Being Great Just Isn't That Great: Ask Lebron

As a little boy, all I dreamt of was being a great professional baseball player. I saw that as the fulfillment of talent and promise and hard work. That was long ago and that dream has long since been dashed, but that does not take away the joy of watching sports, especially at a high level. Last night I watched Lebron James (the brightest light in the NBA) and I could not help but feel sad for the young man because nothing he does is ever nor will ever be good enough.

For four years now, Lebron has been the beacon of hope the NBA has been wishing for. A dashingly handsome young face with excellent marketing potential that exudes superiority and god-given talent. Someone to fill the void left by Michael Jordan. Lebron is all of that and maybe a little bit more. Several weeks removed from his high school prom in northern Ohio, he was giving professional players some different types of moves.

We the fans have very distinct and vivid memories of the 90's Bulls crushing teams in their way of victory records and NBA title after title, but very few remember the tongue waging days of early Jordan when the Bulls didn't have a ice cube's chance in hell of beating the Pistons and Celtics. Even more rare is the memory of MJ being the 3rd or 4th scoring option on a loaded North Carolina team when he first stepped on the college campus.

Our heir apparent hero Lebron didn't even attempt to take his game to the NCAA level, yet he is in constant comparison with his draft class (Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, etc...) all of which at least went to college, some only for one year. Writers and commentators do their comparisons and Lebron compares favorably in every category, besides the category of public opinion.

ESPN's Mike Wilbon has found an excuse at every turn to why he can't anoint Lebron as an elite player. At first it was a lack of a body of work in the Playoffs. Then he was great in the playoffs, but Dwyane Wade won the championship, so Dwyane is better. If that was the criteria of greatness, Karl Malone and Charles Barkley would never be recognized as all-time greats, and Robert Horry would be on an equal plain with Michael Jordan, seeing that they both have six championships.

We live in an age of very high expectations. Not just our athletes, but all celebrities in general (sometimes going as far as calling them role models). And when you are dubbed the greatest thing since sliced bread, you better have a pretty shard knife. In his defense, Lebron's knife couldn't be sharp enough. With every dazzling dribble, dish, and dunk I like probably every other fan is more amazed by the great talent he possesses, but he wasn't blessed with a teammate like Scotty Pippen or Shaq, so no rings yet. He doesn't have the bitterness of witnessing a parent go through the troubles of stardom like Barry Bonds or Kobe Bryant. He just happens to be a kid with a kid's outlook on his beautiful game, and that will never be enough for his detractors. When he finally wins a championship, he won't have six. If he wins six, he won't have nine. Unless Lebron becomes the Tiger Woods of basketball and crushes every record imaginable he will have to face the fact that being great just isn't good enough for the chasm that is created by expectation. The way I see it, Lebron is learning slowly that being great just isn't that great all the time.