Cleveland, You Did It To Yourselves

Like millions of sports fans around the country Thursday, I watched "The Decision", an hour-long lovefest at all things Lebron James and more importantly, a chance for a nation to witness the long-awaited announcement on where James would play for the upcoming NBA season.

Of course, when James said Miami, I wasn't suprised one bit.

Why?

James did more for the Cavaliers than any other player in that franchise's history, more than Brad Daughtery, Mark Price, Craig Ehlo (yes, that Craig Ehlo), and Larry Nance.

He brought visibilty, made it cool for people to be Cavs fans, and more importantly, brought winning back to the franchise, including back-to-back 60-win seasons, an NBA Finals appearance, two Central Division titles, and of course back-to-back MVPs.

And what did he get in return?

Nothing as far as a solid supporting cast was concerned.

Like Marino in Miami, Lebron was the only option for the Cavaliers and had he stayed in Cleveland, chances are he would end up like Marino.

Loyal player who did everything right for the franchise, but never could win the championship.

Or in the words of Lebron, 31 years old with no rings and bad knees.

Do I think the spectacle was too much? Of course.

But the Cavs and their fans, loved him too much and did very little in return to help him bring that long-awaited championship to Cleveland.

And because of so little help, Lebron in a few years could join Manny Ramrirez (two WS rings), C.C. Sabathia (one WS ring), and possibly Cliff Lee if he goes to the Yankees as guys who started their careers in Cleveland yet won a championship elsewhere.

Hate to say it, but it's the truth.

And sometimes, the truth hurts.