A Ring Is Not Enough

Fitting that the first post pertains to perhaps the most momentous moment in this decade of sports.

Yes, at last the King has his crown.

After nine years of hype, impossible expectations and constant criticism, James captured his first championship by defeating the young Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the 2012 NBA Finals. I know, you probably already know this. Who doesn't by now, considering every news station, every radio program, and just about every Tweet or Facebook post have been about James and the Miami Heat capturing a championship.

And for good reason. After James announced his new allegiance with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, they already had crowned themselves rulers of the Association. They had proclaimed themselves champions before even stepping out onto the court, before ever playing against some of the stiffest competition the world has to offer. And when they failed against Dallas in the previous installment of the Finals, there was hell to pay for the arrogant villains of South Beach.

But now, LeBron hopes to shed the dark shadow that was smeared across his image after his ugly departure from Cleveland. He wants to win. He wants to have fun. But most importantly, he wants to be liked.

And it's easier now. There is finally relief and closure for just about everyone except the poor fans of Cleveland. LeBron has his ring, and there's no point rooting against him so viciously, right?

Well, that's when things get complicated. For myself, I did root against LeBron in the 2011 Finals. I will proudly admit that, as will millions of other basketball fans all over the world. I probably would have this year if OKC did not give me an inclination to root against them.

I will not directly root against LeBron. There is not that drive to totally oppose him anymore. The fuel for that fire was extinguished when the clock hit zero on Thursday night. But this does not excuse James' arrogance and over-confidence. And here is the fundamental basis of my new approach on LeBron James; until he wins not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven, but EIGHT championships, as he promised, I will not be satisfied. He will never, EVER be excused until he captures all that he promised to obtain.

There have been discussions that if James can win three, maybe four championships, he will rival Michael Jordan as the greatest of all time. Not in my book. MJ won six titles, and did so without jumping ship and without arrogantly guaranteeing a multitude of championships before he had even the slightest right to do so. MJ won, and became the greatest by his work on the court, not by his talk on a stage with strobe lights and a smoke machine.

And MJ did all this without two years in his prime.

LeBron will be, and already is, one of the greatest NBA players of all time. He's a tremendous athlete with tremendous talent, and I'm truly happy for him and his first title. But he will always be met with an underlying feeling of dislike if he does not achieve eight titles, as promised.

Some may say I'm setting expectations too high for the King. And to that I say no, I'm simply holding LeBron James to his own standards that he set before him. And until he's reached these standards, LBJ will always be the arrogant boy that wanted to be the likable man.