You May Want To Sit Down For This One...

I think I have lost that loving feeling for LeBron. While I realize it isn't all his fault, I find that I roll my eyes the more I hear his name lately and yesterday my eyes were opened to the bigger problem.

Last week my proud city was glued to the headlines to see if LeBron was going to sign an extension for the next five years. He was the only big-name star from the 2003 draft who didn't declare his intentions right away. Cleveland got nervous. And more nervous. Finally the news came through on Saturday he was going to re-sign. I wasn't as happy as I thought I would be. I didn't start jumping up and down. I just sat there and thought about the ramifications of our one-week-wait. The initial ramifications came to light yesterday when he said he was going to change the parameters of the offer, a first for a player in his position. Instead of five years, with an option out after four years, he is going to reduce both those by one year. This is his prerogative. The city of Cleveland and the Cavaliers would never say no to his requests. Even if he was reducing the offer by two years, they would agree. We have no other choice. We know this and so does he. In that sense I do partially blame him for my current state of frustration, but at the same time, I also blame the fans of Cleveland and the media.

If you need further proof of his magnitude, check out the headline from Sunday's Plain Dealer: "Cleveland Can Breathe Again...LeBron Agrees to Sign" In essence this headline insinuates this one player has a choke hold on the city. I don't disagree with that. I used to be one of those people, and let's not get too crazy here, I still love the guy but he is not the second coming (or even the first, third or fourth depending on your religious views).

It was yesterday when it hit me most people may actually consider him the deity that is going to change this city around. I received e-mail after e-mail from people who were ecstatic about the signing. People who believe a championship will change Cleveland’s misfortunes around. People who think LeBron is going to change Cleveland by stepping on a hardwood floor. I had a woman in my office yesterday who relayed her current hardships and her monologue to me went like this: “It has been so difficult this year. I lost my job of 15 years, I had to move in with my son and help raise his kids because he can’t find work either. The school system here is failing my grandchildren and things keep getting more and more depressing. Last week I lost two family members and things have just been really hard and I don’t know where to turn. I was starting to lose faith in Cleveland until yesterday.” I then asked, “what happened yesterday?” She replied by simply saying “LeBron decided to re-sign”. I know this is a hopeful point for her but I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. It made me want to scream out to all these witnesses: Is he going to watch your kids while you look for a job or even while you are working your job, is he going to put more money into the schools, stock your fridge or pay your bills? More triple doubles does not mean more jobs unless you happen to be one of his best friends from high school. Even if he does bring us a championship, what exactly will that mean for the city? Please correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t think Detroit’s economy had a boom after the Pistons won the championship in 2004. Our fans, like so many fans in working class cities, are blind to sports success. We are starved but it isn’t for a sports championship, it is for a thriving community. What I hope is that the people of this city actually know the power for change rests in their hands and not in the hands of a 21-year old who calls Cleveland his “hood”. Believe in Cleveland but don’t believe that LeBron is going to change Cleveland simply by staying here.