Indecision Does Not Compare to The Decision

Dwight Howard is not Lebron James. Not even close.

Has everyone already forgotten the magnitude of the decision? Dwight Howard’s cat and mouse game has baffled us all but it doesn’t come close to reaching the 9.0 on the Richter scale that Lebron’s decision did. Lebron James shook the entire world and changed the entire landscape of the NBA. Dwight Howard is mildly disrupting it.

What is almost as mind-boggling as Dwight Howard’s Mitt Romney-like flip-flopping, is the amount of analysts who are equating this indecision, and even putting it above, “The Decision.” Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated says D-12 will be “every bit the villain Lebron James was in Cleveland” if he stays with Orlando for remainder of the season and signs elsewhere as a free agent.

Absolute nonsense.

Lebron James gave a sexy tease to one of the hardest luck sports cities in North America, only to embarrass them on national TV to create a super team in Miami. Cleveland’s hopes and dreams for some sort of meaningful professional sports championship rested solely in the gigantic hands of Lebron James and he spurned them in the worst way imaginable. Cleveland may have taken it a bit hard but that was to be expected considering the manner in which Lebron handed down his remorseless verdict.

Lebron is still a villain. He can’t shake the label because he is not likeable. He never was. For some reason, it took “The Decision” for people to see it. Nevertheless, Lebron is now loved by fans about as much as a 1st grader loves Brussels sprouts. That won’t change anytime soon.

Dwight is a fan favourite. He is Superman. You can’t stay mad at Superman forever. Seriously though, Dwight is beloved. Lebron was a fan favourite but it was never the same as Dwight. Howard’s antics right now are rubbing people the wrong way but one of those patented Stan Van Gundy impressions will turn the fans back around. If not, his Hollywood smile will. The King sneers while Superman smiles.

Even though Dwight Howard seems to be getting damage control lessons from the Lebron James entourage school of public relations these days, he hasn’t done enough to soil his reputation the way LBJ did. Heck, Superman could hold his own TV special and he wouldn’t be half the villain Lebron is.

Orlando residents don’t long for a championship the way the Cleveland fans did and still do. The front office and fans might be doing just as much as Cleveland did (maybe more?) to keep Howard in a Magic uniform but the animosity towards him following their inevitable split could never be the same.

Dwight Howard will be booed when he comes back to Orlando in a *insert team name here*jersey but he won’t be booed around the league.

This doesn’t “rival Lebron James’ exodus from Cleveland” as Sam Amick tries to tell us. It would be foolish to think that Dwight Howard could ever be thought of in the same light as Lebron James. Dwight Howard has yet to give up on his team despite the trade demands. His quietness stopped playing in game 5 of the Eastern Finals when hopes for a championship and his return to the city of Cleveland were still sky-high.

“The Decision” was the O.J. trial for the sports world.

Dwight’s indecision hardly tops the ‘Melo drama we were witness to last year.

Superman should have known better than to anger the masses in a way more befitting Batman. I cannot tell you the reason why he was unable to learn from Lebron and Carmelo. Dwight Howard has screwed up big time. I get it.

Just don’t go around likening it to “The Decision.”

Agree? Disagree? If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, please feel free to reply in the comments section below. Or you can e-mail me at cross_can15@hotmail.com. Also, follow me on twitter @paintstheblack and I will happily return the favour.

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Suck it up Cleveland

Cavalier fans are a little bit more than upset over the departure of Lebron James

The Dream team, 3 musketeers, the Lone Wolf finally getting a wolf pack. It doesn’t matter to Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh what you call them, but what does matter is that it is now official that the big 3 will be joining forces down in South Beach after James announced his decision last night live on ESPN.

Cleveland sports fans, who have endured so much heartbreak, were devastated to hear that Lebron James would not be re-signing with his home town team. In an open letter to Cavs fans, owner Dan Gilbert referred to Lebron James’ decision as a “cowardly betrayal,” which I’m sure is a statement that many Cleveland fans would agree with right now. However, I’m wondering why anyone would expect anything less from the man who features a tattoo that reads ‘CHOSEN1?’ Lebron James is a jerk. Always has been, always will be, and that is something that NBA fans are going to have to accept.

It’s amazing how many Cleveland fans were so delusional to so strongly believe that Lebron James was going to re-sign with the Cavaliers. There was obviously a chance of it happening, but it should not have been such a shock when he chose to play elsewhere. The city of Cleveland is whining like little babies but the whining is hardly justified.

I hear it over and over and over again that if Lebron had any loyalty he would have chosen to stay in the only city that he has ever known and lived in. That Lebron should finish what he started in Cleveland, and bring the city a championship.

Are Cleveland Cavalier fans trying to say that they are 100% loyal fans and support their team and players under any circumstance? It sure seems that way.

My question is what happens in the future when Lebron James loses a step in his game and is no longer the same dominant player that he is currently is. Can you say to yourself that you would give him your unwavering support?

Loyalty goes both way folks, and it is seen so often in sports where home fans turn on their previously beloved players. Donovan Mcnabb was pretty much shown the door in Philadelphia after he has given so much to that Eagles franchise. Where is the loyalty? Green Bay fans now despise Brett Favre after he “left” their team to continue his career even when it was the Packers who wanted him to step aside for Aaron Rodgers. Vancouver Canuck fans were quick to throw Markus Naslund under the bus for his many flaws once his game started to decline a bit.

Furthermore, where is the loyalty when fans are booing their team just because they are not playing their fans’ standards? Don’t give me the garbage that fans deserve to boo their own team because that’s their job, they paid to be at the game and that players make millions of dollars. Unless your team is not putting any effort in I cannot fathom why any fan believes that booing their own team will do any good towards helping their team win games. As a person how would you feel if your so called loyal fans were booing you when you are putting forth your best effort?

Cavs fans are not happy that their latest toy is being taken away

Sports fans treat their players like little kids do with toys. You love ‘em when they’re new, exciting and the best thing out there, but you want to get rid of them when they’re old and no good to you anymore.

I also wonder if people are naive or just too stupid to realize that sports is a business just like anything else. It seems obvious…right?

No player owes anything to any city or team. Lebron James had 7 outstanding years for the Cleveland Cavaliers while he was under contract. He brought them to the NBA finals once and had 2 MVP seasons. Yes it is about time he won a championship, but obviously he feels that he has a better chance to win one in Miami.

Here’s a news flash for everyone. You don’t own your players.

Vince Carter was once the talk of the town in Toronto

Let me pitch out two scenarios and you tell me which one you would rather have. What is a worse feeling for a team? Having your franchise player demand a trade while he is still under contract or have him leave as a FREE agent. As a Raptor and a Canuck fan I have felt the pain of having your franchise player demand a trade prematurely. Vince Carter just stopped trying in his effort to be traded and Pavel Bure flat out refused to play. Once they moved teams they both decided it was time to play again and of course play at an extremely high level. Vince Carter averaged 27.5 points a game in his first half-season with the Nets and Pavel Bure had 58 and 59 goals with the Florida Panthers in two consecutive years.

This was never the case with Lebron James as he had two MVP awards in his final two seasons with the Cavaliers. Lebron James left as a free agent, which means that he has no obligation to his former team for those of you who don’t understand.

I think another fact that is overlooked by people is that this is a once in a forever opportunity for Lebron, Bosh and Wade. When does anyone have the opportunity to play with two of his good friends who also happen to be a couple of the NBA’s elite? This is something that is unprecedented and may never be done again. It seems to me that it would be pretty difficult to pass up on an opportunity like this.

It also should be said that the criticism that Lebron James is getting is not fair at all. It is not the amount of criticism that is unfair but it is the way it is being presented. No matter what choice that Lebron made he would have been ridiculed by some. This was a no win situation for James.

Michael Rosenberg wrote an article for Sports Illustrated yesterday that focused on Lebron taking the easy route by choosing Miami. However, he also says in the article that he thought Lebron was going to stay in Cleveland because he thought that all he cared about was the adoration. So basically he is implying that if Lebron had chosen Cleveland he would have written an article about why Lebron James only cares about being the ‘man’ and wants people to worship him and only him. However, because Lebron chose Miami, Rosenberg decided to write about Lebron finding the easiest route to an NBA championship.

Way to contradict yourself.

I don’t see anything wrong with putting on an hour-long special to announce his decision. Sure it’s selfish and egotistical, but unlike other fans, this is what I expect from LBJ. The NBA loved this special, it created a different kind of hype that the sport probably won’t see again for a long time.

What I didn’t like though about the entire free agent ordeal was the way Lebron gave so many fans a false hope and kept them dangling for so long. Whose to say that those 3 hadn’t decided long ago that they were going to team up and that this whole process was just a big charade? If that is the case then I do see a lot of things wrong with the hour-long special, but until that story comes out I am completely fine with it.

In the end though, the fact of the matter is that only one team was going to happy, and the other teams would be snubbed. That was never going to change.

There is a big distinction between life and sports and we have to be able to differentiate the two from each other. Although, I do know that Lebron James is dead in some of the eyes Cleveland fans. Lebron leaving Cleveland for Miami is not on the same level as losing your job or having a close family member die.

Stop crying and just suck it up Cleveland.

Agree? Disagree? If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to reply in the comments section below. Or you can e-mail me at cross_can15@hotmail.com. I’m now on twitter follow me @paintstheblack and I will gladly return the favour.

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