Let me first say that I have my own opinions about what he did, why he did it, HOW he did it, and what it means about him. And I do not mean to say that no one else should have their own opinions as well.

It seems to me that the sports media in this country, most of all ESPN, have become less about reporting on sports. They're primary objective as they see it is to perpetuate drama and control narratives in order to maintain viewership. This is how characters such as The King are created. And we are all complicit in it.

What I find most interesting is that narrative must constantly be rebelled against for maximum drama. The narrative in this instance is that athletic careers primary purpose is a legacy. And the most important component of a legacy is championships. This narrative has been pushed strongly and generally accepted by writers and fans. And thus you have a person like Lebron James born of that narrative who seems to care more about his legacy than he does his career. And he made the choice that seems most appropriate in that environment. Win championships=greater legacy. And now we rebel against the narrative we all helped to create.

Reading that thread was really interesting. The majority seemed to recognize the absurdity of the moment in the moment and yet most seemed to stay tuned in. Why not just not watch? Again, I don't begrudge anyone his choice to watch or not watch. To have opinion A or opinion B. But i wonder if there's so much agreement on the absurdity why do we not collectively agree to not participate in the absurdity?

5 ...

Report Post

Posted by Towelie

America's Wang

Member since Aug 2007

19119 posts

Posted on 7/9/10 at 11:33 am to keakdasneak

quote:
the media in this country, have become less about reporting on actual news

0 ...

Report Post

Posted by olomgamer231

Baton Rouge

Member since Apr 2009

259 posts

Posted on 7/9/10 at 11:35 am to keakdasneak

quote:
It seems to me that the sports media in this country, most of all ESPN, have become less about reporting on sports. They're primary objective as they see it is to perpetuate drama and control narratives in order to maintain viewership.

I complete agree with this. If Lebron would've gone to the Knicks or Bulls he would've been criticized for not going to the Heat and forming the first ever trio of all-stars, and if he would've gone back to the Cavs they would've said that the decision was emotional and greedy and probably the worst for his basketball career. Whatever his choice was going to be a lose-lose because the media just wanted to create drama over this and get better rating. I don't see how anybody can deny his decision making in this process because the Heat is obviously the best choice for him

2 ...

Report Post

Posted by harry coleman beast

Left Field

Member since Aug 2008

52210 posts

Posted on 7/9/10 at 12:03 pm to olomgamer231

Solid post i totally agree that no matter which team he chose he would have gotten ripped by the media....for example this morning greenberg sounded like a butthurt douchebag new yorker totally talkin down on lebron for his decision when its his employer who made all this bigger than it shoulda been

0 ...

Report Post

Posted by LSU Fan 90812

A man more eviler than Skeletor.

Member since Feb 2005

50655 posts

Posted on 7/9/10 at 12:06 pm to keakdasneak

really good post.

0 ...

Report Post

Posted by wrlakers

Member since Sep 2007

5748 posts

Posted on 7/9/10 at 1:13 pm to keakdasneak

quote:
It seems to me that the sports media in this country, most of all ESPN, have become less about reporting on sports.

I agree with this.

The show SportsNation epitomizes this. A large part of the show is spent reporting the results of opinion polls. The fact that 59% of the know-nothings who watch that show think that the Heat will win the NBA Championship in 2011 is not news. I see no value in compiling the opinions of a bunch of people who don't know anything about anything.

I am a devoted watcher of ESPN. But I have to register my objection to ESPN turning into the sports version of TMZ or Inside Edition or whatever. I don't care to hear 60 minutes on Lebron's decision making process. I don't need a daily update on which highschool kid caught a Brett Favre pass today. I know the "E" stands for entertainment, but

1 ...

Report Post

Posted by keakdasneak

Member since Dec 2006

7137 posts

Posted on 7/9/10 at 1:26 pm to wrlakers

I think what is perhaps the most fascinating part is the ego debate. In one action James seemed to exhibit both a massive ego and selflessness at the same time. This existing of opposites seems to be too nuanced for the realm of sports media and thus comes the ANGER!!!!!!! Extremely fascinating.

0 ...

Report Post

Posted by Kracka

Lafayette, Louisiana

Member since Aug 2004

40806 posts

Posted on 7/9/10 at 1:34 pm to keakdasneak

TV programming is all about viewership. Espn is in the business of TV programming. If there is a crappy baseball, football or basketball game on, there is shitty ratings. If LeWalk is on telling the world where he is going to play basketball, people watch. What do you think Sportscenter would lead off with, if there was a game 7 last night? I'll answer it for you, they would have led with lebron.

0 ...

Report Post

Posted by ryanlsu

Baton Rouge

Member since Oct 2005

1249 posts

Posted on 7/9/10 at 2:00 pm to olomgamer231

quote:
I don't see how anybody can deny his decision making in this process because the Heat is obviously the best choice for him

That is definitely deniable. If you watch Lebron you know he plays best when he dominates the ball, so does Wade. Problem is there is only one ball.

Also they will have no money to pay anyone else. It will be the big 3 and a bunch of scrubs. They are one injury away from being a 6 seed in the east. And Wade is injury prone and only plays at one speed all out.

I think the bulls and the cavs were a better option. The bulls would have been ridiculous with him, Bosh, Rose, and Noah. And bc Rose doesnt have the big contract yet they could still afford other players.

Page 1