I’ve said this many times: “I’m a fan of the GAME.” For the most part, it’s true. I do have faves as far as who I prefer to cheer for…oh, alright, full disclosure: I am Kobe Bryant‘s biggest fan. I love the World Champion Los Angeles Lakers, but that’s not the reason that I’m not a fan of LeBron James. I tried. I really did. I was impressed with his statistics, butI’ve never been able to admire his GAME.

I got really upset while I watched the “announcement” of his choice of the Miami Heat as his next ball club and heard him refer to the team as now having “two stars and a superstar.” As I listened to him speak, I realized that he was referring to himself (ringless) as the superstar, and not Dwayne Wade. What the … ?

So, here are 5 reasons why I’m mad at LeBron, in no particular order. If you know him personally, please let him know that I’m willing to become a fan of his (I know, right?) if he would work on these things and get past them. 

1. There are no more Nike MVP (Most Valuable Puppet) commercials. I loved these commercials, and Little Dez was sooooo stinkin’ cute! Now that there is no (ridiculous) perceived special rivalry between Kobe and LeBron for the Championship, and now that LeBron has moved to South Beach, I guess there’s no reason for Nike to produce these ads? Bummer.
2. Mike Brown got fired, and it’s LeBron’s fault. Oh, don’t get me wrong…I didn’t think Mike deserved to keep his job. He clearly had no control over his players, especially when he allowed them to do their unprofessional dancing on the sidelines during games, but now that he’s not coaching, he’s an annoying sports analyst on some of the NBA League Pass channels. Who in the world wants to watch him make crazy faces and talk about something that he obviously doesn’t know enough about? Just sayin…
3. I’m mad at LeBron because he can’t spell. Get this dude a tutor, someone, and prove to him that “TEIAM” is not the proper spelling of “TEAM.” Maybe then he will realize that playing one or two on five is NOT what the NBA is about.
4. I’m really mad at LeBron because he didn’t beat up on Delonte West when TMZ broadcast the news about the affair that Delonte had with LeBron’s Mom, and how it was hidden from him. This is wrong on many levels. Delonte needed a butt-whipping, badly.
5. LeBron is responsible for the media failing to give the Lakers their due as World Champions this year. There was so much hype about LeBron’s free agency that nobody talked about the Lakers. This should NEVER happen. I believe that it was intentional on LeBron’s part. Media whore. (yeah…I said it.)

For the record, I am aware that the NBA is a business. I believe that players should feel free to make the decisions that are best for them and their families. You’ll notice that I’m not mad at LeBron because he left Cleveland. I probably would have stayed, but that’s just me. As a Lakers fan, I was hoping he would go somewhere else and level the playing field some. I even hoped that the Heat would turn out to be all that they thought they would be already. (haha)

That’s because those of us who love the GAME believe in the competitive nature of athletes. We admire and appreciate their knowledge, skills and abilities. We quote their statistics and have long conversations about them. We do not, however, enjoy watching crazy ball hogs and obvious negative attitudes. We do not like to see tantrums and those who refuse to own up to their problems…those who continuously make excuses when things don’t go their way.

Michael Jordan‘s recent video rebuttal to LeBron’s Nike Ad “What Should I Do?” is proof that there are many of us who are mad at LeBron James. The video is on youtube, so if you haven’t seen it yet, please check it out.