Let me preface this by saying I'm a Cavs fan and I'm stung that LeBron left Cleveland. I understand that this was his personal decision and he needed to make it for himself. But let me make this analogy and see if you can't understand where Cavs fans (including Dan Gilbert, the Akron-Beacon Journal and the Plain Dealer) are coming from:

 

Let's say tomorrow Coach Cal openly questions whether he is going to stick around at UK after the coming season. No official statement, just starts dropping hints here and there. He then proceeds to lead UK to a glorious regular season. 32-4 with a SEC regular season and tournament titles. Cats fans believe this will finally be the year they get back to the Final Four. Only it doesn't go as scripted, and Kentucky gets bounced in the second round to an inferior Oklahoma State team in which Coach seems like he makes some questionable decisions, seemingly half-hearted. Cal doesn't seem like he cares, and walks off the court. Shows little emotion in the press conference and has a "win some, lose some" attitude.

 

After the season, Cal-to-the-NBA talk intensifies. Cal chooses 5 teams he thinks would be a "good fit" and invites them to Lexington to give presentations at the Craft Center. UK fans line Avenue of Champions, begging Cal to stay, but he remains noncommittal. This goes on for a week, and then it is announced Cal will makes his decision live on an ESPN special, which turns out to be an hour-long tribute to the greatness of Cal and his accomplishments. He chooses Chicago so he can coach Derrick Rose again and claims "it's all about winning".

 

Now you look me in the face and tell me that UK fans wouldn't be doing and saying the same things.

 

The only difference here (and it is a MAJOR one) is that Cal isn't from Lexington, Pikeville or Paducah. We haven't literally watched him grow up before our eyes and invested 20 years in energy and money supporting him.

 

LeBron is free to choose whatever path for himself he likes. I won't fault him for that. But the manner in which he went about it amounts to infidelity and betrayal. There is a classy way to do it and a narcissistic way. He chose the latter.

I think your analogy works better if you change it this way. Coach Cal is at UK for 7 years and doesn't win a title. His contract is up and he is frustrated. Cal considers offers from Duke, UCLA, Kansas, North Carolina and UK. He then goes on TV to announce his decision and chooses Duke, saying that is where he thinks he has the best opportunity to win a title.

Good analogy.

Bad analogy if you ask me.

Bad analogy if you ask me.

 

Why?

Maybe you should have used a Rick Pitino analogy.

There are a few flaws with your analogy, but I think the part about holding the hour long special is illustrated well.

 

My only point in all of this is that LeBron did not have to drag Cleveland through this whole mess. If, from the onset, he had publicly eliminated them from the get-go, I would not have much of a problem with the hour long tribute.

Why?

 

You have exaggerated some of the details to help sell the analogy, plus Cal has only been at UK for 1 season not 7. If Cal's contract with UK was up and he wanted to go somewhere else then okay.

 

If Cal was at UK for 7 years and won zero championships then I'm sure fans wouldn't care as much if he left after the contract was up. That right there seems to deflate your analogy in this scenario.

You have exaggerated some of the details to help sell the analogy, plus Cal has only been at UK for 1 season not 7. If Cal's contract with UK was up and he wanted to go somewhere else then okay.

 

If Cal was at UK for 7 years and won zero championships then I'm sure fans wouldn't care as much if he left after the contract was up. That right there seems to deflate your analogy in this scenario.

 

What LeBron did in Cleveland was the equivalent of Cal getting UK to the Final Four once and National Runner's Up once.

What LeBron did in Cleveland was the equivalent of Cal getting UK to the Final Four once and National Runner's Up once.

 

Not so much, but hey it's your analogy.

Not so much, but hey it's your analogy.

 

How is getting to the finals not the same as being the nat. runner up?

Here's why it's a bad analogy, because not anywhere in your post did it say that Cal's contract was up and he was allowed to start talking to different teams about the following season. He'd be breaking his contract to do this, which is completely different. Now, if he says he's not going to sign a new contract and will be a coaching "free agent" after his first contract is up, more power to him. That obviously means UK wasn't making all the right decisions and doing everything in their power to keep him around.

Guys no analogy is going to be spot on.

 

Zoot, people (myself included) would be outraged. When/If Cal leaves I'm going to remember today.

Zoot I understand what you're saying except I think you're leaving the bosses out of it along with some other things. First off I doubt UK would let him have the interviews on their property. I doubt he met with other teams in the Cavs buildings. So the Craft center is out. Next and it's huge and others touched on it Cal is currently under contract for more than next season. LBJ's contract had expired. If everyone knew three years in advance that Calipari's contract was running out and UK and the AD were trying to get him to sign another contract and he repeatedly refused all the while saying to Louisviile or UNC fans to keep their head up anything can happen I'd hope that UK fans would be smart enough to take note of that. Then after all of the speculation and the last season of his deal finally ended he never returned a single call or text to the AD I'd hope the AD would have been smart enough to know he was leaving. Not only that If the AD thought he quit on his team two years in a row in the postseason I would hope the AD didn't want him back.

Cal may have to have a restraining order against the citizens of the bluegrass state if he were to do this. Lebron could give a rat's behind about Cleveland. And thats all you need to know.