Sports Sabbath

Sports Sabbath: December 2010

Thursday, December 2, 2010

We (Only) Know Drama


There was nothing more telling about tonight's Heat vs Cavaliers game than what happened before it even started. TNT, the station broadcasting LeBron's return to Cleveland, decided to air a rerun of "Bones" - a show that roughly 9 people have ever watched - instead of running a massive pregame extravaganza. This angered sports fans, who on most days, love to poke fun at ESPN's attempts to make even the most mundane of events into all-day telethons.

But that's the kind of fervor that surrounded this game. Everybody wanted something. Some wanted LeBron to fall flat on his face. Others wanted to see a historical showing from The King. And then there were those who wanted blood; to see Cleveland fans riot or throw beers onto the court.

One thing is clear: nobody tuned in to watch basketball.

It was a casual fan and sports writer nightmare; a Heat blowout, where LeBron neither destroyed the court nor failed to show. He did what LeBron does, although, at times, he was so dominant that you had to feel he was crushing Cavs defenders on purpose. Scoring 38 points in three quarters, he could have put up 50+ if he was so inclined*, but the LeBron we now know did what was expected: sit out the final quarter of a meaningless regular season game.

*A prominent, nationally syndicated sports radio host Tweeted that Michael Jordan would've gone for the 50+, alluding to the fact that James doesn't have it in him. I casually tweeted back that rooting for 50+ is rooting for entertainment, not basketball. He then sent me a direct message stating "I forgot more about sports during lunch than you've learned in your entire life". The lesson, as always: where you stand on LeBron is serious stuff, and that most people in the sports business are pricks.

This failed to satisfy a soul except for the hardcore NBA fan. The American public that drove up TNT's ratings Thursday night wanted something extraordinary, a mix between Kobe hanging 81 points on Toronto and Ron Artest jumping into the crowd and clocking a Pistons fan. They wanted entertainment that had little to do with sports. A reality show where either LeBron or Cleveland leaves the island alive. For things to remain the same on Friday morning would be a travesty.

Sorry, fair-weather NBA fans, nothing to see here. No drama, no violence, no answers. Just a December game where the home crowd had a little more juice than usual. Sorry you were strung along by the majority of the sports media, who led you to believe you were to be a Witness of something greater than you were actually going to see.

Now you know how it feels to be a Cavs fan, because this is likely the last NBA game you'll watch with interest before June. I'll give you one more look at LeBron to vent your frustrations. Then you have to get over it.
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