It is officially here! The day all long suffering NY Knicks fans have been waiting for, for over 2 years - the day LeBron finally tells us whether he really really likes us and is ready to commit to a relationship, or the alternative, no, it was just a flirtation and he has another blond bimbo he now sees as his soul-mate (i.e. Miami Heat).
In the lead up to D-Day, LeBron has relaunched a website that was dormant for two years and opened a Twitter account, which drew more than 250,000 followers in 48 hours alone, and has now scheduled a TV special to tell the world what he’s doing next, because one sentence telling the world his pick really deserves a one hour special leading up to it?! Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh had a joint 10 minute interview on SportsCenter, but the self-anointed King deserves an hour of sponsored glory alone, I guess. The show has even been called the completely non-ironic “The Decision,” which will air live on Thursday, July 8, at 9 pm ET on ESPN.
ESPN and Lebron have decided to sell sponsorship and ad space during what will presumably be a high rating special – yes, even if it is just a press conference. The program itself will be presented by the University of Phoenix and Bing, while various other LeBron sponsors such as Vitaminwater, McDonalds, Nike, and Sprite will either sponsor or make contributions to/for the program. A portion of these various proceeds will go to the Boys and Girls Club of America.
(Everyone knows you sweat under all those lights at a Press Conference, so n
aturally, your own Vitamin Water is needed for the occasion!)
With lots of conjecture and speculation (including no doubt a lot of under the table betting), ESPN has openly stated that it is most likely LeBron will join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh at Miami Heat. While other NBA sources are certain that he would be going to the New York Knicks to team up with Amare Stoudemire for next season.
The press conference is being scheduled for Greenwich, Connecticut, which is only 14 miles from NY Knicks training facilities…an omen perhaps? I think probably not and the “C’Mon LeBron” campaign was a waste of money and taxi advertising time, but hey, would still love to see LeBron co-host The Today Show with Matt Lauer anytime!
I actually would love to see King James stay loyal to his home-team roots, having been born in Ohio, it would be nice to see him staying at the Cavs, but for someone who is happy to have an hour special in honor of his decision, I assume its safe to say the lure of playing with Wade and Bosh will be too strong and Miami Heat it will be.
But whatever team LeBron picks, there will no doubt be many frustrated fans and team officials watching on the drama-infused “The Decision” tonight- with all the sponsor overload, I can’t wait to see the commemorative t-shirts from today “I was there when LeBron decided to stay in Cleveland!”.
