Bob CollinsIt must kill the rest of America to admit it, but Cleveland has had a pretty good week, landing both the Republican National Convention and LeBron James.
In quite a surprise, it was Sports Illustrated that released the word that has had the sports tongues wagging.
In his essay today, James does not promise a championship. It doesn’t matter; Cleveland is just happy someone wants it.
When I left Cleveland, I was on a mission. I was seeking championships, and we won two. But Miami already knew that feeling. Our city hasn’t had that feeling in a long, long, long time. My goal is still to win as many titles as possible, no question. But what’s most important for me is bringing one trophy back to Northeast Ohio.
I always believed that I’d return to Cleveland and finish my career there. I just didn’t know when. After the season, free agency wasn’t even a thought. But I have two boys and my wife, Savannah, is pregnant with a girl. I started thinking about what it would be like to raise my family in my hometown. I looked at other teams, but I wasn’t going to leave Miami for anywhere except Cleveland. The more time passed, the more it felt right. This is what makes me happy.
To make the move I needed the support of my wife and my mom, who can be very tough. The letter from Dan Gilbert, the booing of the Cleveland fans, the jerseys being burned — seeing all that was hard for them. My emotions were more mixed. It was easy to say, “OK, I don’t want to deal with these people ever again.” But then you think about the other side. What if I were a kid who looked up to an athlete, and that athlete made me want to do better in my own life, and then he left? How would I react? I’ve met with Dan, face-to-face, man-to-man. We’ve talked it out. Everybody makes mistakes. I’ve made mistakes as well. Who am I to hold a grudge?
This concludes the LeBron James Watch.
And now, the Kevin Love Watch…
Related: What Cleveland Would Look Like With Lebron James And Kevin Love (FiveThirtyEight).
Lebron James's Cleveland return makes sense for these 5 reasons (Vox).
