LeBron James is being dropped off a building.
His photographs and life sized cardboard cut-outs are being tossed in the trash. His jerseys are being given away in stores, if not being lit on fire in the streets. And the 10-story-tall iconic image of James on a mural overlooking downtown Cleveland is coming down.
The city of Cleveland is feeling the pain from the bitter break up between them and their former beloved hometown hero, LeBron James. They know what James meant to their NBA “championship-less” hopes and dreams. They know what he meant to the thousands of area kids who looked up to him as a local success story and envisioned reaching even a portion of the heights he had reached. And they knew what he meant to the local economy; to the t-shirt and hot dog vendors who didn’t have a job before him, and may not after him; and a city that is all but certain to see immediate financial catastrophe just because of his departure.
Yes, to the city of Cleveland, LeBron James was more than just a talented basketball player. He was their bread and butter. But in the bitter divorce that was publicly announced and finalized all within 24 hours, Cleveland is removing every reminding remnant of the hoops star, just as a recent divorcee’ would discard clothes and photos of a cheating ex-husband.
And so the LeBron James billboard that has dominated the city’s skyline for years is being removed. As strips of the image of James, his arms outstretched and head thrown back after doing his pregame powder toss, began coming off, pedestrians stopped on Ontario Street to take photos and cars pulled to the side for one last look at No. 23. LeBron James has gone from being a hometown hero to a “rip-your-heart-out” villain.
Cleveland is moving on.
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