One of the aspects that constantly annoys me as a real NBA fan is that it always feels like the current season is irrelevant. Because there are so many games it leaves very little chance that a surprise team will be able to sustain good momentum from the start of the season. Teams very rarely manage to capture lighting in a bottle and make a surprise run through all 82 games. After about 20 games the other teams catch on that the team is playing better than expected and that puts an end to that. Unless there is an injury to a team's major star, you can pretty much tell where teams are going to place at the end of the regular season based on the offseason, so that is what everyone concentrates on. Because of that, now that the Cleveland Cavaliers' season has ended the real business of this NBA offseason (recruiting LeBron James) has begun. And, while I get that he's a very good basketball player, I would really like the fans of the respective basketball teams with a good shot to sign him to show a little restraint and self-pride. Signing James isn't going to guarantee a title, so don't sell yourselves out as though it will.
Already people are jumping all over the Internet with websites to attract LeBron to their team. The Knicks and Nets fans are putting together team videos with celebrities asking him to come to New Yowrk and the Bulls' fans have put up websites in an attempt to get James to Chicago. Hell, the Clippers fans (yes, they exist) are planning a parade to try and get him to come to Los Angeles. And, of course, the Cavalier fans aren't going down without a fight, starting sites like pleasedontleave23.com (perhaps, given the Cavaliers' history pre-James, it is fitting that the site is currently not working). I would like to caution these fans that signing James doesn't mean a thing. I'm sure after signing Penny Hardaway and Grant Hill in the same offseason Orlando fans were thinking title and they never got out of the first round of the playoffs with those two in uniform. Just like I do with people who want to put political bumper-stickers on their cars, I simply want to ask all those fans to take a step back and think long-term. Really, if James ends up leaving Cleveland, how dumb do you think this guy is going to feel?
-Speaking of fans who should feel pretty dumb, I want to thank the Philadelphia fans who cover a Montreal sports writer's car in trash, slashed his tire and stole his license plates for reaffirming every stereotype that people have about Philly's fans. I used to work with a guy from Philadelphia and he constantly told me how blown out of proportion the stories were and that most fans were mellow and laid back. Well, tell that to the poor guy who has to drive back to Montreal and try to get into Canada without any plates on his car. Also, he said he's received a couple hundred emails and "they're running about 3-to-1 on the apologetic side." I'm sorry, but who's writing the ones defending trashing another man's car? You stay classy, Philly. Now, I'm not saying that Montreal fans are great, but you should really strive to be better, not equally terrible. Besides, how did you know the guy wasn't a transplanted Flyers fan? And you wonder why no one was happy for your city when the Philles broke through and won the World Series a couple years ago.
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