I'm sure I'm not the only one who's suffering from a bit of an Olympic let-down. There's gotta be something to fill the void....got it! Blogging!
I watched hours of the Olympics - couldn't get enough. The usual suspects of course, including swimming, track&field, and gymnastics roped me in for 2 1/2 weeks as did the other classic Olympics sports of volleyball, diving, and handball (kind of...) The accolades of Phelps, Lochte, Franklin, Gabby, Felix, etc have been well documented but personally, one of my takeaways from the Olympics has been my ALMOST 180 on The Chosen One himself, LeBron James.
A few things: I was NOT wrong about my sentiments regarding LeBron this past year mostly pertaining to but not limited to: 1) his other-wordly obnoxious decision of choosing to play for the worst sports city in the world, 2) the sad fact that the best player in the NBA consistently opts to flop and perpetuate the game's biggest current problem, and 3) until game 6 of the ECF he failed to ROUTINELY deliver in the most crucial moments. These facts are indisputable. However, #1 can't be changed, #3 has (finally, but perhaps momentarily) been put behind us, and #2 is TBD. Come on LeBron. It's very unbecoming.
Moving on. After watching LeBron not only carry the Heat to a championship but more recently carrying (as much as a team needs to be carried against the likes of Spain, Argentina, and Russia) Team USA to a gold medal I have come around. Mostly. Watching LeBron play his ass off for his country impressed the hell out of me. Athletes can fake certain things, but the sheer, unfiltered joy that LeBron showed after winning gold is not one of them. Maybe the Olympics came around at just the right time. When an athlete throws on a jersey with USA across the front I start cheering for them whether it's a previously unknown high schooler from Aurora, Colorado, a boxer from Flint, Michigan, or the second most followed athlete on Twitter. The cynics may say that LeBron's handlers made him aware of the significance of leading Team USA to gold, but nonetheless I was impressed.
As a side note, I think it should be mentioned that Kobe's rehabilitation of his image is also basically complete. Everyone knows of his moral lapses but there is no doubting that he is a changed man and for that he deserves credit. This is different than Michael Vick's laughable, forced apologies.
The echoes and voices of the Olympics are still palpable and Team USA's dominance is still fresh in my memory so maybe time will change my feelings. Maybe after one more LeBron glare into the crowd after a dunk over a 3rd string point guard I'll revert to my original eye-rolling. But for now, while the Olympic highlights are still fresh, I am a WITNESS.
