Two minutes surrounding the James' announcement in a particularly Clevelandy bar with your humble hostess, Erin O'Brien, the Clevelandiest Clevelander in all of Cleveland.
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13 comments:
This story even made the BBC on the other side of the Atlantic during the World Cup. Some years ago Sol Cambell, a local football star, moved from one London team to their bitter rivals, he was taunted for years and eventually had some sort of breakdown. The other side of being a local hero!
Your friend at the bar is hot. I like her voice. Who is James?
Oh, that guy. I saw him once downtown, beatin the Pacers pretty good. He's a badass player. I just read Dan Gilbert's letter, what a douche. I wouldn't work for him either.
I knew I had to come straight to your website when I heard the news. You never disappoint, O'Brien!
Also looking forward to your comments on the owner's letter, and its cheerful Comic Sans font. Ha!
Lady, your as much the Clevelandiest Clevelander in all of Cleveland as LeBron.
Dean J: huh?
Why James why? oh yeah we have no state income tax down here. Welcome baller..
Were you at the Pride of Erin in Lakewood? (Yes, there is - or was at least - a bar by that name in the heart of Lakewood, which was the original stomping ground of EOB. She is the Lakewoodiest Lakewooder in Lakewood. And I loved writing that because I got to say "wood" three times).
As a Cavs fan who first saw them play in the old Cleveland Arena in the 3700 block of Euclid Avenue (the Austin Carr, Bingo Smith, and Rick Roberson era, with Joe Tait screaming his lungs out at the refs as he did play by lay on 3WE), I don't blame Lebron for wanting to go somewhere where he had the best chance to win a ring. Yes, he would still have a pretty good shot at it if he stayed, but three years in a row he came up short, but playing alongside Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh is his best shot. I hate to say this, but it is.
With all that said, I can't think of a tackier way to turn your back on your hometown, and it's people who love you more than anything in the world. That idiotic TV special (named "The Decision." He grew up here, doesn't he know that every Cleveland sports heartbreak has it's own name - The Shot, The Drive, The Fumble, et al???) saw Cleveland get dumped and dumped on...again...WORLDWIDE. A Big WTF to that! And - according to Dan Gilbert, the owner - he didn't even let the Cavs know until seconds before he went on the air to announce he was "taking his talents to South Beach," and wouldn't return any phone messages or texts left for him in the hours leading up to it. In so doing, he left the Cavs and his other suitors hanging and there was no reason to do that. And for that reason, Lebron will be and should be the second most hated man in the history of Cleveland, behind Art Modell.
As for Dan Gilbert, yeah he flew off the handle big time, and he's probably wishing he could have part of that back (though I loved his line "some people think they should go to heaven without dying to get there first" or however it went), and predicting the Cavs will win a title before Miami does was a litte...well I'd love whatever he was smoking, but I loved how he called Lebron out for what he is - a selfish and obtuse prima donna who otherwise would be admired for leaving $30 million on the table for a chance to win.
I'm through drinking the Lebron haterade. It's over. Though as a result of this whole debacle, the Miami Heat join the Baltimore Ravens as must lose teams. If Miami meets the Lakers in Finals this year or any year while Lebron is playing there, I will actually cheer for Kobe Bryant.
I never thought I'd say that.
With the departure of 'King' James, the Cleveland sports scene can return to normalcy otherwise known as mediocrity, and that ain't necessarily bad.
Hey, I'm only disappointed we didn't at least get a THANK YOU FOR MAKING ME WHO I AM TODAY before The Exit. Kids these days.
Oh, and Hal? Stay right where you are.
Saturday morning. Due to circumstances beyond my control have scarcely been near a tv in the last 48. Only enough to think "The Decision" may become the most lampooned piece of tv since Geraldo opened Capone's safe.
RJ
Cavs announcer Joe Tait (who has been with the team since the very beginning, save for two years) on the Lebron James TV special:
"It was an embarrassment to everyone involved -- the league, ESPN, LeBron, everyone. Making it worse, they didn't even know it was an embarrassment"
I wonder if the Big Muskie bucket was ever used to drag up coal used to produce power that was needed to power all the wonderful kitchen tools you, Erin, use to make all those wonderful meals I read about? As you told your daughter, a conservative doesnt conserve. Do you? Do you also load beer into your car and drive your daughter to the lake front, drink such beer, and drive her home? I only hope I can be such a wonderful parent as you had and are.
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