I’ve been following the LeBron James “saga” with varying degrees of non-interest. So many seem so wrapped up in where a spoiled, obscenely talented (and overpaid), hyperlgandular man in short pants will be plying his trade come October? New York? Miami? Cleveland? Los Angeles? Bratislava? I may be a basketball fan, but I can honestly say with no discernible trace of irony that I could care less. James could decide to play for the East Westchester North Stars, champions of the Southern League, and he’d still never have to worry again about where his next Big Mac is coming from. Meanwhile, media outlets from coast to coast are obsessed with reading the tea leaves, talking to “experts”, and just generally looking for anything that might give them something resembling insight into what city “King James” will decide to grace with his presence this coming season.
How silly has it become? Well, silly enough that ESPN is hosting a one-hour special at 6pm PDT tonight in which James will grace the masses with his decision. What I don’t understand is how a seven word declaration (“Next season, I’ll be playing in_”) will take more than, oh, fifteen seconds. Yes, I understand that proceeds from ad time sold will benefit the Boys and Girls Club…and that’s certainly a good thing. Still, what could possibly take an hour…or 44 minutes, once commercial time is factored in?
Come 7pm tonight, one city will begin obsessing about their prospects for an NBA title…and Cleveland will go back to being…well, Cleveland. Here in Portland, Paul Allen and his paranoid minions will continue to be heavily invested in turning the Trailblazers into a cult of personality, firing anyone in the front office possessed of talent and personality. In other words, not much will have changed…and we can go back to our regularly-scheduled silliness.
Who cares?
