Lebron James: Why You Should Learn to Accept the Miami Mega Star

Although nearly two years old, LeBron James' decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers to sign with the Miami Heat in 2010 still feels new. 

This is because James' decision is all too representative of big business stories we must constantly endure. This need to maximize business through massive spending. 

The idea that these days, the only way to win is not through ingenuity, but by just becoming bigger.  That somehow, businesses still clasp onto the illusion that a barrage of gaudy statistical output will ensure longtime success (LeBron's career player-efficiency rating: 27.3; championships: 0). 

James is a surrogate for some of the uglier aspects of corporate America.  He represents an inevitable side of the new American way. 

But we shouldn't loathe James for this.  In taking on this "villainous" role, James has made way for a powerfully inspiring narrative that sports fans across the country can latch onto.

More so than ever before, small-market teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and the Indiana Pacers feel even closer to our hearts. These teams' battles to win championships through a slow, workmanlike building process (draft picks, inexpensive free-agent signings and shrewd trades) represent many of our own lifelong battles. 

They represent our spirited and meaningful struggle to succeed in small businesses or programs that are in danger of losing funding in this viciously competitive corporate culture.

You may not have cared that much when the Spurs won four championship rings last decade.  You may have viewed their quiet emphasis on teamwork and execution as boring compared to more exciting, highlight-reel style play. 

But if the Spurs play the Heat in the NBA finals, I can promise you'll care a lot more about the Spurs winning a ring in 2012.  A Spurs win will mean something on a much broader scale.

And if you so happen to love the corporation, well, there are some good things about corporate America.  Face it: Sometimes, watching James and Wade executing a ruthlessly functional, monstrous transition offense is a beautiful thing. 

As for myself, I'm a New Yorker who makes a decent salary and who is still paying off student loans to a "student loan service" (read: corporate creditor).  Sure, I'll be a New York Knicks fan for life.  However, these days, Oklahoma City and San Antonio, both some 2,000 miles away from where I live, are starting to feel a lot closer to home. 

I can thank LeBron James, in part, for this feeling.