The Day Social Media Stood Still: The Decision 2.0

Whether you're a fan or not, you were watching.  Even if it didn't affect your team, you were constantly refreshing twitter and other news outlets. Even if you don't care for the NBA, you were entrenched in the madness that was Lebron's latest and greatest decision.  For weeks, we've heard speculation from anyone and everyone about where King James could potentially land this offseason.  It was simply one of those moments that you will never forget where you were when you first heard the news.  Usually, this is reserved for negative events and tragedies but today, many basketball fans can rejoice that Lebron James has decided to return to his native state of Ohio to bring back a championship to the city of Cleveland.

This time around, Lebron strategically planned how he was going to announce to the entire country where he was going to play basketball next season.  Unexpectedly, he went to the most trusted source in sports, ESPN Sports Illustrated a week earlier to personally pen a short essay about the biggest free agency decision since he bolted for Miami in 2010. These last few weeks have been strenuous on any basketball fan and anyone that watches Sportscenter on a daily basis.  James' name seemed to work his way into nearly every highlight causing fans to become agitated with the constant media attention. Makes you kinda miss the Decision, rather than anxiously waiting to hear what the superstar will choose. Rumors swirled around social media in the approaching weeks, ranging  from inside sources from cupcake companies, phantom "sources" from Chris Broussard or speculation of what the moving trucks outside Lebron's house meant.  Regardless of your basketball viewing tendencies, either die-hard or casual fan, you were immersed in all the Lebron hysteria for these past few weeks.

Link to Lebron's Essay, if you haven't read it yet I highly recommend:

http://www.si.com/nba/2014/07/11/lebron-james-cleveland-cavaliers

As for the letter, it was carefully written with Lee Jenkins, senior writer at SI who allowed Lebron to tell his story in his own words rather than let the media and society tell it for him. Also, the complete undermining of ESPN was also well-received by all sports fans as Lebron opted to use the resources of Sports Illustrated to fly under the radar and casually unleash his essay upon the masses at 12:30 PM on Friday. Personally, I was not expecting anything like this. I was anticipating a media onslaught that usually ensues when something is leaked to ESPN but with the ball in SI's court, they executed flawlessly and subtly without shoving the information in your face until you've heard enough.


An overall black-eye for ESPN, this event will be remembered by Lebron's choice to opt against using the largest sports media company as his stage while showcasing his maturity while spending four years in South Beach.  A majority of social media users voiced positive opinions on Lebron's decision this time around and even those that weren't supporters previously counted help but praise his decision to return home to play for the opportunity to make Cleveland a winner.  Speaking of Cleveland, what a difference a few weeks makes, as Cavs fans soon had forgotten about the player whose jersey's they had previously torched. In fact, Cavs season tickets sold out in less than 8 hours after the announcement, an impressive feat for a team that hasn't had much to cheer about in the recent years since Lebron's departure. Billboards were hung, horns were honked outside the "Q" and all of a sudden, Cleveland became the hotbed of everything that had to do with sports.  I guess if there's one thing to sum up the power of Lebron, it's the ability to turn the city of Cleveland into the pulse of the sports nation.

In a matter of seconds, the perception of Lebron James shifted from a villain to his better suited title of hero which I truly believe is what Lebron was ultimately trying to accomplish. In addition to giving himself a great chance to win more titles, Lebron has returned home and everything can go back to the way it was pre-decision. Twitter has finally calmed down after letting the weekend be dominated by Cavs press but as Lebron firmly stated in his essay, "I'm not having a press conference or a party. It's time to get to work.", as we all should. Twitter didn't necessarily "break" but all the reaction and public sentiment has already been stated and it is truly back to business for all basketball fans. The rest of free-agency remains and the build up for opening night of the NBA just received another jolt. This will be a season to remember for the NBA and it's already off to a fantastic start.