Sports Loyalty: The Lebron James Effect

From fans, loyalty in sports should be dedicated to your team in choice. As a player, it should be to yourself. It's not a matter of selfishness, but that of survival .

It amazes me how violent people get over sports. Even as someone who's played baseball and football growing up, I never understood the extremeness that some people had towards the games. Don't take this to mean I wasn’t (am not) a competitive person. I am. Even more than I should be. I just try to remember to keep common sense in control when being that way.

Being hateful to someone you’ve never met and probably never will is ridiculous.  The whole Lebron James fiasco from last year is a prime example of fans taking sports too seriously. Death threats and hate crime stuff over a stupid GAME? Really?

Let's be fair and acknowledge that LJ takes his game and himself too seriously. The kid is good and all, but he can't ever seem to turn it on when it absolutely matters. He surrounds himself with yes men and people who want to do whatever is needed to make him happy, not keep him grounded. The way he handled his departure from the Cavs was moronic and ill advised.

But let's set that aside into it's own little corner and remember that while these men play games, they still are out there to win, compete and make a paycheck. Ultimately it is their employment and that desire to prove oneself and reach the top of their chosen profession. For Lebron, it made no sense to stay in Cleveland. Management wasn’t surrounding him with people to help him on the court, and after a couple of embarrassing post season collapses, it was clear he needed a reboot and new environment.

The man did what he felt was needed for his career. Yet no one in Cleveland sees it that way. No, this man abandoned THEM. Who cares about his own personal desires in life. It was about THEM.

I'll admit, I felt sorry for Lebron. He had done everything in his power to help bring The Cavs a championship over six years with the team. He chose to move on and try again somewhere else, and despite his idiotic way of doing so, he did it for the right reasons. Still he gets destroyed by the community he loves with all of his heart. The man hoped they would be understanding and see he was doing what he needed to do, but they didn’t. I don't think they would have even if he had handled it in the best possible fashion.

I found it hilarious how mad this fan base got about this whole thing. I'm a Kansas City Royals fan people. I watch a shitty ass management let MVP type players go over and over again.  Johnny Damon, Jermaine Dye, Carlos Beltran, Zach Grienke and more. These guys were either traded or did what was necessary for them to try and win. The fan base LOVES these guys. We may despise the teams they play for, but more or less understand that it's a business. We have no one to be upset with over how this team is year in and year out other than that of management.

I couldn’t help but poke fun at how mad these people got right after LJ made his move. I all of the sudden became a Lebron James fan just to piss off millions of people. Which I will admit is the douche bag thing to do. Because I hate the people who are Yankee's fans just because the Yankee's win, and there is no real difference here. Yet I just can't help myself. There's no logic to it and 90% of it is over reaction.