I am Lebron James (Kind Of)

As an Ohioan who left my motherland, I feel like I can almost relate to Lebron.  We both left northeast Ohio for "green pastures", and we both had to leave our families and homes behind.  Of course, when I went home for Thanksgiving I was greeted eagerly by family and friends, whereas he was booed and jeered at Quickens Loans Arena when he made his first return visit to his old NBA arena in Cleveland this past Thursday. 

As a native of the city of Cuyahoga Falls, a suburb of Akron, I have driven through, but never resided in, the neighborhoods where he was raised.  I went to an Akron-area Jesuit school that my dad teaches at, while he was recruited to play at our rival Catholic prep school.  While my upbringing was predominantly bourgeois, I still spent the latter part of my teens wanting to get out of that monotonous wasteland.  This decline has been happening for a long time, probably popularly dating back to the 1968 race riots in Akron and the polluted Cuyahoga River setting on fire (for the thirteenth time) the following year.  Today, Ohio isn't a terrible place to live but despite all the optimism that the government and many residents try to hold, it is difficult for me to avoid the sense of an indefinite torpor. At least that is the sense I got, so with Lebron coming from the more dire circumstances that he came from I have to believe that he felt it much more.  Of course, by the time he left for Miami this past summer he was one of the richest athletes in the world, but I still think the previous statement has some validity.

Lebron's departure from Cleveland is nothing new; this doesn't make it better but it is essential to note that the decline of Greater Cleveland economically has been paralleled and intimately linked to the disappointments of its sports teams.  In 1996, Art Model literally moved the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore (a decision which I find much more appalling that Lebron's).  The Cleveland Browns have not one an NFL title since the Super Bowl began in the late-1960s.  The Cleveland Indians were always one of the best teams in baseball from the mid-1990s until the early 2000s, but could never secure a World Series title because almost every superstar left to go to bigger cities and bigger contracts (Albert Belle, Manny Ramirez, and Jim Thome come to mind).  The Cavs were usually one of the better NBA teams in the 1980s and 1990s, but Cleveland never had the money or "cool" “vibe” to lure any superstars (unless you include Shawn Kemp, which I don't).  My main problem with Lebron's departure is that, yes, he did spend seven years in Cleveland, which was lucky enough to win him in the draft lottery, but he also never seemed content on staying in Cleveland.  From day one there were rumors of some other city trying to steal him (and now, the Cavs owner is seeking damages against Miami in NBA court because of that).  This hurt the Cavs' opportunities to possibly attract another star player or two to complement Lebron, and that in turn served as his excuse to go to Miami.

Now, I don't really blame him for going to Miami.  I do blame him for the fact that he signed a contract with Nike that said that could get paid more in endorsements to play in a more profitable city.  I also don't like his smug attitude, how he refers to his "greatness" all the time and yet he claims to care more about his team and winning; it makes it seem like he only wants his team to win so he can add to his status as "great."  But I also think his narcissism is possibly overplayed by the media, as we all know the media seems to take a fraction of what someone says out of context and distort it to their own purpose.

So while I was disappointed that he left, I realized it made sense.  I did the same thing.  As soon as I graduated high school I went to a small, private Eastern liberal arts school.  While I spent a few semesters home at Kent State and several winters and summers besides that working for Acme Fresh Market, I never intended on returning permanently to Ohio.  Now I live in New York City, which is home to the Yankees, who I hate because they are the exact opposite of an Ohio sports team with their big contracts and constant success.  I also know plenty of people who have left my hometown and moved to other places, and yet they still have the balls to fully indulge in the nonstop anti-Lebron bullshit.  Of course, I am somewhat guilty of that old Cleveland sports fan hypocrisy, wherein if a player is a self-indulging asshole while they are in Cleveland (Albert Belle and Manny Ramirez and Lebron come to mind) I give them a pass but when that asshole moves to another city I never stop talking about it.

Of course, it does suck.  Northeast Ohio lost its place as the showcase of the premier American athlete of this generation, and fucking Miami got him.  Why the fuck does Miami need more cool shit?  Why can't Cleveland have some cool shit?  Miami is not even that big and it is a huge tourist industry.  Cleveland is not even that big and it has zero tourist industry.  I share these concerns with Ohioans.  It might have even been really fun to be at that game the other day booing and chanting "ASSHOLE" and "AKRON HATES YOU." 

Of course, when I look at the video of Lebron after the game he looks pretty depressed, and I probably would have felt bad.

I am not Lebron James.  To compare myself to someone that great, or who thinks they are that great, would be to fall into their disease.

But in the end, I am Lebron, kind of.  I left Ohio because there were more cool opportunities and “et cetera” elsewhere.   But I also do not call myself "great" or anything.  So I also am Not Lebron James.  It sucks that he left, and it sucks that all of Cleveland's sports suck, but at least Ohio still has Jordan Castro, Noah Cicero, some cool colleges, DEVO, the Black Keys, the buckeye candies, and Buckeye football.  For those things, Ohio can be thankful this time of year.