At 12:20 pm is when I saw the Lee Jenkins tweet come across my timeline. I had to take a double take just to make sure. In an age where fake twitter accounts have run rampant, "sources have been thrown around all over the Internet like like Oprah giving away cars. This gives me reason to do a double take, I saw it was legit and knew the end of the LeBron James Era in Miami was over.
All of sports media, rabid fans and just casual fans who had an invested interest in the sport of basketball knew where they were when the announcement was made. It is one of those moments in sports that we will all remember. For a week, the sports world was at a sudden stop. The World Cup was forgotten, the MLB All-Star game is around the corner and it was on the back burner. NBA player movement was at a freeze until "The Decision" was made.
The reaction from both fan bases is unique and inconsistent as well. Almost laughable for that matter.
I live in south Florida, I’ve covered the Miami Heat the past two seasons. I was there when Ray Allen hit the shot. In south Florida we call it “Rays Corner," losing three in a row in the 2014 Finals verse the Spurs was a backbreaking but a wakeup call. Hearing Pat Riley at his presser gave the fan base tons of hope. We often refer to Riley as The Godfather.
Heat fans are a cocky bunch, South Florida natives are cocky for that matter. Going all the way back to my University of Miami days, seeing Dwyane Wade take over the 2006 NBA Finals and in 2010 seeing the Big Three rise from the ground and hearing the backlash for it. We came together as a community, and as a result, an “Us Against the World” mentality came to be.
For the most part, the Heat fan base is thankful for the past four years. You have your section of angry fans who have spray painted black paint over a Lebron James face on a mural in Miami. Later, it was replaced with another picture of James.
The fan base is heartbroken but appreciative as well. The best four years South Florida has experienced adds to the “Us Against the World” mentality. James gave us everything for four years, no one can take that away.
In Cleveland, the backlash was obvious and understandable. The burning of jerseys, the letter from Dan Gilbert. Every road game against the Cavaliers was a show. Fans walking on the court only to be celebrated because of the heartbreak they experienced. For some odd reason walking on the court was sympathized by the nation and media.
Over the last four years, the Cavaliers have bottom feeders. Players fighting amongst each other, re-hiring and firing coaches as a result. The team truly went back to being irrelevant but with understanding. While the Heat were going to four straight finals appearances, the Cavaliers were just holding out hope for the King to come home.
Their hope was fulfilled, all of the burning of jerseys, backlash from fans on sports radio and the letter from Dan Gilbert was all forgotten. A new angle was created and that was “For6iven," it was accepted as well. Which goes back to my inconsistency throughout this whole story.
No one is questioning the decision of James going back to the franchise and putting money into Gilbert's pocket. Yet a city is sympathized and congratulated for being irrational all because James is from Akron, Ohio and started his career in Cleveland. For some reason, this does not make sense to me.
As a player James has learned something truly incredible over the past four years. Accomplishing feats that have been achieved in terms of being a complete player and player efficiency. All of this has been overlooked all because of The Decision and the constant comparison to Michael Jordan. We have been witnesses to one the greatest players off all time and we get caught up in the past when we are missing truly amazing basketball.
Now James is heading back to Cleveland, the appreciation will be seen now and will fit into our narratives. There will be understanding now and realization as well all, because of a move to northeast. There has been an overlooking of one of the best players of all-time in his prime but ignored because of semantics.
Social media was the ‘wild, wild west’ it turned into a dumpster fire. Sources being thrown around, credibility on the line and random percentages being displayed on the ESPN. Writers all across the US are hedging their bets because they were afraid of being wrong. James truly ruined reputations. A zoo in Ohio had an owl make the choice for James and he chose the Heat. Think about that, an owl was being featured as a predictor.
Fans were tracking Gilbert’s private jet online, noticing moving trucks picking up James exotic cars and Ohio natives camping out front of James home. Fans draped in Cavalier apparel when four years ago jerseys were being burned. A cupcake company based in Ohio was declaring the return to Ohio for James.
Amid all the chaos and semantics,the legacy of Lebron James is unwritten, it has at least six years of writing to be done. But one thing for certain is their will be a noticeable appreciation of James regardless of the decisions he’s made. One thing is for certain. He accomplished things with the Heat that put him in the Mount Rushmore of greats and soon he will have his own Mount Rushmore if he succeeds in Cleveland.