LeBron Is Going Home

I have some close buddies who really like LeBron James and while I must admit that he's one of the all-time greats, I'm not a fan.

I just can't get over the "I'm taking my talents," speech and how self-absorbed that whole deal was.

And the King hasn't really changed all that much, in my eyes. Every single interview sounds the same:

I,I,I,I, Me, Me, Me, I, I , Me, Me, Me, I, I,I,I,I, Me, Me, Me, I, I , Me, Me, Me, I

There were over a hundred and twenty 'I's' and 'Me's' in his going back to Cleveland statement and it was obvious that someone other than LeBron wrote it.

But that's okay.

There are actually a few things I like about his return to Cleveland.

1). Cleveland is a city like Buffalo.

They need a championship.

My father-in-law is an Indians fan and I wish they would have closed the deal in 1997 after they beat the 27-Time World Champion Greatest Franchise in the History of Organized American Sports, but they were a single strike away...and they lost. The Cleveland Browns lost to Elway. The Cavs lost to the Bulls when the other egomaniac, Jordan was playing.

So they need one.

2). I get the going home thing.

I lived in San Francisco for awhile. I lived in San Jose for awhile. Then New Haven. Then Baltimore. Each and every time I wanted to get 'home' to Buffalo. It's where you're born. It's where your family and friends hang out. You know the streets. You know how people think and act. I actually believe that the entire time LeBron was in Miami, he thought of Northeast Ohio.

I really think that's true.

3). He doesn't want to be the hated guy.

When he made his "take my talents" speech and then when he jumped onstage and said they'd win 'not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven championships', he invited the hate.

It don't matter what nobody says, ain't nobody wants to be alone.

Bruce once wrote that double and triple negative sentence a long while ago and everyone knows what he meant.

LeBron won two titles with Al-Qaeda. He wants to win one that everyone can enjoy. He wants to be the King of his hometown.

4). Yet, with all that being said, I need to continue to root against him.

I wanted him to lose in Miami. I will root for him to lose in Cleveland.

"You're never satisfied when it comes to LBJ," my college friend Tony said on Facebook. "Maybe it's not LeBron that's the problem. Maybe it's you!"

Yeah.

It's me.

I'll continue to call him 'Floppy the Crybaby.'

But twist my arm and I'll tell you the truth.

If Cleveland gets to be happy...

...I might not really hate it.

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