And to disregard the part of the post where I mentioned that the same complaints were repeated for the next 10 years so I was able to process and recall the information into young adulthood. And also to change the discussion about what people think now when all I stated was what people said then.
I remember sitting with the "big kids" (16 to 18) not long after Csonka left and hearing them all agree that they would have done the exact same thing thing. It was the first time I remember ever hearing that someone was being paid "a million dollars". That was why it stuck with me. They were all pissed that he was leaving of course, but it was "a million dollars!" It was a chance to be set for life. Later when we all went into the living room and joined the adults, the conversation followed. The group was generally working class, but at least one with higher education (doctor) and one or two that owned small businesses. At that time none were rich. Everybody admitted that they would have left for the million. And while I completely understand the difficulties that Robbie faced from my current perspective, back then nobody stood up to defend Robbie. As time went on the "Robbie is/was cheap" mantra was repeated. I really didn't see that change until he funded the stadium without city/county assistance. That was when people started praising Robbie.
So you mean the initial fan reaction was to be emotional and upset with the players for leaving, but as time wore on they began to understand and forgive? Huh. Go figure. Wonder if any contemporary situations will model after that...
And you continue to miss the point of the comparison to Warfield. People were pissed at Warfield, Kiick and Csonka for leaving. Just like people are pissed at LeBron right now. Eventually they cooled their anger and understood, and of course Csonka was going up in the ring of honor and even had his jersey retired (which is HUGE in football, a much bigger deal than basketball in my opinion, for practical reasons). People cooled and they understood, and they celebrated the players for what they did for the team. Just like they'll do with LeBron. I don't expect as a 7 or 8 year old boy you could grasp what the fan base felt when they left. Sorry if you take offense to that but I doubt any 7 or 8 year old would accurately grasp and remember that. What you remember instead is the period far AFTER the initial, emotional reaction, when people cooled toward the players and began blaming Joe Robbie.
If you havent seen it yet, its hilarious... [video=youtube;fj9Ei7FGQgg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj9Ei7FGQgg[/video]
No..he absolutely roots for the Heat and says so all the time. But, he also NEVER cheers for them at the arena. He takes his craft seriously and feels that it is inappropriate for a guy with journalistic integrity.
Dan also never claims to not be a fan of any of the Miami teams. He clearly is. All he says, and this appears to be true, is that he doesn't take it seriously or get emotionally invested in the outcomes.
I appreciate what you are saying...but that has nothing to do with why he is "coming home". He is going to cleveland for money, power and PR above all else.
Yes, there are major revelations to be made. If the rumors that I have heard are true..there is plenty to write about.
So..what is his main agenda? "Going Home"? come on. What are we? 12 years old? All of this Rust belt chic' BS is ridiculous.
Some people truly love where they came from, I believe he wants to build that region. And he has the power too.
I can confirm 100% personally from working on his show, he is also a huge Dolphins fan.....hes just a pissed dolphins fan and sick of the drama, terrible teams, bad front offices and **** seasons.
I wouldn't expect those in South Florida to understand how people can feel truly rooted in a place. The rust belt thing is legit. The pride and feeling of being bound to the place is really really strong in this area.
Agreed. That entire essay could've been written by Hallmark, or by any political speechwriter pontificating about how the midwest is the "real America", where everything is earned and nothing given. Yeah, we're just getting a ton of free handouts here in Florida. So, LeBron James going to Cleveland is going to make more kids stay and start businesses? Come on. I don't doubt that being back in Cleveland held appeal, but not for those saccharine sweet reasons. That franchise is the only one that he can control and mold so completely. If Pat Riley retired and Micky Arison said "LeBron, take over and we'll do whatever you want", he probably would've stayed here. And that's cool. He's the best player with all the leverage and he sued it. Fine. But don't sell me a load of "This American Life" claptrap.
So people in South Florida don't care about their hometowns? I don;t doubt that many people in Ohio or wherever are proud of their particular town, but your comment is just a proliferation of the "real Americans" nonsense that's been going around for 30 years.
It's not a "real American" thing. It's just the culture. People in the rust belt stuck it out through some really rough times, and are staying to re-build cities that used to be great. Most people in the rust belt have had their families there for decades, good and bad. How many times do you hear about people moving to Ohio or Western PA? A lot less than Florida. South Florida and the state in general is largely made up of transplants and/or snowbirds. It's just the reality. And it affects the culture.
So, essentially, those people are "better" right? That was pretty much the message of LeBron's essay. Miami was "college". Nothing to take too seriously. No mention of his fans here. But Cleveland? The fans who burned his jersey and pissed on urinal cakes bearing his picture? Those people he understood and just wants to help out. No reason to care about Miami or its fans. We didn't "earn" anything
They're not better. They're just more rooted in their location. You could argue that that kind of small-town or small-world attitude is actually worse than the diverse nature of Miami. Imo the rust belt attitude has its pros and cons. A lot of their rage stemmed from the fact that he's a hometown kid who they watched grow up. They thought he was 'one of them'. This is what I mean when I say that those kinds of people are not necessarily better. On one hand you could say that their long bond with him gave them reason to be more upset about him leaving (anger that you don't see from Miami because he didn't grow up or begin his career there). On the other, maybe they were too fixated on this dude and couldn't think rationally about the fact that people can leave their small city and live wherever they please. To Cleveland, LeBron's basketball career was basically a fairy tale...it was too good to be true. Until the Decision.
I dreamed the Heat were awarded a player named DeWars King off waivers. Is there a DeWars King out there?
Cynic, yes. But not a hater. I don't care enough about anyone or anything in the Midwest to hate it. Just not relevant to me. That whole "real Americans" thing does annoy me to no end though.
They're just different versions of America. Cleveland and Miami are about as different versions of America as you can get. The culture, population, and history of the two places have very little in common. The hometown feel and attitude is a part of that.
I didn't say you needed to win a title to have a great season but to say as a TEAM that you were great you kinda have to win a title. You can have a great run as team (Bills) or be a great player on a team, heck there have been some great players on terrible teams that's not the point. We were talking about a team claiming greatness, I do think you need a title to say that in a single year you were great. I understand English and the difference between the best and great but thanks for explaining that again.
Good defender...hustles...but he is not much more than a 15 mpg guy, and a guy you can play in a pinch due to injury.
Ascending three-point shooter though, perhaps? Seemed like he was decent there this year, but dicey prior to this year.
I imagine you looking straight down when writing this. And your line about rust belt towns rebuilding was stated as if it's a unique hardship found only to them. Ever hear of hurricanes?
I wouldn't call him ascending, but he does have some range as a shooter. I wouldn't mind him as a back of the rotation guy. He wouldn't be my top choice, but he'd probably make the Heat a little better than they are currently constructed.
He fits the profile of a defender/specialist that Riley has always sought to sign for the back end of the rotation. This team does have a better version in Ennis, but maybe they will ask Ennis to score more, so CDB makes sense as a guy you use in the Battier role.
If he plays SG..he has to play with a good ball handling PG (Napier) and play off the ball with cuts, and be the screener in the P&R. If Ennis has a weakness to his game, it's his handle. he is a bit high with it, and he has a lazy dribble.
Something may still shake loose at some point we're not expecting. We have Cole available for a trade. Could combine him with Hamilton and get a decent player. Riley also likes to add guys closer to camp, like how he added Roger Mason really late last year, who ended up making the team.
Funny you mention his high handle because when I was looking at Chris Douglas-Roberts that was one of the first things I noticed, he also seems to have a high handle. Incidentally do we really call him CDB? Chris Douglas-Bob? That's hilarious.
