Let me start this post by clearly stating:
I pray to the Lord above that Lebron stays in Cleveland. I may actually cry (physical tears) if the day comes that most Clevelanders are dreading and LBJ decides to play somewhere else.That being said, if the photos of his latest shoes circulating on the internet are in fact real, not some Photoshop gag, it just reiterates comments I've posted before... I just don't trust Lebron.
Why, oh why, would you (continue to) jerk around not only your home town, but your home town fans and your organization? The Yankees hat, the Yankee-NY shoes are one thing... different sports at least... but a shoe promoting another team in the same league you play in? Yeah, yeah, I know... it's a hardwood classic representing old-school Cavs.... wink, wink. That's what we've been told, and could believe seeing as thought the Cavs were orange and blue in the late '80s. But then you turn the shoe over to reveal an "I Love NY" button... a "secret" message like Ralphie from "A Christmas Story" uncovered with his Little Orphan Annie Secret Club Decoder. Ralphie's message was a cheap marketing plug telling him to "Drink more Ovaltine". Is this much different of Nike for the soon-to-be greatest free agent ever?
Who knows how much of this was Nike and just how much input LBJ had, but Nike needs Lebron more than Lebron needs Nike, so I'm sure he could've vetoed the "I Love NY" message, knowing how the Knick colors (oh yeah... the Knicks are also orange and blue) mixed with this cute little feature would come across, especially in Cleveland.
The worst of it is it just adds to the nonsensical talk (something Lebron denounced earlier this year). Like Collin Cowherd of ESPN who said (paraphrased):
"Why does it have to be New York? I mean, Cleveland isn't championship material, but why New York. The Lakers, the Celtics, they're championship material."This less than a week after the Cavs THUMPED the Lakers in L.A., and just before that, beat the Suns in Phoenix, and just in the last two nights beat a good Hawks team, once in Atlanta where the Hawks had only lost twice prior. Not to mention beating Orlando, Phoenix at home, and Dallas earlier in the year... all good wins against good teams. Hell, the Cavs have the second best record in the league.
I understand having the opinion that the Cavs aren't going to win the championship. Or that L.A. is still the favorite, or even Boston... but to say the Cavs aren't even championship material?
Oh well, I regress... that's what happens when you mix an already paranoid Cleveland fan with a blatant marketing ploy linking our superstar with another team.
Whatever his decision, Lebron's going to piss off a lot of people for stringing them a long. Question is, will it be the people in his hometown... or the people of New York who are all but banking (arrogantly I might add) on LBJ in a Knicks uniform in 2010.