If ever the NFL were to disband I'd lose my mind, as would a lot of people if they lost their favorite sport. Its because they're entertaining, yes, but their true value stems from the emotions they stir, while distracting us from the harsh realities of everyday life. They're truly a microcosm of what embodies America; the love of competition, and the belief that with hard work, anything is possible. Its why the majority of us rooted for the Giants to beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl, or when the Saints reached the same pinnacle just 4 years after Hurricane Katrina destroyed their city. Its because we love an underdog. We love those inspirational stories that give us hope that we can overcome hardship in our own lives as well. Similarly, we can find something to love in our own teams. I'm a diehard Steelers fan, I've lived in Pittsburgh all my life and since I watched my first game, I haven't missed one since. I've grown up with the mentality that you play football with top notch defense and unmatched toughness; characteristics the steel city has come to embody. Every team seemingly has a profound effect on the culture of it's city and the people who live there. Its part of what makes sports so amazing. The Seahawks have the 12th man, the Eagles booed Santa Claus and I'll never see a crazier group of nut jobs than the ones I see on a weekly basis at the Coliseum in Oakland. As ridiculous as some of it is, its why I love the NFL. How we can support homage and patriotism, pride and discipline, rivalry and respect, all simultaneously, is amazing to me each time I watch a game. For these reasons, we allow our obsessions to get the best of us and impact our everyday lives.
You'll notice that the teams I'm mentioning are all football teams. Thats because I'm a football fan. I love the Penguins and each year, pray that the Pirates might finally turn the ship around. What I've noticed though, is that unless you really love the sport, it's hard to be much more than a bandwagon fan of that respective team. It would be impractical to expect everyone to follow sports with the same enthusiasm that I do with the Steelers. There are always going to be casual fans, which is fine, because if not for these people there might not be enough to fill a stadium. The problem is that the same way you get people who don't take politics or religion very seriously, you get people who are completely fair weather in regard to who they support, and how they support them. Bandwagon fans can be a nuisance when they get involved where they shouldn't, because some fail to acknowledge what they are. These people demean true fans, and the time they put into their love of that team.
I admit that when the Penguins were bad, I didn't watch them. I didn't care. I never bothered to watch a game, couldn't name a player and quite frankly, wasn't bothered by those realities. Since then, they've won a Stanley Cup, and become a perennial contender. Now, I watch them. Many Pittsburgh fans are like this. We've seen it when the Penguins nearly left Pittsburgh, and we continue to see it, as long as the Pirates are a farm team in the MLB. I watch when times are good, but if they're losing, I just don't care. That makes me a bandwagon fan. I acknowledge that; because to call myself a true fan would only discredit real fans. The ones who watch every game, not just in the playoffs or when they're winning, but when they're down by 3 in the bottom of the 9th, having never given up on the hope that they might do the improbable. It could be because the Steelers are seemingly always good, or because this is just a football town, but I haven't seen it with them yet in my life. Some cities are like that. Certain teams inspire bandwagon fans, and bandwagon "haters". Certain sports even, but what it simmers down to, is that some teams stir the emotions of both sides more easily than others. The Miami Heat, are a prime example.
"The Decision," was of course, a foolish move on the part of LeBron James, who decided to announce he would be "taking his talents to South Beach," in front of a national audience during a one hour program shown live on ESPN. Howard Beck of The New York Times described the national fan reaction at the time: "Everyone saw something: greatness, arrogance, self-indulgence, boldness, cowardice, pride, friendship, collusion, joy, cynicism, heroes, mercenaries." Greatness and arrogance are perhaps the most significant of them. Fair weather fans were split down the middle, half jumping on the bandwagon in the name of greatness; the other half considering the whole ordeal glorified arrogance. Those deciding to vilify the entire organization without a second thought, now portray their star player in as negative a light, as is possible, while the other side defends him regardless of guilt. So we are not only going to establish a middle ground but discuss the issues associated with both bandwagons.
I consider LeBron the best player in basketball. Not the most consistent, or the most clutch, but certainly the one with the greatest potential in terms of talent. I'm not a Heat fan, nor in reality am I even much of a basketball fan. I have no home town team in the NBA, and to be perfectly honest, I've never been real big on the sport itself. What I do know, comes from the little bit I see in games, and the highlights I watch on SportsCenter. I'm not a bandwagon fan though, because I'm not really a fan at all. I don't root for one team in particular nor do I own any jerseys or much memorabilia. The thing I look forward to most is the dunk contest and even that pales in comparison to my enjoyment of the Home Run Derby at the MLB All Star break. I enjoy playing pick up games with my friends, I understand how basketball works, I observe certain facets of the pro game even, but that's about it. I've made some assumptions based on commonly accepted truths, and try my best to wade through the bullshit that comes from an overly reactionary media. I can watch a game, but basketball is certainly behind the other three major sports as far as my own interest is concerned. I neither "hate on", nor love the Heat. I'll pick on them every now and then but I like to think that its more in good fun than out of spite. I'll say that I want them to get to the finals every year, only to lose each time, for the next decade, but I don't really mean that. I say it because one of my closest friends is a real Heat fan. He has supported them for years, long before he ever heard about anyone "taking their talents to South Beach," which is why I'll never question his fandom. I acknowledge that he cares about his team passionately because he watches more than just the playoffs and could never be accused of jumping on the bandwagon.
I would have no problem if the Heat won the championship, because they are undoubtedly a great team. Does it annoy me that LeBron James never won a championship in Cleveland before leaving? Yes. Do I understand why he left? Yes. Am I always happy about it? No. What he did merits much of the criticism he receives, but he should have known it was coming the second he agreed to announce his decision in front a national audience. Are the insults and attacks on his character that he garners, entirely justified? Certainly not, but is it that hard to understand why he is so disliked? Great players are always a source of criticism; LeBron just seems to be a lightning rod for both unjustified hatred, as well as blind support. If ever he wants to truly silence his critics, he'll need a ring, not just sporadically timed, big games.
So let's talk about both sides of the argument. Not just his greatness as a player, but whether the attacks on his character are at all justified. First, there are some quotes that I'd like to discuss because they come up rather often in arguments over LeBron's character:
“I’m only one guy,” James said. “I took Hedo in the first game and Rashard made the shot. I took Rashard in the second game and Hedo made the shot.“If I could clone myself, we’d be all right. But I can’t.”
-I know LeBron doesn't mean to sound like an asshole but quotes like this make it hard to think of him as much else. Is he probably right? Absolutely, but that doesn't mean he should say it. You'll never hear Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant or Dwight Howard announce a need to clone themselves because their teammates are incapable of playing at a high enough level.
“Everywhere I’ve been, I’ve been the best player. I love being a leader, and I love being the best. I just want to get better. It’s not about being cocky or selfish or anything like that. It’s just how I am.”
“I’ve always been a leader. I’ve always kind of been the tallest person on the team when I was younger but always kind of the smartest. I was ahead of my time. I wasn’t always the oldest, I kind of was the youngest on the team, but, I kind of knew what to do at times.”
-Again, he's probably being completely honest, but he comes across as an arrogant prick, and then wonders why he garners so much hatred.
-This was his attempt at justification for failing to congratulate Dwight Howard and the Magic, after the Cavaliers were eliminated in game 6 of the conference finals back in 2009. Running directly to the locker room at the buzzer, without shaking your opponents' hands, is absolutely "being a poor sport," and to pretend it is anything else is a sign of cowardice, immaturity and blatant disrespect.“It’s hard for me to congratulate somebody after you just lose to them,” he said. “I’m a winner. It’s not being a poor sport or anything like that. If somebody beats you up, you’re not going to congratulate them. That doesn’t make sense to me. I’m a competitor. That’s what I do. It doesn’t make sense for me to go over and shake somebody’s hand.”
“A LeBron James team is never desperate.”
“A lot of players know how to play the game, but they really don’t know how to play the game, if you know what I mean. They can put the ball in the hoop, but I see things before they even happen. You know how a guy can make his team so much better? That’s one thing I learned from watching Jordan.”
-These three quotes just perpetuate his conceit. You don't hear other pro athletes say these kinds of things because they know better. I mean, come on! Referring to yourself in the third person, and implying your almost entirely responsible for your teams successes but none of their failures is a quick way to gain "haters."“I love sharing the ball with my teammates. I see a lot of things before my teammates see them.”
“I hope I can help guys coming out of high school, if they need advice. I know the ins and outs of everything.”
-More pompousness. He most certainly does not know the ins and outs of everything because he had about as abnormal a high school career, as is possible. Maybe if ever there were another kid of his caliber coming out of high school who were going pro, he could help, but until then, there isn't much he could help the average kid with. LeBron seems to forget that most kids don't make millions from Nike before ever playing a game.
“In the next 15 or 20 years, I hope I’ll be the richest man in the world. That’s one of my goals. I want to be a billionaire. I want to get to a position where generation on generation don’t have to worry about nothing. I don’t want family members from my kids to my son’s kids to never have to worry. And I can’t do that now just playing basketball.”
-I don't know who his PR guy is, but saying your goal is to be the richest person on Earth is not going to go well for someone who is widely hated and doesn't understand why. It seems as if his bloated ego gets in the way of his rational brain sometimes. I know he meant that he just wanted to take care of his loved ones, but there are better ways of saying that, without using the words "richest man in the world".
“All the people that were rooting for me to fail… at the end of the day, tomorrow they have to wake up and have the same life that (they had) before they woke up today,” James said. “They got the same personal problems they had today. And I’m going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things I want to do.”
-Finally we have the doozy. This one pissed people off more than any other quote I can remember coming out of player's mouth, especially one of his caliber. Similarly to the other quotes, it's meaning has been taken out of context by the media, and exaggerated by fans. Was he probably just defending himself by saying that those "haters" can vent their frustration on him all they want, but their real problems aren't going away? Probably, but phrasing it the way he did, allows it to be interpreted 50 different ways, and 47 of them don't help his image.
“Sometimes in the past when I played something might make me lose focus, or I would go home after a game where I thought I could have played better and I would let it hang over my head for a long time when it shouldn’t. But now, being a parent, I go home and see my son and I forget about any mistake I ever made or the reason I’m upset. I get home and my son is smiling or he comes running to me. It has just made me grow as an individual and grow as a man.”
-This is the common defense. One minute LeBron comes across as a complete dick, the next he sounds like a genuine human being. The reality is that he is probably somewhere in the middle. On the one hand, I'm sure he thinks he's the best player on Earth (which he is), and let's that get to his head sometimes. He's gotten slightly out of touch with reality and doesn't handle criticism well because hes weak minded. Hes undoubtedly arrogant, but so was Michael Jordan, so is Peyton Manning, so is Sidney Crosby. Why then, does Lebron garner such hatred? Why are guys like he and Tim Tebow sources of such ridicule? Because they're easy targets. LeBron doesn't know how to handle it, and responds with quotes that portray him as being disparaging and utterly conceited.
What I want you to do now, is raise your hand if you consider yourself a Miami Heat fan. Good. Now, if your hand is raised and your name is anything other than Chris Majesky, in all likelihood, your full of shit. If you weren't a fan of theirs before LeBron got there, your a bandwagon fan.
Its not that I have a problem with bandwagon fans, just the ones who don't acknowledge what they are. I understand that they're necessary to the success of sports in America. What I want, is simply for people to admit what they are. I don't expect people to be as obsessive as I am about the Steelers, or as my colleague Kevin is about the Penguins, but if your going to claim to be a true fan, you have to stick by them through thick and thin. Otherwise you're a fair weather fan, like I am with the Penguins and the Pirates. I know true fans, and Im not one of them with sports not called football. I want to be fair to those people because I deal with lesser fans in my favorite sport as well, and know how much it annoys me to hear the ignorance of those, who don't actually care. If you deny it, your lying to yourself, to that team, and worst of all, your insulting those who are true fans. So at the end of the day, all I ask is that you admit it, and show a little more respect to those who love their teams in sickness and in health, not just when its convenient.
Believe me, though Heat fans are more common as of late, my criticism is targeted at any bandwagon fan who denies it. It doesn't always have to be sports, it could be religion, music, politics etc. If your a Derrick Rose fan, a Christian and a Lil Wayne listener one week, and a Heat fan, an atheist and a listener of Deadmau5 the next, you're a weak-minded human being who clearly follows whatever is cool at the time. You're conviction-less and that tells me all too much about your character. I'll give you an example that hits close to home. If, after the Steelers have a bad game, you go straight to a social media outlet to bag on them while still acting like a fan, you will find that there is a special place in hell, reserved for scum like you. You clearly hold no loyalty and stand by your teams only when it is popular or convenient. Anything less, and that team is nothing more than a tool for your own entertainment. You drag down the quality of fandom while diminishing overall dedication, and that is an injustice that disgusts me more than most. I understand that certain people are just like this, but that doesn't mean I have to accept it wholeheartedly.
Furthermore, if you claimed to be a huge Cavaliers fan when they had LeBron, and a Heat fan when he left, you can call yourself a fan of the player, but your just following talent. Justify your lack of true fandom all you want, but the truth is, your no better than someone riding the "hater bandwagon." Unless you were a fan of the Heat before the big three arrived, your not a true fan. If your a fan of the player, you can never root for his team, you must always say, "Go LeBron," rather than "Go Heat." If you think that's ridiculous, then stop lying to the rest of us, show a little respect, and admit that you're a bandwagon fan of the team while being a true fan of one of their players. It's understandable to do so. When guys like Joey Porter, Alan Faneca and Plaxico Burress left the Steelers, I still rooted for them. I wanted to see them succeed because I was still a fan of them as players. I didn't support their teams though, and if ever they were playing the Steelers, believe you, me, I rooted like hell for the Steelers first and foremost.
What I wish is simply that if you're not a real fan, just admit it. There isn't any shame in that, so why pretend to be something your not? By lying, your embarrassing yourself, while demeaning those who take it seriously. My hope is that with continued growth in maturity, certain people are able to move past this time in their lives when they can never seem to stand by any of "their" opinions for long. Your ideology, beliefs and fandom, are who you are. To treat those characteristics with disrespect by never standing by what you say you believe, diminishes the opinions others will have of you, and fail to treat your ideas with any respect. If it doesn't seem as though you respect your own beliefs, how can you expect others to respect anything you have to say? More importantly, how can you ever respect yourself? Everyone starts that way but you that doesn't mean you should accept it. I admit I'm not a diehard Penguin fan, but I try to improve. You don't have to be obsessive, my real concern is that if you let that sort of thinking spread to your ideologic beliefs and opinions, no one in your life is ever going to show an ounce of respect for what you have to say. I don't mean to make mountains out of molehills here (which I probably did with this one), but this is an issue that bothers me every time I argue sports, especially football. I can see how a person's views on sports correlate to how they value their own ideology. If you don't take your supposed beliefs seriously, you make it difficult for your peers to view your ideas with any deference.
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