Lebron Returns to Cleveland: To Chalk Toss or Not To Chalk Toss

CLEVELAND, OH.  Without a doubt, there will be a lot of emotion for everyone involved in Lebron's first game back in Quicken Loans Arena, the stadium he called home when he won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award just last year, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a league-best 61 - 21 record.

Now, after his antics during the "Summer of Lebron", he is the enemy, in more ways than simply returning as an opposing team's player.


Lebron was supposed to be "The Chosen One" to bring a sports championship to a city that has not won a major sports championship since 1964 and has had worse sports fortune than arguably any other city in the world. Cleveland is the punchline of sports joke after sports joke because of heartbreaking and infamous sports moments as "The Drive", "The Fumble, and "The Shot" where they snatched defeat from the jaws of almost certain victory.

Part of Cleveland's heartbreaking sports history has to do with losing more sports talent than any other city, culminating in losing an entire team when Art Modell decided to move the Cleveland Browns football team, earning him the honor of most hated sports figure in Cleveland. Until this past summer. Until "The Decision". And that brings us back to Lebron James.

In a move as classless and heartbreaking to the city of Cleveland, Lebron announced his plan to "take his talents to South Beach" and play for Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat during a one-hour special called "The Decision" which aired on ESPN. It was a forgettable public spectacle to most, but to the loyal fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers, it was a public humiliation. The hometown kid who had promised to bring a championship to the city, had tried and failed, and was now going to quit on the city of Cleveland and get a ring for himself in an easier situation.

Tonight marks Lebron's first game back to face the Cleveland Cavaliers. As hurt as they are, Cleveland fans have too much pride and class to avenge Lebron's actions with physical violence. Several creative solutions are trying to garner social media support.

However, will we see Lebron humble himself enough to regain the respect of the fans of Cleveland?

Will Lebron do the Chalk Toss before the Cleveland crowd as an opposing player?

TO CHALK TOSS OR NOT TO CHALK TOSS?

Lebron copied and evolved a well-known Michael Jordan pre-game routine into his own pre-game ritual known as the Chalk Toss (pictured at right), a ritual that he used to pump up and engage the hometown fans in Cleveland.

And although he has every right to do his ritual in NBA arenas all over America, it would be a great show of respect and honor to the city of Cleveland that had been loyal until they were betrayed. Lebron knows that in this simple gesture, there may be salvation for his legacy in Cleveland.

"What Should He Do?": Skip the Chalk Toss tonight in Cleveland.
What Will He Do?": ...Be a LeBiatch, and do the Chalk Toss, cementing his legacy of being the Most Hated Sports Figure in Cleveland.

OSU Fans "Looking Forward" to Possible LeBron James Visit Despite QB's Pleas

Terrelle Pryor, the junior quarterback of the Ohio State Buckeyes, made a plea during an interview with the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He begged that the Ohio State college football fans treat Lebron James respectfully if he shows up to Saturdays game against the Miami Hurricanes.

Pryor is afraid that drunken OSU college football fans at the game will BOO Lebron relentlessly during the game for not only leaving his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers in free agency, but publically humiliating the people and city of Cleveland by announcing his decision in an unprecedented 1 hour ESPN special televised nationally.

Pryor said that he has exchanged text messages with James this week and hopes to see him at Saturday’s home game against the Miami Hurricanes, believing James plans to attend.

If he does, Pryor has a message for fans. ‘If LeBron does come, just treat him with respect and respect his decision,’ Pryor said. ‘Please, no name calling or booing or anything like that. Please. That’s my mentor, and I’ve got a lot of respect for him and a lot of love for him.’

In fact, Pryor said he was there for support after James announced his decision to leave Cleveland. ‘When he was down, when people were throwing him under or burning his jersey, I just picked him up and said, ‘I’m with you 100 percent,’ Pryor said. If James is in Ohio Stadium on Saturday afternoon, Pryor said James will be with him 100 percent, not backing the team from his new place of employment.”

It would seem like a very reasonable request that Pryor is making if were talking about anyone else, however standing by someone because they stood with you implies that there is LOYALTY. And most sports fans in the Northeast Ohio region know how loyal an individual Lebron is.

And it is also admirable that Pryor, a young athlete who has yet to be corrupted by money and fame to advocate for his mentor. However, he is asking for the one thing that Lebron was not considerate enough to give the fans and city of Cleveland: RESPECT.

BEWARE: Lebron is Making a Mental List of His Enemies; Lebron is a LeBiatch

After much speculation that Lebron was an arrogant jerk who makes bad Decisions, Lebron proved it today.

Lebron is making a list and checking it twice, gonna find out who's naughty or nice...

In a poorly conceived follow up to "The Decision" show, Lebron chose the twitterverse to be the platform for his public coming out party. After a month to ponder his response to the disappointment felt by avid followers of basketball, and himself in particular, the best he could come up with was a reactionary verbal flipping of the bird to those that were not going to loyally and mindlessly continue to revere him. Loyalty, as in the quality he failed to show a city that he grew up in the shadow of and that he promised when he was drafted in 2003, "I will bring a championship to the city of Cleveland." It was surprising how quickly Lebron corrected himself; I grew up in Akron, and we hated Clevelanders. If it was hard to carry the team, it will be ever harder winning them a championship by playing for another team in the same conference.

Despite not being able to live up to his word and expecting loyalty when he doesn't feel the need to be loyal himself, some fans stood by him. Even when the greatest legends in basketball history questioned the arrogance and selfishness of the decision and how it would tarnish his legacy, this generation of spoiled brats was quick to defend one of their own. The self-proclaimed "king" had a right to "get paid" and to "chase a ring" they would say. Sure, "pursuit of happiness" is indeed a right, but where is his respect for the game and the legends that built the sport into one of the cornerstones of America. It is clear now, after "The Decision", Lebron doesn't intend to work for anything, he just wants to cash the checks that Magic, Bird, and Michael worked for.

And now, he has an audience of 1 million people, and he wants to tell them he is making a revenge list?

Any sentiment existing outside of South Beach that sympathized with Lebron was bashed over the head with a baseball bat.

My response: 

"After showing us all that he can't be The Man to lead a team to a Championship, now @kingjames is mouthing off on twitter. Shut up and win ONE ring before you whine about how people are disrespecting you. Lebron is a LeBiatch."

 

The vindictive tone of the tweet was seen by anyone with access to twitter.com, essentially any computer that was connected to the internet. All of Lebron's 1 million+ followers on the social media website would have seen the threatening tweet in their update list, and it could have been seen by anyone choosing to view those people's updates. Let's just say, it was the "Threat Heard Round The World".

Immediately, the tweet set off a series of defiant retorts (like mine) that echoed in the twitterverse through the power retweeting, and they carry with them the truth about Lebron's legacy. It has been damaged, and it can never be returned to where it stood just one month ago.

All I can say is that, at the end of the day, Lebron's mental ability to do anything does not scare me in the least. What about you?