Thursday, May 12, 2011

Too little too late. Better than nothing, but the We Love LeBron ship has left the dock.

A year almost to the day after LeBron quit in Game 5 of the Boston series, and let's just all admit that for whatever reason, he was not mentally or physically in that game even before he stripped off his jersey, and ten months after The Decision, he apologized to Cleveland.

Some talking heads claim that if we were BIG people in Northeast Ohio we could say, isn't that great. The young man has matured, he has seen the errors of his nationally televised ways.

Cleveland and its fans are nothing if not rabid. We love passionately and we hate passionately. It is not about being BIG or getting over being left at the alter.

We just don't care all that much about what is not Cleveland. And LeBron is not Cleveland anymore. He has made that clear. He hinted at it when he wore the Yankees baseball cap to a Cleveland Indians game. He made it crystal clear in The Decision.

My Dad used to say that if you are going to apologize, apologize fast. If you are going to give into a client request or demand, do it sooner rather than later. The longer you wait, the less gracious the gesture. An apology rather than a nationally televised "I'm taking my talents to South Beach" would have been a great testament to my Dad's advice.

Imagine if he would have held a local press conference, LOCAL, being the key word, or a written a letter to his fans. I'm sorry to disappoint my legions of fans but I will not be a Cavalier next season. I'm sorry. I'm sorry to break your heart Cleveland, I'm sorry.

An apology is an apology and therefore it is not useless. It moves LeBron from the most hated Cleveland sports figure to the second most hated Cleveland sports figure. Art Modell, the first place honor goes back to you.