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I did not grow up with much. Every once in a while someone would help us out and those made some pretty special memorable moments. In 5th grade a wealthy family member was determined to give me a fantastic bday party. The only catch due to logistics I could only invite a few friends.



In my infinite wisdom I decided to market the event and try to get as many friends as I could by the mere mentioning of such a party.



It worked- I was the most popular kid in school for a few weeks.



Then I selected the friends and frankly the party exceeded all expectations.



At my 20 year reunion next month I will see a lot of the folks I did not select. There was a lot of friendships that were hampered and some that I quite frankly wish I still had as an adult. Instead I alienated a lot of children and hurt some feelings.



If I had it to do over again I would have handled it quietly and enjoyed a special time in my life.



My point is this: I wish I would have been able to tell this story to Lebron James and my guess is in 5 years he will wish that he would have listened.



Thoughts?

as far as lebron "the brand"- as long as espn is on his side, the brand will stay strong. he did take less $ to win and he really is no different than jordon or koby. koby was moaning big time after shaq left- and would not have stayed if L.A. did not bring in some players. i think the winning will be the hardest part because even though i love the way wade plays- i think he has a problem staying healthy. if he goes down- lebron will be hard pressed to win the division- let alone a championship. if wade can stay healthy- they should win a few. if wade gets hurt, and i think he will; all bets are off. lebron wasn't going to win in cleveland- they just did not have the players. he gave it seven years but he really looked bad at the end in cleveland. jordon and koby would never give up like that-ever. lesslie visser- of all people- had the best line on jordon. when asked during the nba finals one year who was going to win she said " i think they are going to have to put a stake in his heart to stop jordon from winning" so true. all lebron needed was a 5 point deficit in a game he needed to take over and he folded up his tent and pretty much left town. no matter how many championships he wins i will think he is the most talented bball player i ever saw- but not the winner jordon or koby was/is.

Who is Lebron James? He sounds like another failed Cubs prospect.

Originally posted by Chest Rockwell:

In my infinite wisdom I decided to market the event and try to get as many friends as I could by the mere mentioning of such a party.



It worked- I was the most popular kid in school for a few weeks.And I will NEVER give you the Little Debbie out of my lunch AGAIN!



Of course, if LaBrainless ever cared about looking like a chump, he certainly won't now. After all, he can buy his own Little Debbies.

Good story, Chest.



One big difference between LeBron's situation and yours is that yours had the potential of going unnoticed by the folks who had not been invited. Being one of the top 2 stars in the NBA, LeBron's decision was being carefully tracked by everyone remotely interested in the NBA, but especially by the Cleveland faithful even before the blow-by-blow media coverage over the past few weeks. His decision was going to crush them no matter what. The ESPN spectacle simply attracted a bigger crowd than just NBA followers.



I think LeBron already feels bad, but he acted in his best interest and picked the employer of his choosing (something we all value). In his defense, he tried to persuade Bosh to come to Cleveland but couldn't; and while the hour-long ESPN episode was unprecedented, it did raise $5+ million for the Boy's and Girl's clubs.



Like a teenager's first love, Cleveland fans were holding onto the fairy-tale fantasy that good things last fovever. They don't. The world moves on.

Originally posted by Cowboy Joe:

Good story, Chest.



One big difference between LeBron's situation and yours is that yours had the potential of going unnoticed by the folks who had not been invited. Being one of the top 2 stars in the NBA, LeBron's decision was being carefully tracked by everyone remotely interested in the NBA, but especially by the Cleveland faithful even before the blow-by-blow media coverage over the past few weeks. His decision was going to crush them no matter what. The ESPN spectacle simply attracted a bigger crowd than just NBA followers.



I think LeBron already feels bad, but he acted in his best interest and picked the employer of his choosing (something we all value). In his defense, he tried to persuade Bosh to come to Cleveland but couldn't; and while the hour-long ESPN episode was unprecedented, it did raise $5+ million for the Boy's and Girl's clubs.



Like a teenager's first love, Cleveland fans were holding onto the fairy-tale fantasy that good things last fovever. They don't. The world moves on. God Bless Dan Gilbert, the owner of the Cavs. He hit a home run for the city of Cleveland. They deserved much better, not that he should have stayed, simply should have gone straight to the fan base first.



The entire basketball world will now root against the heat.....

Originally posted by Chest Rockwell:

I did not grow up with much. Every once in a while someone would help us out and those made some pretty special memorable moments. In 5th grade a wealthy family member was determined to give me a fantastic bday party. The only catch due to logistics I could only invite a few friends.



In my infinite wisdom I decided to market the event and try to get as many friends as I could by the mere mentioning of such a party.



It worked- I was the most popular kid in school for a few weeks.



Then I selected the friends and frankly the party exceeded all expectations.



At my 20 year reunion next month I will see a lot of the folks I did not select. There was a lot of friendships that were hampered and some that I quite frankly wish I still had as an adult. Instead I alienated a lot of children and hurt some feelings.



If I had it to do over again I would have handled it quietly and enjoyed a special time in my life.



My point is this: I wish I would have been able to tell this story to Lebron James and my guess is in 5 years he will wish that he would have listened.



Thoughts? Very interesting story Chest. Thanks for sharing. My guess is it shaped you in a positive way and helped you make decisions later in life.

Being from Cleveland (no, haven't killed myself yet), I'm still trying to recover from this one... I'll reserve sharing my thoughts as I do not think I could do so without having my message deleted by the NFBC staff

Originally posted by Chest Rockwell:



If I had it to do over again I would have handled it quietly and enjoyed a special time in my life.



I said the same thing after a night at Rick's Lounge in Fayetteville