LeBron James May Have Saved the Heat, But He Could Never Have Saved Cleveland

Basketball great LeBron James has led the Miami Heat to its second straight NBA title. In 2010, James garnered headlines and outrage when he left his hometown-area of Cleveland for parts down South.

But as this short video from 2010 shows, in leaving Cleveland, James was only doing what fully half of "the Mistake on the Lake"'s population has done over the past 60 years: He was moving to where there was more opportunity and better governance.

Check out the vid above and then watch our series, "Reason Saves Cleveland with Drew Carey," which shows concrete steps that Cleveland - and many other once-great American cities - can take to rebuild their economies and brighten their futures. All without relying on superstar athletes.

Comments

[Libertymike]

ALL HAIL KING JAMES!

[NeonCat]

"Jesus is our only king."

[Libertymike]

Yes, and boy has he ever taken his talents to South Beach.

[Being Waterboarded]

I think people take issue more with HOW LBJ left, rather than the fact that he did leave (at least those of us with no love for the Cavs). The 30 minute TV special along with his language, referring to himself in the third person, etc., probably were more annoying to the masses than the fact that he pursued his individual self-interests in relocating.

[Libertymike]

Yes, he could have handled it in a manner better designed to limit the hate which ensued. It would not have been the way I would have handled it.

However, besides Cleveland, try listening to the stoopid which informs the Lebron hate in the Boston area. It is just Tony level lunacy.

[KDN]

Precisely. I don't care about the fact that he changed teams, but you don't go through that kind of pomp unless you're staying home. PR disaster.

The whole thing served to show that he's a disloyal front runner, which should have been obvious since he's a Yankees, Cowboys, and Bulls fan (he probably likes the Red Wings or Pens too, but since he's from an area that's right between the two cities I'd give him a pass there). I bet if Spain beat the US in the Olympics in the last two games he'd renounce his citizenship and "take his talents to Madrid."

[Libertymike]

Okay on the PR disaster.

Your second paragraph? Not so much.

He takes less money to go to the Heat. He doesn't have to be the man; if you recall, he publicly proclaimed that the Heat was D. Wade's team. It was only after D. Wade told LBJ that he, LBJ, had to be the leader, did he assume the top dog position.

I just don't get the hate.

[Libertymike]

BTW, how can one be a front runner if one is wearing a Cowboys cap? America's team has not won a playoff game in how long?

The Yankees? Yeah, this decade they did win one WS. But, the SF Giants have won two of the last three. Have you seen LBJ sporting a SF cap?

[Calidissident]

LeBron grew up in the 90s when the Cowboys, Bulls, and Yankees all won multiple championships. And historically the Yankees are by far the most successful baseball franchise, and the Cowboys are one of the most successful football teams. None of those teams were local and all in three different metropolitan areas. Coincidence?

[Libertymike]

Good point - if we were in the 90s.

A front runner does not back yesterday's winners; he's with today's winners.

Thus, Lebron, if he were truly a frontrunner, would sport SF Giants, Alabama Crimson Tide, NY football Giants, Baltimore Ravens, Texas Rangers and Kentucky Wildcats caps.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Exactly. Who in his entourage thought that was a good idea?

[BigT]

LeBron is a HS educated man from a broken home with a half-crazy mom, and influenced by rappers like Jay-Z. And you expect him to behave how?

He takes responsibility for his kid and baby's momma, and is humble in every interview. He works at his craft, and takes the heat when the Heat fail.

As a Clevelander I'm still in his court.

[Libertymike]

Thank you.

[sam the man]

Fuck Lebron

[BigT]

Haters will hate. I pity you.

[Mr. Soul]

what exactly did Reason do to save Cleveland? See to me the saving never happened. The series should have been entitled "Reason tells Cleveland they deserve the problems they have created".

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Man, Tim Duncan missing that shot was epic. Epically sad for such a great player. The Spurs sputtered down the stretch. The Heat defense was suffocating when it counted.

[Teaching Student]

It was tough to watch, the team that lives by fundamentals die through such incredible, I'd say even 'rookie,' mistakes.

[taliaamir17]

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[Stephdumas]

Looks like we got to find another way for Cleveland to get rid of its sports curse. http://bleacherreport.com/arti.....-cleveland

Only the Crunch, a indoor soccer team had won a championship in Cleveland since 1964. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6RvZ86wpIk

[shirleybaine369]

my friend's mom makes $66 hourly on the laptop. She has been laid off for 8 months but last month her income was $21305 just working on the laptop for a few hours. Here's the site to read more.... http://www.CNN13.com

[triclops]

Lebron is the best in the NBA right now, works very hard, and is a good teammate. He is still a douchebag,a whiner, and acts entitled. His reaction to the backlash to the way in which he left Cleveland was pathetic. The way he whines when he is fouled hard is sad. He acts put upon while receiving more adulation than anyone since Jordan. Having the NBA MVP be a flopper sucks. To many of us, he represents a new school of NBA player that is hypersensitive and expects unwavering love even from his opponents fans. MVPs before him would rather die than admit hurt feelings, or that a hard foul gives them a sad. They would instead respond to the above by dominating opponents.

And he is a total front runner. He doesn't like the best teams, he likes the most popular ones.

It's weird because, by all accounts, he is good to his friends and family, and is a charitable man. He also works his ass off. But he is a whiny bitch when even the mildest criticism comes his way.