(Photo Art by Midwest Sports Fans. Click on image for full-size view.)
The biggest story in the 2008-09 NBA season has had nothing to do with the actual play on the floor. Sure, the 21-2 start by the Boston Celtics as they defend their title has been nice. Derrick Rose has given Chicago Bulls fans legitimate hope for the future of the franchise. And Mo Williams has provided a tremendous boost to the Cleveland Cavaliers offense in the Cavs’ impressive start to the season.
But the biggest story so far this year has been about 2010, and specifically the amazingly loaded free agent class that is anticipated to hit the market at that time. The headliner of the 2010 free agent class is, of course, LeBron James. And if you need a reminder of LeBron’s greatness, let’s take a quick trip back down memory lane to my favorite LeBron memory: his ridiculous playoff performance against Detroit in which he led the Cavaliers to a Gave 5 playoff win by scoring 29 of the team’s last 30 points:
Already this season, the New York Knicks have traded away players to improve their salary cap situation for 2010 while decreasing their chances of winning now, in 2008. New head coach Mike D’Anmustache basically admitted that the Knicks were looking towards the future with their moves. Other teams have followed similar tacts, making moves that are more about payroll and salary cap than improving a franchise’s immediate chances of winning.
Sure, some owners may be using the guise of positioning themselves for 2010 to save money now in response to the economic downturn in America — but no one is doubting that the primary goal of franchises like the Knicks, the Pistons, and the Nets, among others, is to have the necessary cap space to make a strong run at King James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and the other superstars who will be free agents in 2010.
A few weeks ago, when the Cavaliers visited New York, much was made in the media about the potential for a 2010 marriage between LeBron James and the Knicks. LeBron has not been bashful about proclaiming his goal of being a “global icon” and has certainly not gone out of his way to put the kibosh on the rumors of his interest in being in a bigger market like New York. Here is video of the controversial interview that LeBron James gave to Stephen A. Smith of ESPN back on November 25th:
LeBron took some heat from the likes of Charles Barkley for this interview, but since that little blurb of controversy the Cavaliers have been on a roll.
Since their November 25th meeting in New York with the Knicks, the Cavaliers have won 10 straight games — and done so in dominating fashion, winning by an average of 20.2 points. For all of those who criticized LeBron for not putting his current team first, and being too focused on the future, he has allowed his play on the court and the success of team to do the talking. This easily looks like the best team that LeBron has played with since he entered the NBA, and the Cavs and Celtics appear to be on a collision course towards the Eastern Conference Finals for a likely meeting against the Lakers in the Finals.
But how small is the window of opportunity for the Cavaliers to win an NBA title with LeBron James? Many people think it’s a done deal that he will bolt Cleveland after next season. Cleveland fans, conditioned to expect heartbreak from the Cavaliers (Jordan over Ehlo), Indians (Edgar Renteria off Jose Mesa), and Browns (too many examples to list), are already stricken with anxiety over losing the most sensational athlete to play in Cleveland since Jim Brown. And what makes LeBron James even more special and beloved is that he is a hometown kid, growing up in nearby Akron.
While Cleveland fans may be pessimistic by nature, and understandably so given their star-cross sports history, they are also fiercely loyal and passionate — and you can expect a full court press of love for their King over the next two years in an effort to convince him to stay.
One example is LeBron2010.com, where they are currently accepting donations for a billboard to be placed in Cleveland that will implore LeBron to stay home. The “Our Plea” page on LeBron2010.com includes a sobering reminder for all Cleveland sports fans:
Albert Belle: Left Cleveland.
Manny Ramirez: Left Cleveland.
Jim Thome: Left Cleveland.
The Cleveland freaking Browns: Left Cleveland.
LeBron James: ??
Another such example is a new website that just went up from the same Cleveland zealots who gave us www.cowher09.com. The site is called SaveLeBron.com, and only has 311 views as of this posting, but has not even really been officially launched. You can, however, go to Save LeBron right now and sign the petition they have started to show LeBron James how many people hope he stays in Cleveland. The picture at the top of this post was inspired by my first visit to Save LeBron, and by reading the site’s tagline: Why be an icon, when you can be a savior?
That line changed my thinking about LeBron James’ future.
I am not from Cleveland, nor am I a die-hard Cavaliers fan. I root for them peripherally, because I am more a fan of players in the NBA than any individual team and have always loved LeBron James. While I’ve always wanted to see him stay in Cleveland to fulfill the fairy tale of the local kid who leads the hometown team to great success, I’ve been of the opinion that LeBron should take his talents to a bigger market to maximize his exposure potential and fulfill his own goal of becoming a global icon.
I’m not so sure that this will actually serve his best interests anymore.
New York, LA, and Chicago are all bigger media markets than Cleveland and, on the surface, seem like they would allow LeBron James to further his personal interests much moreso than Cleveland. But what these markets do not offer is the one thing that Cleveland does: unconditional love and respect from his hometown fans that he will never be able to duplicate anywhere else, and the potential to single-handedly lift an entire city that he has called home for his entire life.
The narrative of LeBron James’ historic career will be infinitely more compelling if he stays in Cleveland and, undoubtedly, delivers multiple championships to his hometown. Should be jump for a city like New York, the narrative may get more immediate exposure — but it will be far less compelling and heart-working, and exceedingly more complicated. New York may offer more money at the end of the day, but that money comes with increased pressure and the “support” of fans who will turn their back on you in an instant if you don’t deliver multiple championships.
LeBron should ask Alex Rodriguez about playing in New York. ARod is one of the most talented and productive players in the history of baseball, but he gets no love or respect in New York. Sure, he brings it on himself somewhat by making poor PR decisions and struggling in the clutch — but I have to think that part of his struggles are created by trying to live up to the pressure created by the New York media and the mindset of the fans. It is like a vicious cycle that has chewed up and spit out many great players before, and will continue to do so in the future.
Cleveland will never treat LeBron this way, assuming he remains the upstanding, hard-working, and team-first individual he has been throughout his career. Fans in Cleveland may get frustrated at losses, but they appreciate hard work and honest effort. The expectations in New York are win at all costs; the expectations in Cleveland are play hard, give us everything you’ve got, and do everything to win — but we’ll support you as long as you show us the respect of leaving it all on the floor.
Who wouldn’t rather play in that type of environment, for their hometown fans, than being a hired gun in a cutthroat city like New York that only “loves” you if you win all the time?
Plus, the contract money will be equivalent. The NBA has a salary cap, unlike baseball, so the Knicks can’t just pony up $300 million for LeBron and blow Cleveland out of the water. Cleveland will do whatever it has to do to keep LeBron and pay him as much or more than any other team. The difference in money could ostensibly be from endorsements and exposure, and for many players I can see this being a valid argument. Johan Santana will have a lot more opportunities to make money outside of his baseball contract in New York than he did in Minnesota; but Johan Santana does not transcend baseball, he does not transcend sports.
LeBron James does. And he has the Nike machine behind. He could get infinite exposure and endorsement opportunities playing in Alaska. He may go down as one of the five best athletes in American sports history by the time his career is done. A lesser star may need the media spotlight of New York to become a global icon. All LeBron James needs to do is bring titles home to Cleveland, which he will do if he stays — and possibly begin doing even before 2010. As long as he wins and maintains his clean-cut image of success, LeBron James will remain the most popular and exposed American athlete regardless of if he’s in New York.
I have also heard rumors that LeBron has some type of ridiculous escalator clause in his contract with Nike should he end up in New York. I can see the logic on Nike’s part — but I disagree with it. LeBron can become an icon of the fickle love of New York — whose loyalty is to championships, not to LeBron — or he can lift an entire city that loves him unconditionally by staying in Cleveland. If LeBron goes to New York, he becomes one of many who stands out slightly because of his prodigious talents. But he would be just another who followed the money to New York. If he stays in Cleveland, LeBron James further separates himself from so many who came before him by choosing loyalty and home over being a mercenary for money. Global icons are created by doing things differently, by breaking new ground — not by following the formula that so many other before have followed.
Case in point, Tiger Woods has become a global icon not because he bases himself out of New York, but because he has broken new ground in his sport and won consistently. He transcends media markets and he has broken through the ceiling of exposure that was supposed to be possible for a golfer. Well, most people seem to think that there is a cap on “how big” someone can get playing in a second-tier media market like Cleveland. For most people that is probably true. Like Tiger Woods, LeBron James transcends not only his own sport but all sports; and he also transcends the purported ceiling of exposure available to himself in Cleveland.
Icons are a dime a dozen, but the opportunity to truly be a savior is rare. LeBron James is a uniquely gifted basketball player and personality who has a legitimate opportunity to be the savior of sports in his hometown. That is transcendent — and global icons are defined by the magnitude of their transcendence.
LeBron James will succeed no matter where we he plays. He will ultimately win championships no matter what city he is in. And he will continue to transcend his sport and develop a resume of accomplishments that will eventually place him among the most successful athletes of all-time. But to reach the rarified air of 
global icon that he aspires to, LeBron James needs to be different and do something different than those before him. Michael Jordan already paved the way for becoming a superstar and a global icon by winning in a top-level media market. If LeBron James goes to New York, all he can be is the next Michael Jordan.
If LeBron James stays in Cleveland, and undoubtedly becomes the savior of sports in his hometown, he will be breaking new ground and paving a new path. That is what a global icon does: something different than has been done before.
Tiger Woods is a global icon because he won consistently and was the savior of an entire sport. Michael Jordan is a global icon because he won consistently and was the savior of the NBA after the tumult of the 1970s and 1980s. Have we ever seen an athlete become a global icon because they literally became the singular savior of sports for an entire city?
Not that I can think of, and it is the reason why LeBron James should stay in Cleveland: not just because it is in the best interests of his hometown, but because it is in his own personal best interests as well.
What do you think?
Loading ...After you go and sign the petition at SaveLeBron.com and donate for the billboard at LeBron2010.com, use the comments section to give your reasons for why LeBron James should stay in Cleveland. And if you disagree, voice that opinion too. No single decision will define the future landscape of the NBA like where LeBron plays after 2010. Let’s debate it here and try to gauge what Midwest sports fans think about this issue in general.
