It's Good to be the King

All I have to say is, “wow.” It must be good to be LeBron James. Now there is a LeBron ticker on ESPN. Everyone knows by now (unless you live in a hole) that King James is a free agent and he is being courted by several NBA teams. It is quite possibly the most pathetic display I’ve seen in sports in a long time, maybe ever. It is quite ridiculous how teams and entire cities are courting him. Grown men are singing songs about LeBron staying in their town or moving to their town. It is a frenzy that can only happen in American sports.

I don’t blame LeBron. He is a great basketball player and is trying to make the right decision. Sure, his decision is based mostly on money, and honestly, can you blame him? He made more money in endorsements the day he signed with Cleveland at 18 years of old than the majority of us will make in our entire lives. Besides, I guarantee you if someone offered you an obscene amount of money to do the job you loved to do, you would take it.

I blame the media for this frenzy. Everytime I turn on ESPN there is a new story speculating where LeBron will go. They've uncovered someone who claims to know something and is predicting LeBron will go here or stay there. They have a reporter camped out in front of his basketball camp in Akron, or in front of the office where he has been meeting with a team.

You have to imagine LeBron is enjoying this attention just a little bit. I mean, he’s got teams fighting over him, something we would all love to have happen to us. Put yourself in his shoes. Say you got a great job at Joe’s Corporation. You worked there a few years and made Joe’s a household name and improved their profit margins. Then, other companies began courting you. They flew you out to meet with them and showed you everything they could give you. It is obvious with all of the companies that you will be the top dog and you will get anything you want there. New desk? Check. Expense account? Check. Gourmet coffee? Check. New computer and iPhone? Check. Everything you need to do the best job you can do. What would you do? Would location play a factor? Would you still be loyal to Joe’s because it is where you got your start and happens to be located in your home state? Would you take a chance on a new company where there are new coworkers and a new boss/coach?

The big question now is just where will LeBron go? Will he stay in Cleveland? Will he go to Chicago? Miami? New York? Honestly, I don’t think it matters. His previous history with Cleveland has shown that one man – no matter how talented – cannot win a championship.