Why the hate for LeBron - An answer.

I don't write much on this blog, and have found most times that if I write about any other passion besides writing, there's very little response. But fuck it - I love sports. The plan was to be a sports writer at one time, but better things - like an uber-hot wife - found their way into my life and that idea died long ago.

But, while I don't care near as much, can actually do other things on Sunday besides watch football and not care nary a lick about anything in the sports world if it doesn't involve my team, I still pay attention to the sports world. BTW - my disillusionment with sports is another subject altogether that might be a blog that bores the few who pay attention in the future. A large part of this paying attention is listening to sports talk on the radio. Since my local baseball team might be the worst in franchise history, the local hockey team failed to make the playoffs, my beloved Nuggets bowed out in the first round AGAIN!, there's not a lot to talk about on these local shows except the NBA playoffs.

For a few weeks now, The Drive with Big Al and DMac, the show that's on during my evening commute, has had an ongoing question on why is LeBron so reviled. What has he done to be so disliked by everybody but Heat fans?

Interjection - I fucking hate LeBron James. And on a personal level, it's for a simple reason - he doesn't play for the Nuggets. Sports are great for great moments and the simple morality of it - my team's the good guys, all other teams are the bad guys. I hate bad guys. I hate LeBron James. End interjection.

The show today featured an interview with some dickhead from a Miami talk show who seemed absolutely appalled as to why anybody could possibly dislike LeBron James. We'll call said talk-show host Mr. Smokesdickalot. The Denver local host, DMac, gave the short, simple answer why for the LeBron hate - he's arrogant.

Mr. Smokesdickalot's reply? Wouldn't you be? If you scored thirty points a game and were revered as one of the all-time greatest players ever, wouldn't you be?

Yes. And I'd expect people to dislike me. Arrogance is not a quality that I admire, that most people admire. It's an attitude that says, "I'm better than you, I deserve more than you, and there's not a fucking thing you can do about it." Nobody likes that. Does LeBron deserve to be arrogant? Yes. Does he have to be? Fuck fucking no. Humility? That's a quality we, or I at least, admire. Arrogance means you’re a dick who's better at me at something, whether it's sports or science, or bank account, it still makes you a dick. Just because I can admire LeBron's athleticism, doesn't me I have to change my inherent hatred of arrogance. Arrogance is a quality to be disdained. You have arrogance, you will be disliked by a large number of people. That's why non-Texans hate Texas. That's why people hate the Yankees. That's why the world hates America...well, part of that one.

So, Mr. Smokesdickalot goes on to whine about the perceived injustice to LeBron and his reputation by stating LeBron's never broken the law (although, he didn't bring up the Hummer ownership in high school that might have broken the law), and insists, all LeBron has done is maybe bend an ethical code that only exists in the world of sport.

Here's where the vein in my head starts to pulse. LeBron James barely graduated high school. He's earned over one-hundred-million dollars before he's thirty playing basketball - a sport. Everything this man has is due to the "world of sport." If one is to benefit so from this environment, then one must live by the so-called "moral code" of this environment - OR BE VILLIFIED. He benefits from sport, if he can't live by the etiquette of such sport, then he reaps disdain from those who consume said sport. Seriously? If some motherfucker pulls some crazy shit in a D & D game - and I'm so proud of myself that I haven't any idea what an example of this could possibly be - that motherfucker would be sent to D & D purgatory.

Imagine being an outcast from even the D & D crowd. Sorry...sidetracked.

One other point on the subject, although it falls into two parts: The acerbation of the LeBron hatred is the hype machine that ordained him before he did a damn thing in the NBA. I'll expand on this more later, but people hate to hear what you're going to do with no proof you can do it.

The height of the hype machine? LeBron James won the ROY of the 2003-04 season - and had no fucking business doing so. He's had a better career than Melo, and personally, I hope Melo falls out of a taxi, tears his knee to shreds, and while doing so, kicks his horsed-face wife in the face. Did I mention, if you don't play for my team, I hate you. And if you diss my team? You're dead to me, except I want to piss in your open-faced casket at your funeral. Okay. Maybe I do still really care about sports.

If the same station that airs The Drive wants to go back and listen to the interviews with sports writers who voted for LeBron in the ROY contest, they could see the insanity of it all. The sportswriters consistently said, "I had to vote for LeBron because he lived up to the hype that seemed unattainable." While I put quotes, those aren't direct quotes, but it was the consensus. Yet, who created they hype? THE FUCKING SPORTWRITERS!

Melo rookie year - 21 ppg, 6 rpg. The Nuggets went 43-39 after winning only fourteen games the year before (identical record to the Cavs in previous year). They were the eighth seed in the Western Conference (see the record above), and won both contests against the Cavs.

LeBron rookie year - 20.9 ppg and 5.5 rpg. Lost both games to the Nuggets and was outscored by Melo in both games by a total of 26-40. LeBron had more rebounds and assists in the head-to-head, but Melo had four blocks to LeBron's zero.  Oh, and LeBron's team missed the playoffs in a conference where four teams made the playoffs with a record of .500 or worse - He played in a far worse conference, and his team was still far worse than Melo's.  Who can win this argument? 

Oh - Me.
 

But the hype machine was on. Sorry for the boring statistical backing up of my argument. I could just write "fuck" a few more times to keep your attention.

Now, onto part two of the hype machine. While "The Decision" was distasteful and reallllllly stupid, it's not the major problem in my mind. The major problem? LeBron ordained him-damn-self. The "we're not going to win one..." but seven promise, that's where the loathing moves to a new level. Put up or shut up, bitch. He opened his mouth wide enough for a Ron Jeremy/John Holmes double penetration - now he has to back it up. And so far - Oh-fer (and that's really a reference that one makes to a Jeremy/Holmes dp).

I want LeBron to lose. I want him to find humility.

Then someday, even though he's not on my team, I could root for him to "win just one." Because he is great. But great is not a license to be an asshole.