LeBron James: Will People Hate Him or Love Him More If Miami Heat Win a Title?

Isn't it funny how breaking the heart of an entire city and gaining the mistrust of millions can somehow affect your popularity?

Since July 8th, 2010, LeBron James hasn't exactly won any popularity contests outside of Miami. Ever since he decided to take his talents to South Beach, critics and analysts have attempted to find reasons why James' move was wrong and where he should have taken his talents instead. 

Cleveland, New York, New Jersey and Chicago were all believed to be frontrunners before word came in on the day of "The Decision" that the Heat then became the frontrunner.

Naturally, those teams suddenly lost a lot of respect for the player that they were gunning for. Cleveland was upset that he ditched the team on national television, New York was irked that years of tanking games and clearing cap space was all for naught and the other teams in contention for James were annoyed that the Heat got every top player from free agency that offseason.

As good as we predicted that Heat team to be, it was obvious that everyone from around the NBA world wanted them to fail. Not because of Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh or anyone else on the team, but because of LeBron James for scorning their teams. Every time James would even come in contact with the basketball, LeBron would hear jeers from the opposing team's crowd.

Hearing it from the Quicken Loans crowd in Cleveland or even the Madison Square Garden faithful in New York was understandable, but the Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies fanbases were getting in on the act of bashing James as well. People were disliking James for all the wrong reasons. They didn't not like him because he went to Miami, they just plain didn't like him for not being on their team.

So we hated. And we kept hating. We hated when they started out 9-8 and we hated when they won 21-of-22 through December and January. It persisted after they had control of the No. 1 seed and it thrived when James and the Heat lost five games when they were contending for that No. 1 spot. Mostly though, we hated because we didn't want to see James succeed.

If you were a Heat fan or a diehard LeBron James fan, it seemed like you were in the minority. Any excuse was given to not like James by any fair weather NBA fan and it wasn't fair to him or the team.

As much as critics don't want to admit it, leaving Cleveland for Miami was the best move James could have done. He went to where he thought the best possible chance of winning a title could happen, and it turns out he just might have been right.

Yes, "The Decision" was an absolute travesty even though it raised nearly half a million dollars to charity. Does James even warrant some of this displeasure that has seeped from any NBA fans and analysts pores? Somewhat. He's not exactly a low-profile player and does bring about some of this criticism upon himself.

So let's make him a social pariah and lambast him for doing what he thought was best for his career. James has received this criticism all season long and it even became believed by the consensus that he wouldn't even make it this deep into the postseason.

Even with the excuses that have piled up over the Heat's first two series wins, there needs to be some credit where credit is due for James. He has led his team to the Conference Finals and has finished a number of games.

Now that he is finishing games despite having Wade on his team, James has actually begun to earn some respect from his peers. As much as people wanted to see him fail, they also wanted to see just how far this experiment could take the Heat. Those that used to hate now might change their mind of James once they see just what he has been capable of.

Those that criticized James for all that he has done all season long are running out of excuses. Miami is tied 1-1 with the Chicago Bulls in the Conference Finals with the series heading back to South Beach, where the Heat are 6-0 this postseason. If the Heat can take three of the next five games, they'll make it to their second Finals in franchise history with a date against either Oklahoma City or Dallas on the line.

If they do, it'll be because LeBron James led them there. He's already had two of the biggest games of his career with his series-clinching performance against the Boston Celtics in Game 5 and a possible season-saving effort in Game 2 of the Conference Finals where James led a 12-2 charge over the final 4:28. LeBron's clutch performances have helped him earn some of the respect that he lost when departing for Miami as he proves former stereotypes of his game wrong.

The amount of love and praise that James will receive if he wins a championship would skyrocket. He'll prove to his critics that he is completely capable of winning a title and that he made the right move by signing with Miami. Those that would still hold some sort of grudge after James possibly wins this season's title would either be a Cavaliers fan or a person who just doesn't like to see others succeed.

We hate because we are worried just what this Heat team is capable of. As much as we criticize James and the rest of this Heat team, we also need to recognize that this is one of the greatest teams assembled and is also one of the most talented.

James, Wade, and Bosh are one of the best trios to ever be formed, and it's time that we stop hating the fact that those three are on the same team and not competing against each other.

If James were to win a title, he would earn the admiration and respect that he had lost after leaving the city that had drafted him. His exceptional play of late has already help earned himself some of those qualities back, especially with his play in the clutch where he had struggled all season long. Now that he is making his shots and leading his team to victory, those faults that we used to dislike about James are now fading.

Nobody wants to see LeBron James and the Miami Heat win a title. Truth is, the Heat plain don't care what you think.

You can follow John Friel on twitter @JohnFtheheatgod