Witness This
So last week, after declaring his lifelong love of the Yankees while hosting Saturday Night Live, Cleveland's own LeBron James showed up at Game 1 of the playoffs between the Yankees and the Indians wearing a Yankees baseball cap.
Well, Cleveland was offended. Cleveland was appalled. Cleveland was angry. At Game 2, we saw signs saying things like "Witness the Heresy" and "Beat LeBronx Bombers." We love LeBron and he insulted our town by showing up AT HOME wearing the opponent's logo. Even Queen Latifah hesitated to admit her allegiance to the Yankees and only admitted it when pressed, but respectfully (since she was invited to throw the first pitch) did not wear Yankees gear.
Last Friday, the Plain Dealer had an article making fun of LeBron's "back the winner" philosophy. Connie Shultz's column yesterday even discussed the matter, and pointed out that it made Cleveland a laughing stock.
Well, okay, I'll admit, I was offended. At first. But now, as time has passed, I see it's really not so big a deal. So I'm going to play Devil's Advocate for a while. First of all, he's a longterm fan of the Yankees. He was seen in high school wearing a Yankees hat. He's loyal. He was probably excited to see them in the playoffs. He's a big man around here, and he should be free to be himself.
Secondly, we won. If anyone is embarrassed now, it should be him. But I doubt it. I don't think he should be. If he's a true Yankees fan, which I'm presuming he is, he's not going to hide his allegiance just because his team lost (although he should! Losers! All that money and they can't buy themselves a second win. Ha! - sorry, couldn't help myself. I was being too nice to the Yankees for too long).
Third, and here's an important one. We in Cleveland have put LeBron up on a pedestal. He's our golden boy. He joined the Cavs right after high school, and we wondered if he was mature enough to handle the pros. He is. Would he be as good as the hype? He is. He's a great athlete, a team player, an all-around good guy. Well, that's a heck of a lot of pressure to put on a guy, isn't it? That pedestal keeps getting higher and higher. And sooner or later, it's gotta give.
So think about it. LeBron has fallen. But how? He was not involved in dog fighting. There have been no sex scandals, drug scandals, domestic violence stories, gun possession charges, reckless driving, drunk driving, motorcycle accidents, or even allegations of links to the mob, mafia or terrorists.
No. Our fallen hero, LeBron James, is now the target of negative press because of a hat.
We in Cleveland have it pretty damn good.
Well, Cleveland was offended. Cleveland was appalled. Cleveland was angry. At Game 2, we saw signs saying things like "Witness the Heresy" and "Beat LeBronx Bombers." We love LeBron and he insulted our town by showing up AT HOME wearing the opponent's logo. Even Queen Latifah hesitated to admit her allegiance to the Yankees and only admitted it when pressed, but respectfully (since she was invited to throw the first pitch) did not wear Yankees gear.
Last Friday, the Plain Dealer had an article making fun of LeBron's "back the winner" philosophy. Connie Shultz's column yesterday even discussed the matter, and pointed out that it made Cleveland a laughing stock.
Well, okay, I'll admit, I was offended. At first. But now, as time has passed, I see it's really not so big a deal. So I'm going to play Devil's Advocate for a while. First of all, he's a longterm fan of the Yankees. He was seen in high school wearing a Yankees hat. He's loyal. He was probably excited to see them in the playoffs. He's a big man around here, and he should be free to be himself.
Secondly, we won. If anyone is embarrassed now, it should be him. But I doubt it. I don't think he should be. If he's a true Yankees fan, which I'm presuming he is, he's not going to hide his allegiance just because his team lost (although he should! Losers! All that money and they can't buy themselves a second win. Ha! - sorry, couldn't help myself. I was being too nice to the Yankees for too long).
Third, and here's an important one. We in Cleveland have put LeBron up on a pedestal. He's our golden boy. He joined the Cavs right after high school, and we wondered if he was mature enough to handle the pros. He is. Would he be as good as the hype? He is. He's a great athlete, a team player, an all-around good guy. Well, that's a heck of a lot of pressure to put on a guy, isn't it? That pedestal keeps getting higher and higher. And sooner or later, it's gotta give.
So think about it. LeBron has fallen. But how? He was not involved in dog fighting. There have been no sex scandals, drug scandals, domestic violence stories, gun possession charges, reckless driving, drunk driving, motorcycle accidents, or even allegations of links to the mob, mafia or terrorists.
No. Our fallen hero, LeBron James, is now the target of negative press because of a hat.
We in Cleveland have it pretty damn good.
posted by BrainHickey | 9:58 PM
1 Comments:
Very valid point... he's a Yankee's fan. That's his fall. Of course, he couldn't be a Red Sox fan or some other team but had to pick the Yankees.
As long as he works hard to beat the Knicks as a Cavs player, go on rooting for the team that lost to the Indians this year.
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