Saturday, June 23, 2012

Congratulations LeBron James

I have written a considerable amount about LeBron on this blog and elsewhere. Much of what I've had to say has been critical in nature. Much of it he brought upon himself with immature and arrogant behavior. I won't bother to repeat my accusations. Type his name in the Search box to find my rants and remarks on the subject of the man who would be and now finally actually is King...of the NBA. The man is polarizing for obvious reasons. Neither his talent nor his displays of obnoxiousness can be denied. But after doing a whole lot wrong, during this strike shortened season he managed to do a good deal right. He matured. He showed some humility and restraint. He was a leader on and off court by play and example, including when clutch was required. He proved he has what it takes to be a champion, at least one of a certain variety. We may never know if he can be the best of the best when the deck is not stacked in his favor. But he wanted a ring above all else, especially above carrying the load entirely on his own broad shoulders, and he did what it took on and off court to win one. He is a title holder beyond MVP now and this cannot be taken away from him. As for the popularity and respect and legacy benchmarks he gave away to realize his dream, that is his Decision to live with. I assume he is losing no sleep over it. Not anymore. The Champ Is Here. He learned some tough lessons to get to this point. Now he'll be soon learning that the only thing more difficult than making it to the top of the mountain is staying hungry enough to remain up there as others desperately try to claim the spot for themselves.