Congrats to the Mavs and their first Championship!  Well deserved!  Superbly played!

So many were beyond excited by the outcome of Sunday’s game and many weren’t even Dallas Mavericks fans.

No doubt the Mavericks bandwagon was filled beyond capacity here in the NBA Finals.  When there was no more room, not even one inch of space, people were still clawing and scratching just to get on board.  I have no issue with that whatsoever, as bandwagon jumping is a part of sports.

What I have an issue with is the WHY.

Typically teams attract “so called” fans late in the year based upon their play.  They pick up the sports fans who want to have a dog in the fight, as well as, some people who don’t even watch sports, but fall in the love with the drama that makes athletic competition at the highest level so fantastic.

All of that is cool.

What isn’t cool or acceptable is when HATE for another is the sole reason for which cheers and support are cast and given to the other team.

The Mavs had a lot of people in the “I HATE LEBRON JAMES, SO I WANT DALLAS TO WIN” category this year and that’s sad.

This series unfortunately became more about LeBron losing than Dallas winning.  More people were excited that LeBron didn’t play well than they were that Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry and JJ Barea played SO WELL.

Facebook and Twitter were ablaze with Mavs support from many that could tell you very little at all about the game of basketball, yet they all had one thing in common:  They HATE the Miami Heat and more importantly they HATE LeBron James.

When did rooting for someone to fail become acceptable?

When James did the decision?  When the Heat held the preseason celebration?

I would bet almost every one of us has left an employer for what we thought was a better opportunity.  We didn’t do “the decision” of course, but then again we don’t have the voice.

You know, I can’t recall one letter of hate mail or even one negative comment thrown my way when I went from one bank to another over eight years ago.

The preseason celebration, not the best idea, but it is what it is.  The city of Miami and the fans were ecstatic!  They held a celebration because the city, players and organization were excited!

Shame on them I guess.

We don’t do such things of course, unless you count tweeting and facebooking (including pictures) every single great thing that happens in our lives.  We don’t hold an official “celebration” because again we don’t have the voice, but if we did, well just look at your “facebook wall” and tell me what you think would happen.

FACT:  LeBron James is not perfect.

But guess what, neither are we.

I know if I had to endure what James is going through, the good days and for most of this past year, the bad.  If I was followed around with cameras and asked tough questions over and over again.  If every little thing I did or didn’t do was judged by the masses, it would be tough, and I would MAKE MISTAKES.

Honestly, I make mistakes all of the time.

TRUTH:  We ALL make mistakes.

Matthew 7:5 of the Good Word says,  “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

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Sunday night, amongst family and friends, I was rooting for LeBron James like never before.  I was rooting for the 26 year old young man with the weight and hate of the majority on his shoulders.  I wanted to see him smile, because I haven’t in quite some time.  I wanted him to feel joy, but more importantly I didn’t want him to feel anymore hate.

Enough is enough.

LeBron James has shown he isn’t perfect.

Unfortunately, we have also shown how equally imperfect we are as a society.

It’s time for us all to grow up.

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me vs. MJ aka Michael Jordan Update:

MJ has yet to agree to play me 1-on-1 (if anyone reading this knows Mr. Jordan, please tell him I’m looking for ’em…haha), but I’m still working hard and getting better every day.  I’m really hoping that all of the work translates to the court when I play my next opponent, professional hoopster, Andy Gebru later this week.

Pray for me! I may need every single one of your prayers!

me vs. MJ…the journey continues!  As always, thank you for following along!

I could have been on my way to meet and have lunch with one of the biggest stars in today’s NBA.

This morning I could have been on my way to meet LeBron James.

The Opportunity

Last Wednesday evening, almost as soon as I got done playing basketball and jumped in my car, I received a text message from a close friend.

He had forwarded me a message that he had just received from the Centurion Club of American Express. You know the ultra exclusive AMEX black card that everyone says YES to. The card that you can’t apply for, instead AMEX finds you.

Here is what it said:

“Centurion members are exclusively invited to learn from two-time NBA MVP, LeBron James, alongside his hand-chosen coach, as they put you to the test during an on-court skills session. This unprecedented basketball experience will be hosted at the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Miami, featuring a state of the art basketball court. Following the on-court skills session, enjoy a private lunch with LeBron James, where he will host a Q&A.

Go home with an autographed item and a photo with LeBron!

Limited Availability.

$2500 per person.

Date: 11/18/10.”

The Decision (minus ESPN and Jim Grey)

Sorry, couldn’t resist.

After a couple hours of back and forth discussion with my entrepreneurial friend, a guy who’s middle name could easily be success, I decided not to do it.

I decided to pass on meeting LeBron.

It wasn’t an easy decision for me though.

Initial Thoughts

Initially, I let the dollar amount of $2,500 make my decision for me.

I had just come back from a week at Impact Basketball training and hadn’t planned on really spending anymore money, anytime soon.

The thought of dropping $2,500 to meet a guy and get a picture seemed crazy!

It frustrated me that my first concern was the money!   Even though it’s quite a normal thought process for the majority of people, especially in these economic times.

On top of that, I had little time to think about it.  The event would be just one week later and spots were extremely limited and going fast!

I slapped myself with, who has ever been great without some sort of risk!  Who has ever accomplished great things without making decisions that are a bit uncomfortable!  It’s Not Going To Be Easy, Nor Should It Be!!!!

Plus, it was Lebron!

OK! Yes, Let’s Do It!

After weighing the opportunity quite a bit, I ended the call with my friend and made the walk from my office to the living room.  I had to discuss this with my wife.  I went in thinking, she is going to think I’m loosing it.

We do OK for ourselves financially, and feel very blessed, but we are in no way even within shouting range of having AMEX look for us, if you know what I mean.

So to spend another $2,500 that wasn’t budgeted for, with holidays fast approaching, just isn’t something we would typically ever do.

However at this point, I was thinking about the exposure meeting LeBron could bring to me vs. MJ.  I was thinking this is too convenient, being a 3.5 to 4 hour drive to Miami, to pass up on.  I was thinking that maybe LeBron, if he liked me, could make a call to Mike on the spot and set it up.  I was dreaming big time!

My wife sensed that I wanted to do it and gave her blessing.

Why I’m Working Today Instead of Having Lunch with LeBron James

The more I thought about it, I just couldn’t see LeBron doing much with a group of wealthy guys.  Would he really risk injury with, to put it nicely, a group of people past their athletic primes?

Logically, I also thought that it couldn’t be all that involved if we were going to be having lunch after, so I made the final decision to pass on the opportunity.

Almost simultaneously to my decision, I received a text from the friend who forwarded the opportunity and another buddy of mine, concurring that maybe now wasn’t the right time.

Did I Make The Right Decision?

I woke up yesterday morning second guessing my decision.  I was afraid I had made a mistake in passing on such a unique opportunity.

Last night I made a call to the Centurion Club, just to check availability.

The just 20 spots, were no longer available.

No Regret

Life is too short to live with regret, especially when it comes to basketball.

I admit, the “what ifs” have been attacking me the last two days, but I’ll stick by my decision and who knows, maybe another opportunity will come a knockin’ at a later time.

Why Tough Decisions Are Good

Life is filled with decisions and paths that don’t always have an arrow pointing, telling you which way to go.

If I were a wealthier individual, there is no doubt I would have gone to see LeBron.  I would also probably not have left Impact Basketball and still been training there.  I would have already sent in my Jordan Camp money.

Everything would be too easy.

There would be no reason to even have me vs. MJ, because there would be no struggle.  There would be no true journey.

Instead, I, like many was forced to consider things.  I had to really think about it.  I had to weight it for all the good and the bad.

I had to make a tough decision.

Thinking has never been a bad thing though, right?  It helps each person grow.  It helps each person truly put a value on what it is they want to do.

I chose to spend those funds on future training with Impact.  I chose to spend those funds on making me better.

me vs. MJ.  I hope you’re getting ready for me Mr. Jordan!