The Lion King Effect

The NBA Finals are finally over. The Dallas Mavericks are the champions for the first time in franchise history. Dirk Nowitzki legitimized himself as not only a phenomenon at the 4 position, but as a true superstar in the league. And Mark Cuban's investment? Well, it once again pays off for him.

But... this isn't the story that people want to talk about. Journalists don't want to hoist a flag, cheering on a new set of champions in the NBA. We aren't writing about how the Dallas Mavericks displayed great poise and teamwork through the entire playoffs. No. We aren't focused on the champions at all. As fans, we are more curious about what went wrong with the Miami Heat. Can you blame us? We love the drama! Shows like the Jersey Shore don't thrive because everything went right. They thrive because we want to see things unravel. We want our lives to feel a bit more normal than the people than these 'stars'.

Not to beat a dead horse but... we as a public resent Lebron James. He was supposed to be the best thing to ever happen in basketball. We followed him through high school, as he torched every single varsity player, making them look like Oompa Loompas on the court against the Incredible Hulk. We watched him bring a ray of sunshine to the downtrodden city of Cleveland. He created magic, and single handedly brought the Cavaliers to the finals. When things didn't work out however, we saw how he publicly humiliated the city with a one hour special on his 'decision'.

Why didn't anyone tell him this was a bad idea? When you are THE MAN, surrounded by a bunch of 'yes men', bad ideas are never Bad. Because of this mistake, ultimately, we wanted Lebron to fail. We wanted to see him fail so bad, that we taunted him at every arena. We made jokes about Delonte West and his mom having an affair. Everywhere you turned, someone had a jab (or a hook) at Lebron. We made shirts that said 'witless'. Jerseys were burned, and I even took a liking to call him Lebron Shames. He went from hero to zero in the matter of an hour. He is now 0 and 2 in the NBA finals, while Jordan went 6 for 6. And because we (unfairly) demand perfection from this man, we have a right to scrutinize his every move--past, present, and future.

I'll leave it to other people to write long thesis' on how Lebron melted down, why he isn't living up to expectations, and all that good stuff. Bottomline for me is, he is like a child actor. When you find success at a young age, without enough guidance and humility, you will make some bad decisions as an adult. And as such, we all want to chastise him because Lebron was supposed to be perfect. And I think this freaked him out a bit. So much so, that he shies away from the dunk contest because of the risk of failure. He fears not winning a championship, so he wants to put himself in what he believes is the best position possible. Which in my opinion isn't so evil after all. If you were building an intramural team, wouldn't you want the best players on your team? And I hear the 'MJ would never do that' argument, but MJ is a different breed altogether.

Failure is scary. The fear of Failure can drive certain individuals to become great, but it can also stifle. Who knows what Lebron is really thinking, but I feel like this fear is stifling him. Which is only getting compounded by the fact that people question his actual testicular fortitude--his manhood. The Lebron drama reminds me of Hulk Hogan's defection to the NWO. Remember how rowdy the fans became, and how hated he was for that? Yeah, that's Lebron. And do you want to know what my problem is? I'm drawn to polarizing personalities.

Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Tupac, and Eminem. They are all characters that you either love, or that you love to hate. And, I'm a huge fan of that. Maybe it's because I always feel like the underdog. I always have something to prove. Whether its being too skinny and small as a kid to be in Tae Kwon Do, being too young to be in 2nd grade, or even as a professional, I thrive on doubt. If someone were to tell me I couldn't do something, I make it a point to prove them wrong. And if I could... I'd walk over their downed body, lifting one leg at a time, with a smug look on my face, after proving my point (like Allen Iverson did to Tyronn Lue). The hardest part is getting over the self doubt in order to turn it around. But when it's turned around, great things can happen.

Kobe did it and won 5 rings. Tupac did it, and became a hip hop legend. Eminem did it, and overcame the race barrier. And Allen Iverson? Shorter than 6' and singlehandedly took the 76'ers to the finals. Lebron isn't at that point yet. He has to battle the scrutiny of the press and the public. He will have the inner demons of self-doubt and insecurity creep in for the first time in his basketball life. Lebron is at a point where he has to battle Lebron before he can battle other people. When you use doubt as a motivation, failure seems far removed. You no longer fear something NOT happening, because you are so focused on making something happen.

I'm a believer in forgiveness and second chances. I also believe that you have to go experience the rain in order to appreciate the sunshine. I no longer wish failure on Lebron. Kobe is aging and has too many miles on his legs. His time is drawing to its conclusion in the next few years. I need a new polarizing personality to follow. I will call my new theory 'the Lion King Effect' (appropriate for 'King' James). When Mufasa died, Scar blamed Simba, who in turn ran away (James to Miami). He chose to be content with his newfound situation, and shunned off the impending responsibilities, giving it to someone else (James delegating leadership to Wade). Simba eventually faces his demons, some hyenas, and his uncle, then takes his rightful place as King. James is still young. Depending on how he chooses to write his story, he can either be trapped as Simba who will forever ignore his calling, or will rise to the challenge.

I truly wish for the latter. I hope he realizes that he isn't perfect, and he doesn't need to live up to our expectations. He needs to accept his own path, and make us look like fools for doubting him. He needs have that chip that makes him want to walk over a downed opponent. Pressure can either crack, or create a diamond. I haven't hopped on board the cheering for Lebron train yet, but I will keep a watchful eye, and an open mind. Which path will this Simba choose?