For the fourth year in a row, without fail, it has arrived…
I imagine the whole scenario to look somewhat like this….occasionally I will run an 8K for a charitable organization…along the route—far too far apart for my liking—there are long tables holding small cups of water being handed out by smiling volunteers encouraging race participants to hang in there because we’re doing such a great job and the Finish Line is only a few steps away….
That’s exactly how I see this time of the year as LeBron James bashers come out of the woodwork to give their opinions on why he’ll never be “fill in the blank” Not that they’ve ever gone away it is just that the playoffs bring a heightened sense of awareness of each and every game…thus the dissection of LeBron on the radio, television and social media is, for the most part, inevitable…
In the closing minutes of Game 1 it looked as though the bashers would be left with nothing to discuss the following day…but then lo and behold King James was hit with a dose of cramps he couldn’t seem to shake…
The bashers couldn’t scramble to their collective feet fast enough to line up in the same fashion race participants do when the sight of the first set of volunteers double fisting little cups of water comes in to view….only they aren’t drinking water, it’s Haterade, and forget about drinking….they are gulping—like a golden retriever on a August afternoon…..in Texas! .
How could LeBron not play through cramps? All of the great ones would have….ummm, who? Yes, I marveled at the game in which Jordan was spectacular, flu symptoms and all. I’m not alone when I say—I’ve had experiences with both…..while the flu made me weak, I was fully capable of walking…however, I’ve been hit by a charley horse in the middle of the night that had me thrashing around my bed like a fish out of water—trust and believe I was not able to guard the likes of Tony Parker under those conditions!
It is downright hilarious to me to hear officemates, members of cubicle nation and paper pushers speak about what they would have worked through to get the job done. Yea right….this coming from a group of folks that must have the company First Aid kit fully stocked at all times because who knows when a paper cut might bring production to a halt …until the proper dose of ointment and the right size band aid are applied—oh, if only there was something to make the wincing go bye bye too!
Nobody…including those with an air defying athletic logo…would have come back any quicker than Lebron did…which in this case, was not at all. The bad news…Spurs took Game1…the good news—this isn’t March Madness!!
As we find ourselves deeply engaged in the season of bashing a king…I’ve grown to accept that I have a deep dislike for a hater. Believe me, not only do I understand but I totally respect an individual’s right not to like a particular player or team. As an avid sports fan, I definitely have my favorites…by the way—LeBron was not one of them until he went to Miami…but rooting against someone in a game is completely different than rooting against him/her in life. Being invested in things going awry for someone…primarily because their day—television interviews, practice, fans, fame and fortune—shapes up vastly different from yours….is nothing short of pitiful!
The example that comes immediately to mind is that of Johnny “Football” Manziel….he has remained at the top of THAT list for me since displaying his All-Star skills on a national stage with my Sooners as the opponent! However, I refused to chime in with the naysayer chorus on how big a failure Johnny would be once he got a job in the NFL….as a matter of fact, I wish the kid nothing but the best…as I would any other young adult entering the workforce for the first time!
So as the haters continue to wait in line for their next cup of haterade…I’ll push right by them on my way to the Finish Line….hoping all the way that a charley horse doesn’t hit me with so much force it’ll take two of my fellow racers to hoist me up and get me to the end!
Go Heat!!!
