A Rant Against LeBron Haters

Two days before the 2014 NBA Finals I wrote that San Antonio's AT&T Center had the worst facilities for a professional venue I had ever experienced in any sport.  Two days later while hosting game 1 of the Finals the air conditioner goes out.  Game 1 of the Finals.  As Manu Ginobli might say, "reedikulos" (or was it the other guy? I forget.).  The court was over one hundred degrees by the end of the game.

LeBron James has a history of cramps.  He cramped up against OKC in the 2012 Finals.  He was able to play through it to some degree and hit a clutch three pointer that sealed the game for the Heat.  Last night he started cramping in the fourth quarter.  He tried to play through it but was physically unable having to be carried to the bench.  He basically missed the last eight minutes of the game.  Eight minutes that the Spurs used to turn the tide of the game and go on a historic shooting spree finishing 14-16 from the field and 6-6 on threes.  Amazing shooting.  The Heat players were gassed and LeBron probably wouldn't have been enough to stop the onslaught.  No one used any excuses about the air conditioner.  Both teams had to play in the same reedikulos conditions.

What followed was predictably moronic.  The anti-LeBron community which dwarfs the pro-LeBron community came out in droves to criticize the back to back Finals MVP.

"LeBron is soft." "He's afraid of the moment." "Jordan would have played through it."

You LeBron haters can't wait to find a way to attack him.  You've had to keep your dumb ass mouths shut for two years and last night was like the dam bursting.  By the way, LeBron was playing great before the cramps.  His last play before being pulled for good was a layup. But, the first chance to degrade him, you do with the enthusiasm of a dog with a bone.  He is a finely tuned athlete with minuscule body fat and he's asked to do more on both ends of the floor than any player in the NBA.  Cramping is not a surprise.  It happens all the time in football.  Are you calling your favorite football player soft when he cramps up?

This world is filled with morons that love to give their unintelligent opinions.  It seems like the stupider people are, the more sure of themselves they are.  Stupid sports fans are too stupid to know they're stupid.  It's the reason morons like Skip Bayless are so popular.  Here's a guy who tells the world (to this day) that Tim Tebow just needs a chance and he would be a Super Bowl champion, then turns around and crushes LeBron because of a tattoo he got in high school.  Complete lunacy.

No matter how many former athletes say that cramps are a debilitating injury, and that pain tolerance or "will" cannot overcome them, the anti-LeBron world just won't listen.  Why?  Because Jordan would have played through them?  Yeah.  Because you know that.  Or is it that you're still mad about The Decision?  The Decision saved a post-Jordan NBA.  The only star near LeBron's level after Jordan is Kobe Bryant.  A guy that was on trial for rape while married.  A guy who ran teammates out of town.  A score first, selfish player.  A guy who even his fans understand was a piece of shit person for a good portion of his young career.  Yet we love him, just like we loved Jordan.

LeBron faced challenges in his childhood that are way too common among professional athletes.  Challenges that Kobe and Jordan never faced.  As a human being LeBron could have easily used that as an excuse to be another Stephen Jackson shooting up strip clubs.  But, no, he went the other route.  He is a model citizen.  His teammates love him.  He'd rather pass than score (something else LeBron haters kill him for).  He's never been in trouble with the law, never fights or retaliates when players take cheap shots, never been caught in an adultery scandal (married to his high school sweetheart) and never been rumored to do drugs.

What do the rest of you see that I don't?  Why do we hate this guy?  I started rooting for him the day he was drafted.  He is Mozart of basketball.  An absolute prodigy.  Scouts knew he would be the number one draft pick when he was 16.  He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated twice before graduating high school.  He has had cameras in his face since he was 14.  His talent is beyond what any player in the league has.  Would you expect someone like that to be normal?  Wouldn't you expect that person to be a little self-centered?  A little egotistical?  Newsflash: ALL PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES ARE EGOTISTICAL.  You can tell me Kevin Durant is the basketball version of Jesus Christ and I wouldn't necessarily disagree, but even he is egotistical.  You have to be.  Of any athlete on the planet, LeBron's life and career most resembles Tiger Woods, another absolute phenom.  Who would you say is a better human?  Who is better adjusted?  I hear how much people hate Woods and LeBron, yet LeBron's critics seem to have much more vitriol.

We hate LeBron for The Decision because he said "I'm taking my talents..."  Are you kidding me?  Yeah, it was egotistical.  Yeah, it was insensitive to the fans of the Cavaliers.  It was also a kid making a mistake.  A very small mistake when you consider what NBA and NFL players do with their off-seasons.  How many times as a football fan have you looked past a legal indiscretion because someone was a good player?  Here, we're talking about words.  Words that were a little egotistical.  Words that raised millions of dollars for the Boys and Girls Club.  You anti-LeBron people are idiots.  Oh yeah, it was also four years ago.  Get the fuck over it.  Have any of you said or done something stupid in the last four years?  Misjudged a situation?  No? That's right, because LeBron haters are such perfect people it is well within their right to judge him.

What? Are you mad he said, "not one, not two, not three..." Guess what?  Aside from the fact it was a celebration for Heat fans only before the national media broadcast it everywhere, he's been to the Finals four straight seasons.  Four for four.  He's on the doorstep of three straight championships.  He pretty much backed up the talk.  And, there's no doubt who led the Heat there.  He has dragged the other two of the Big 3 with him.  Dwyane Wade's health problems and Chris Bosh's frequent ineffectiveness are never brought up with LeBron.  Nope.  It's easier to say he took a shortcut to championships.  You know how I know that's bull shit?  I watch the games.  I watch.  I see.  What are you watching?

The NBA is as popular now as it was in the Jordan era.  LeBron did that.  You might hate him, but you care now.  For most, there's someone to root against.  For me, it's a greatness that eclipses anything I have seen since Jordan and I will cherish it as long as I am fortunate enough to witness it.  Had LeBron not gone to Miami, the Clippers wouldn't have sold for $2 billion.  Think about it.

I've said before that as a ten year old I pretended I didn't like Jordan.  I guess I am a contrarian by nature.  The problem was, I couldn't keep it up.  I became an enormous Jordan fan.  I consumed everything Jordan like most basketball loving folks did during his run.  We loved his commercials, his smile, and his non-controversial stances.  It was all fake other than his greatness.  It took him seven years before he would pass the ball.  He shot 35 times a game.  LeBron averages 15 shots a game.  Jordan drank, gambled like a degenerate, was competitive to the point of insanity, punched teammates and we fucking loved him.  The day Jordan retired 50 percent of white basketball fans identified him as their favorite player.  Before The Decision, LeBron topped out at 15 percent, now it is 8 percent.  How?  I don't get it.  Never have.

When LeBron said, "I'm taking my talents..." my first reaction was an uncontrollable smile.  I knew what would happen.  He would finally be playing with a team that could legitimately compete for championships.  I knew Cleveland would be pissed.  They should be.  I would have been too.  But, they're the only group that has an excuse to hate LeBron.  What's the rest of yours?

Say it out loud.  Say what you don't like about LeBron and be honest.  Is it that he beat your team?  Okay.  I don't like Ginobli, but it's because he's good, and I understand that.  Cockiness? Tattoos? Race? Facial expressions?  One thing he did one time?  Whatever your problem with him is, you're wrong.  He's not perfect.  He's human.  I would think that would make him more likable.

Then there was the Dan Gilbert letter.  The most public, scathing criticism an owner has ever written about a player.  Word of advice to owner's of an NBA franchise.  Don't treat African American players like servants.  White owners plus black players equals a tenuous working relationship.  To insinuate LeBron owed you something after giving blood, sweat and tears for seven years is a mistake that can easily be viewed as racist.  It's probably more of a rich thing since rich assholes like Gilbert aren't used to people telling them no.

Free agency exists for a reason and to begrudge LeBron the opportunity to take a better job is nonsensical.  So, LeBron hater, are you going to stay in your first job forever because the owner hired you out of college?  Or are you going to leave Cleveland and move to Miami to work with your friends in an environment that will benefit your career exponentially?  By the way, LeBron made Gilbert hundreds of millions. That letter redoubled my support of LeBron.  The rest of the world could turn on him, it only made me love him more.  I didn't want to be that ten year old kid who pretends he isn't witnessing excellence.

Do you LeBron haters understand how incredibly rare he is, not just as an athlete but as a person?  How many times have we overrated kids from high school or college only to see them fail as a pro?  It happens all the time.  The next big thing almost never is.  LeBron had IMPOSSIBLE expectations.  He could not have been more hyped.  Guess what happened?  He exceeded expectations.  He is everything we and he said he would be.  Four MVPs, two championships, five Finals appearances in seven years, two Finals MVPs, and a truck load of statistical records.  Why do we hate that?  On top of all those expectations and pressure we expect him to be just like Charlie your friendly bank teller.  We expect Mozart to be normal.  One of the things that is most remarkable about LeBron is how well adjusted he is with the life he's led.  He is amazing.

If I grew up like LeBron, I would probably be a cocky prick.  I already was a cocky prick and all I ever did was play high school athletics.  Can you really imagine what you would be like if you had all the talent, fame and money in the world?  Would you work as hard as he does?  Would you avoid temptations the way he does?  Would you resist being self-centered?  Would you keep your priorities in check?  Would you stay out of trouble?  NO. You wouldn't.  You're lying if you think you would.

Why do I love LeBron James besides his transcendent talent?  Because of you morons.  The old saying, "you wouldn't know greatness if it shit on your face (maybe I just made that up) applies to all you LeBron haters (outside of Cleveland, I get it guys).  I love thinking about him winning a third straight championship because it would piss you off again.  Keep looking for reasons like cramps to tear down a once in a generation athlete, you're the one with shit on your face.  Not me.

By the way, this is my 100th post.  Thank you to all of you that kept me going by reading.  I know I haven't been the most consistent blogger, but I have persevered because of you.  I had something funny and special planned for the 100th post, but this was more pressing.  I'm so sick of unfair LeBron criticisms.  He's not beyond reproach but the venom directed his way over stupid shit baffles me.