-rooting-against-lebron/
I think it's fairly straight forward: 1. Spoiler 2. The post-Decision (initial) refusal to thank the fans of Cleveland, going so far as to take digs at Cleveland (I'm from Akron and we hated Cleveland as kids) 3. Spoiler 4. Spoiler 5. Game 4 of the NBA Finals 6. Spoiler --->But ultimately, I think it comes down to LeBron not being who we (selfishly) wanted him to be. We want superstars to stay in their hometowns or the teams that drafted them, in his case both. If he was going to leave, we wanted it to be to the Knicks or maybe Chicago. We didn't want to see a superpower when we're mired in mediocrity. So, he goes under the microscope. Anything he does that misses the mark, he gets creamed for.
Well said. Pretty much spot on. I think it's also more of 'how' he misses the mark that calls for criticism. The Decision is always the first thing that comes to critics' minds, because it was the immediate turning point for the way he was looked upon. He didn't just say hey Cleveland, I'm gonna sign with Miami because I think it's best for me in whatever way... he went on national tv, before the world (minus a few people) knew where he was going, and said "I'm gonna take my talents blah blah".. Sidenote: The funny thing is... Kobe said the same thing when deciding between college and the NBA. He told the media that he was going to "take [his] talents to the NBA". Lebron started the fire. The media only added fuel.
the celebration wasn't even his idea, think about it, if the rockets had 3 guys like that come, would the organization make it big? im pretty sure you'd be in the audience too
I don't see why this is so complex. People as a whole don't like arrogance. They especially don't like arrogance from people who just talk and don't live up to the hype. Lebron has always been arrogant (referring to himself as King James, etc) but had lots of talent so people let it slide. Then he multiplied that with The Decision, and it was too much for people. We root against arrogant people, so we root against Lebron. It's that simple.
I don't think it's just arrogance. Lebron's problem is that he's arrogant but not very clever, smart, or funny. Charles Barkley is arrogant and obnoxious, but he's viewed as a humorous guy so we laugh with him and laugh at him. The same with pro-wrestlers like the Rock and Steve Austin... People will put up with their gladiators strutting around like peacocks if they have good lines. Unfortunately for Lebron, he's kind of dull and doesn't have anything clever to say to turn the crowd in favor of him.
The guy just takes arrogance to a whole new level. What kind of person gets a chosen one, gifted child, king james, and witness tattoo. Those tattoos alone are reason enough for me to not cheer for him as an athlete.
Among fans, I'd say I am among the worst when it comes to giving a damn about player personality/off-court stuff. And I turned against Lebron last year. Not because of the decision, not because of the parade, his lack of tact in general, his entourage, whatever. I don't even care where Lebron plays, since I'm not from Cleveland. I just dislike idea of superfriends because it's like a cop out. It's like turning on the cheat codes in a video game, or being the Yankees and just buy your way to championships (I actually didn't dislike the Yankees when they first won with mostly homegrown talent). What Lebron did seemed cheap, unnecessary, and make any of his accomplishment seem moot because he paired up with another top 5 player and a top 10-20 player.
Not all at. The bottom line for the hatred boils down to 1 thing. Disappointment. Disappointment in Lebron for letting people down. What fed that disappointment? Years of heavy handed hype. Fueled by Nike, instigated ESPN, nurtured by Stern, propagated by our society mythologizing athletes and black males. And front and center in all that Lebron himself. Before the unbearable, foolish over-the-top hate came unbearable, foolish, over-the-top adulation for a kid who had won nothing, had led his team to nothing and had not done enough to be worthy of receiving praise properly reserved for the greatest of the all-time greats. For years people were force fed the premise of Lebron as this superhuman basketball soul who would bring balance to the NBA by winning loads and loads of titles while showing everyone things on the court that no one had seen before. You weren't a FAN. You were a WITNESS. Who made the PROMISE that what you would see on the court would be TESTIMONY to a holy basketball ascension? Was it fans? Or was it Lebron. Who's responsible for this hysteria? A lot of white dudes in suits certainly but it all starts and ends with Lebron himself. How can anyone call people "selfish" for their disappointment as if the fans are the one who foisted this label of "King" on James? Lebron did that himself. And not only did he pull the wool over everyone's eyes (with evidently no intention of delivering as was made clear when he bolted Cleveland) it's become clear this year that a clear road to becoming a champion is something he himself internalized and came to see as birthright It was something that Lebron deserved, not by building a team in his hometown, not by working on his skills off-the-ball or on his footwork, but simply something he deserved for being Lebron. Even this week he tweets about "the Man Upstairs" as if his rings are preordained. He doesn't talk about hard work, he doesn't talk about his teammates he's talking about some investiture from above which will deliver him titles in due time out of entitlement as if he's a Hebrew walking to the Holy land . LEBRON LEBRON LEBRON LEBRON LEBRON LEBRON LEBRON LEBRON LEBRON LEBRON LEBRON LEBRON LEBRON LEBRON LEBRON LEBRON The whole thing is pretty stupid but it's very simple as well. No need to overthink it. Lebron doesn't win. Lebron gets crucified. Lebron wins. Everything is fine. If he'd delivered a title there'd be 5 threads on Dish and 2 illegal ones on GARM talking GOAT. Dont overthink it. In America you can be an ******* as long as you win. Lebron just has to win. He still has one more year to get it done before the real **** hits the fan.
The video is in the thread that I have linked. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=205557&page=7
