At 9:28 p.m., James, supposedly the most coveted free agent in the history of American professional sports, looked into the cameras of ESPN and told a national television audience, "This fall, I'm going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat."
America exhaled, well, at least everywhere but Cleveland, which suffered yet another blow in a centurylong string of heartbreaking sports moments.
OK, I admit I've been sarcastic, but the way-over-the-top nature of this entire process has just been an irritating drain. The amount of attention given to one 25-year-old man for doing nothing more than deciding which of six NBA teams would sign him to a contract valued to be at least $96 million was ridiculous.
It's been a nonstop, 24/7 cycle of LeBron James since July 1, the first day teams could talk to pending free agents.
To me, the last 7 days have been a commentary on the continually rising status of sports and the celebrity culture in our society. It's been fascinating to see how the advances in technology have changed the process of disseminating information. Most personally, this entire affair of daily rumors being presented as facts, of "reliable sources" and "someone close to the situation" being given the credibility of an actual named person, of made-for-television specials with hand-picked networks and interviewers delivering news has further disheartened me about the declining stature of journalism. Reporting the news seems to be running a distant second to selling and marketing the news.
I don't blame James, his agent or his handlers. All they did was survey the landscape, understand the climate and figure out how to best manipulate it to their advantage.
I don't blame ESPN. If it had not accepted the offer to broadcast James' production, another network would have jumped to the table.
ABC will have James on "Good Morning America" today to discuss his decision.
