U-S-A! U-S-A!

First, sorry if you missed the first two posts, but apparently the BlogSpot had a meltdown and destroyed my creation after only being alive for one day.  Some may take it as a sign, but it was worldwide, and I'm not that important.. yet.

The title of these thoughts may be misleading.  No, this does not have anything to do with politics, terrorists, and Hacksaw Jim Duggan (or his 2 x 4).  No no, this is a call to all Americans.  All 10 of you who read this, can tell 10 of your friends, who can tell 10 of their friends, and soon, there's 30 friends.. wait.. there's a lot of friends.  Think of me as your resident Richard Ponzi, but I'm not trying to rip you off.  We, as American sports fans, must take a stand.

We must annex the state of Florida.  And for at least the next two weeks, the Chicago Bulls are no longer the Chicago Bulls.  They are the U.S.A. Bulls.  That terrible state of Miami and their front running string of fans, who show up a quarter late to see the best two players in the NBA, (in the second round of the playoffs!) don't deserve what they have.  And for that, they must pay.  We need all 51 states remaining to root against the Miami Heat (49 in the union + Mexico + Canada.. they might as well be states).

The Heat epitomize everything that is wrong with professional sports, and especially the NBA.  2.5 players do not make a team.  12 players make a team.  Players don't have the right to form their own teams.  They can have a say, but allowing the players to control their fate will ruin the sport.  No, it's not slavery, they're making more money than most of us can dream of.  You can argue that if you're the best doctor, or lawyer, or accountant, or some profession that you can go work for who you want in the market that you want, fine.  But these athletes, are not doctors, or lawyers, or accountants.  Their job is to entertain.  They play a sport, that many would give anything to have the ability to do, to entertain millions of fans in this country, and across the world.  Conspiring to team up together throws the competitive balance off, an alienates fans.  Don't have 30 teams if the top 10 players are going to be on 3 teams.

So we must stand behind these Bulls.  One superstar, an energy player (whom I despise, Noah), a former hated Cavalier (Boozer), and a bunch of role players, who fill out a solid 9 man rotation.  A TEAM that believes in each other, believes in their leader, in their gameplan.  They play hard for each other, they play team defense, they rebound, they're humble.  For one series, the Bulls are America's team.  We need them to succeed.  Nobody wants to see the Heat win.  People who do fall into two categories.  One category, the acceptable one, are the locals.  You live in Miami, you've been fans since Pat Riley was coaching Alonzo Mourning getting his leg bit by Jeff Van Gundy in the playoffs.  You, my friends (and rivals), have a pass.  Carry on.

But the other group.  The Front Runners.  The "LeBron is awesome, and this is going to be the best team, so I better root for them" fans.  You are terrible.  Professional sports is about the name on the front of the jersey, not the name on the back.  You can like players on other teams.  But you can not change your favorite team because one player left your team for another.  What happened to loyalty?  What happened to "All for one.  One for all"?  It is fitting that LeBron is the face of that franchise, whether people think it's Wade's team or not.  LeBron should be the symbol of the team with the largest Front-Running following in the nation.

First, let me state this: LeBron James is the best basketball player in the NBA.  Not only that, he could be even better than he is.  I do not deny his abilities, or even his right to go to a different team.  Yes, it sucks, and I will root against him forever.  But this is not a LeBron James hating convention, he has enough haters who don't rationalize any of their feelings, other than "He left Cleveland."  The point I am getting to is this nation of Front Runners we have forming behind this Heat team.  LeBron is a fitting face for this nation.  Not because he fled Cleveland for warmer weather (literally, and also nicely metaphorically).  That's fine.  But what are LeBron's favorite teams?  And where is he from?  He is from Northeast Ohio.  Most Northeast Ohioans favorite teams consist of the Browns, Indians, and Cavaliers.  Maybe a few Steelers (get out of our state) fans here and there, maybe some Reds fans (you're the NL, I don't care about you).  But who did LeBron choose growing up?  The Cowboys.  The Bulls.  The Yankees.  Wow.  Here's how that situation happened:

"LeBron, who are your favorite sports teams?"
"Who wins the most?"
"The Cowboys, The Bulls, and the Yankees"
"Ohh I like them.. they're my favorites"
"But what about teams close to you?  The Cavs have been good.  The Indians are good.  You could even like the Steelers, they're close to you."
"But the Cowboys won last year, and so did the Bulls.  And the Yankees always win"


Front-running.  Terrible.  As fans we try to associate with our teams.  That's why we agonize over defeats, and get angry when players leave.  We try to relate to our teams.  They're OUR teams.  The Cowboys, the Bulls, and the Yankees are not LeBron's teams.  What association does he have with them?  How did he relate to them growing up?  Maybe LeBron was just born to be a professional athlete, and that's why he never developed an affliction for any teams.  Too bad for him.  Have you ever tried to root for a team that isn't yours?  It's rough.  It's hard to watch.  How do you do it?

For the next two weeks, you better figure it out.  We (America) need the Heat to lose.  They need to know that they're wrong.  Those front-running fans need to know that they chose the wrong bandwagon.  Come back to America, front-runners... the U.S.A. Bulls are driving the wagon, and there's plenty of room left.