Miami Heat What Ifs: Same Big Three, Different City...Different Reaction?

Oh no, not another summer 2010 article... Yes. I'll try to keep it insightful.

This article revolves around the question, what if, not only James, but James, Wade and Bosh had teamed up elsewhere than Miami? Since this is all hypothetical anyway (not everybody could afford all three,) Cleveland will be discussed, as it provides the best sample for comparison.

We all know that if LeBron alone had gone to any team but this one, he would have avoided the typhoon of scorn and ridicule that followed The Selection (God, strike me dead if I ever use the "D" word again.).

Sure, bitter Clevelanders (I believe) would have been on his case for leaving even if he had done it in classiest, most professional manner possible, but the rest of the basketball world would have been excited to see its brightest star shining somewhere new.

So when The Choice went down, among an ocean of jilted Cavs, Knicks, Bulls, Nets or (chuckle) Clippers fans, there were countless others who were just disappointed in LeBron, because we thought this kind of thing was beneath him.

On a broader level, when the Scheme Team came to fruition, people were already turned off by the cheapness of it all, even before the three of them jumped on stage and waved their manhoods at the world outside Miami.

Many people (including myself) couldn't tell what was worse: the fact that two MVP candidates were trading in the rest of their legacies for easy success, or that they were so unabashedly pleased with themselves and seemed to laugh in everyone's face as if to say "gotcha, suckers!"

This is the reason people continue to bash this team long after the sting of their hare-brained coming-together has worn off. It wasn't the event that rubbed people wrong; it was the attitude it betrayed.

You had three guys who didn't care how it was done and who didn't realize the path they'd chosen should have had them holding their heads a little lower, their voices a little softer, not the other way around. You had one guy at least who felt he was ordained to win a title and that no holds were barred on the way to what was rightfully his.

But the more I've thought about it, there was something else at that pre-championship ceremony that grabbed me and wouldn't let go. The shots of the crowd, I now realize, still grate on me to this day. I realized I could see the haughty attitude of an entire city radiating off them.

There's something about the culture in Miami, a sort of volksgeist that just screams "we're so awesome, it must really suck to be you."

Of course, it doesn't come from just anywhere; you're talking about an entire city on the beach, whose stated contribution to the world is warm weather, beautiful women and extensive partying. It's where everybody wants to be.

This fact could not possibly have been lost on Pat Riley when he decided to go there in 1995. He must have known that no matter how bad things might get roster-wise, he would always be able to attract talent to his team because if nothing else, he could offer a player climate and stature.

I digress...

While understandable, the too-cool attitude that comes with calling Miami home can easily turn to arrogance, which is precisely what these eyes saw in the streets following the announcement, in the crowd during the intro party and at every home game the Heat play.

When you're already the preening, musclebound jock of U.S. cities, it doesn't help that you show up waving signs reading "Yes.We.Did." after once again showing everybody just how much more attractive you are by scoring the three prettiest girls at the party.

We all thought L.A. fans could be insufferable in their heyday, but we hadn't seen the likes of this before. Not only were they as obnoxious as post-championship Laker fans, but they were also notorious for being...well, flaky. We all know the details, so suffice it to say, the team actually had to launch a campaign urging them to be better fans.

Really? There is no precedent for that...corrections more than welcome.

For the most part, Miami fans give the impression that they prefer to attend a party than a real game of basketball. This likely goes back to the overall attitude of the city.

Which takes us back to the Q without an A: What if the Three Amigos had happened anywhere else? Would a different landing spot have generated the same kind of widespread disgust? Does the actual locale have that much to do with it?

Certainly, there would still be the issue of compromised legacies. We would still have to admit that no matter the setting, there's just not enough thunder going around for Wade, James and Jar Jar to shine as bright as they would on separate teams.

But let's just assume—and from here on in, feel free to assume Wade and LeBron only—that this happened in Chicago. Would Bulls fans (and the town in general) make it so much easier to hate their team's guts? What about New York? Heck, what about Cleveland?

It's not hard to imagine Chicago fans tapping into that old sense of "deal with it; we're the Bulls," but it is rather hard to imagine them getting behind an intro ceremony like the Heat put on. That felt more like Pat Riley and the city of Miami basking in their genius and awesomeness, respectively.

Derrick Rose's low-key demeanor might have made these guys more likable merely by proxy, making their trek through last year's PR jungle that much less hazardous. Plus, Wade would be the hometown boy, which is always hard to root against (ask LeBron.)

"Still", many would likely have said, "why does Chicago need more titles?"

Fine, what about New York? Well, Knicks fans aren't the most well-liked bunch in the league, and one wouldn't put it past them to wallow in an opulent pre-coronation because New Yorkers have a well-earned superiority complex of their own.

The city itself has an image of world-leading power, a super-city even. Believe it or not, in some people's minds, that association might have fit well enough with the concept of a super-team. "It's New York", they'd say, "we get it." Plus, the Knicks have been starved for an NBA title for decades.

Finally, what if somehow the Big Two-and-a-Quarter settled on Cleveland? Remember, it's important to set aside retrospect, and picture the NBA before the nationwide outpouring of Cavs pity that followed The Verdict.

First off, the only way in the world LeBron could have saved that TV special would have been if he had uttered the words "I'm keeping my talent by The Lake." It might actually have justified the utter inanity of the other 59 minutes.

That introduction ceremony might also have been digestible if it had been a crowd full of working stiffs holding up signs that read "It's a Miracle!!!" Any impression from the crowd would probably have been one of gratitude rather than grandeur. In fact, if you only took out, like, 90 percent of the talking parts, it might even have been tasteful...

Make no mistake, we'd all still be better off without these first two spectacles entirely.

As far as public opinion turning on them, Cleveland would have completely changed things. The city is a working-class capital, unglamorous and hard-working, and though most people would never admit it —because they wouldn't know how to defend it—the image of the city rubs off on public perception of the team.

LeBron would, of course, never have turned into Benedict Vader, and not only would he still be the darling of the NBA, he'd be even more revered and respected for sticking with Cleveland (and bringing his friends).

Wade, while the undisputed Robin in this scenario, would add a wrinkle to his legacy (which doesn't need more rings to be bulletproof) by painting him as the valiant guy who set aside his ego for the greater good of uplifting a depressed sports town.

If these two were going to have people questioning their heart for ganging up on the league, they might have offset it on the feel-good factor alone. Plus, though they'd still have a microscope on them at all times, they'd be spared the vitriol flying at them from all directions.

The pressure to win or be ridiculed might still be around, but in the eventuality that they did take it all, they'd have been so showered in glory by the city of Cleveland that any talk of a cheap victory would surely take a backseat to the widespread feeling of "all's well that ends well."

Like it or not, this whole operetta that is the Miami Heat has gone about as badly (off the court) as it could have, and this wouldn't necessarily hold true everywhere else. So then, am I saying they all should they have all gone to Cleveland?

No, the aim here is to point out how much the very city in which they play (and the culture of that city) has an influence on the psychology that goes into people's opinion of them.

Miami wants to party; Cleveland wants to cheer the team to a victory. Miami dances on cars; Cleveland watches in bars. Miami has it all, while Cleveland is the underdog of U.S. markets.

America loves underdogs; conversely, it generally doesn't respond well to seeing the guy who has it all pile on more. This is not likely to change no matter how far behind us we put The Final Answer.