If you ask anyone who knows me, they would say, for the most part, that I'm a pretty optimistic person. Even when it rains outside, I'm the kind of person that will say during the storm "Thank God the grass is getting nourishment." Beginning in late 2002, that optimism really became tested. There was this kid at St. Vincent St. Mary's High School named Lebron James that really tried at my optimism. In 2002, Lebron was a star in the making. Sports media outlets such as ESPN were praising the young Akron native as the next Michael Jordan. I was one of many that year that watched James as he tore up the court for his High School Alma matter. I also watched and thought to myself "This is nothing but trouble." As the pocket full of optimism as I am though, I kept my mouth shut. That June, the Cleveland Cavilers, coming off a horrid year, drafted Lebron with their number one pick. As everyone in our championship starved city rejoiced, I sat in my chair most of the time with a happy go lucky look on my face and thought "This guy isn't good." However, the love affair continued. Lebron had his own commercials, his face was on magazines. His pose was even on a building in downtown Cleveland with the words "We are all witnesses" below it and of course the famous Nike logo. As this infatuation by Cleveland fans continued, I simply sat back and said "This is not good." "This guy is overhyped."
Couple seasons go by and he wins a MVP crown. I didn't watch the trophy ceremony but I guess one of the first people he thanked were the priests at his high school. Now with country so starved and desperate for religion nowadays, he of course was congratulated for his praising. People continued to say "Gosh, he's such a nice person. He's so classy." I still sat there with the same smile and said to myself "No he's not." Time continued to pass. The Cleveland Cavilers continued to win games but yet, no championships. James continued to rack up the points and another MVP crown. At the second MVP presentation for the self proclaimed "King James", Lebron called up his entire team to the podium with him to help accept his award claiming "I wouldn't be here without these guys." "How wonderful" is the statement I continued to hear because of his supposed "Honorable" act that night. I again sat in my chair and said "No he's not. It's going to backfire on us." Then, the playoffs came that year and everyone was in hysteria. Going into the playoffs in 2010, the same year Lebron celebrated his second MVP award, the Cavs seemingly had it all. They had Lebron who of course was God's gift to Cleveland. They also had Shaquille O'Neal who, even though he was well past his prime, was still a very good asset to the team. They seemingly had all the intangibles needed to finally bring the city of Cleveland what it desperately wanted, a NBA Championship. Once again, everyone was praising Lebron and the team as a whole strongly proclaiming "This is our year." It was around this time that I began to be a little more vocal when I said "No it's not." Once more, the whole town was disappointed as the Cavs and most importantly our hero, Lebron James, stunk up the place as our beloved Cavs lost to the Boston Celtics in the playoffs. After that loss came the summer of 2010.
For over a year, the same media outlets that praised Lebron for his talents on the basketball court were calling those 3 months during the summer of 2010 "The biggest free agent class in NBA history." You had superstars such as Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade become free agents that summer. As the dominos fell and the free agents found their destinations, you still had Lebron James sitting out there also as a free agent. Just as in previous situations, all of Cleveland was being blindly optimistic. "I think he's staying" said people around me. I still sat in my wheelchair with a big grin on my face thinking "No, he's not." The night of July 8th, 2010 was labeled as "The Decision" by ESPN. Jim Gray had the fortunate (or unfortunate) task of interviewing Lebron on that summer night with the world watching. As Grey tried to stall for time by asking ridiculous questions such as "Who all knows about your decision?" I began to gain more and more confidence that he was indeed leaving Cleveland. Then came the most infamous words in Cleveland sports history and they were said by Lebron himself. "This fall I'm going to take my talents to South Beach and play for the Miami Heat." What's this? Did the prodigal son just betray his people? Most importantly, did my realistic views just outweigh the optimism of an entire city? I think so! Talk about role reversal. I being the optimistic one just became right even though I had pessimistic views. Now, Lebron James is in Miami still chasing that elusive NBA Championship with the help of his friends Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Meanwhile, Cleveland is still starved for a championship while Lebron might get a ring. Guess what. No he won't. :)