Bron Bron

As much as I hated the whole spectacle of The World's Biggest and Most Important Decision Ever, I found my fingers on the clicker at 8:58 p.m. and suddenly my TV was tuned into ESPN.

I'd like to think if the Nats had been involved in a competitive game, I would have stuck with Bob and Rah'b. Truth is, I probably would have been switching anyway. I was disgusted and intrigued all at once.

About 10 minutes into Bron Bron's hokey interview with hokey Jim Gray, My Son the Braves Fan (a psychology graduate) said, "Wow, he's actually going to stay with Cleveland)."

You know this how, I asked?

"Body language. I'm trained in this kind of thing."

Not too well, apparently, because we all know by now that Bron Bron is going to Miami to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on a team I sincerely hope finds a way to go 0-82 next season.

Do tell, oh ridiculous, rambling, babbling fool, what does this have to do with baseball or the Nationals? You have a very legitimate reason to ask that question. The answer is twofold: Everything and nothing.

During my years and years away from being a diehard fan of sports or teams, loyalty somehow disappeared. I'm the first to admit that's not the fault of the players, it is the system. I can't fault the players for taking advantage of that system. They have the right (and probably the responsibility) to take as much money as someone is willing to give them during their very short shelf lives as premier athletes.

We probably should expect a Bron Bron moment or two of our own in the future when Ryan Zimmerman and Stephen Strasburg decide to head elsewhere, as the rules of the game allow. I'm sure I'll be screaming as loud as anybody and burning jersies and what not. HOW CAN THEY DO THAT TO US? THEY GREW UP HERE?? TURNCOATS!!

But they didn't really grow up here, did they, except in the athletic sense. We have no claim of roots and no reason to expect any athlete to stick around if someone is offering a bigger pile of cash. That's the system.

My wife thinks people ought to get off Bron Bron's case, that he did nothing wrong. She makes valid points. Of couse he did nothing wrong and he's well within his rights to go to Miami. Or wherever the heck he wanted to go.

I just held out a little hope he wouldn't. I really thought Bron Bron was different. He IS from the Cleveland area. He does have roots there. Plus, quite frankly, I think he does owe that team and town something. It's not like the Cavaliers are the Nationals. They've been pretty darn good. They went to the NBA Finals after the 2007 season and won 60 games each of the past two seasons.

So how 'bout you sack up and stick around to finish the job, Bron Bron?

Instead, he takes less cash and goes off to join Wade and Bosh in town where he defintely will not be king (enjoy playing second fiddle to Little Wyane).

My stomach honest-to-goodness hurt for Cleveland and its sports fan.

My respect for the former King James would have grown 1,000 fold, I would have become his biggest fan, I would have purchased every product he ever endorsed if James had said, "Cleveland, I'm staying home and I'm going to see that we bring a bunch of titles to town."

Instead, he said "I'm going to South Beach."

Maybe he's tired of being king and wants to play second fiddle to someone? Someone else to take the heat (no pun intended) when they don't finish the job?

I wish I had one of his jersies so I could burn it. Yes, I very much realize it isn't fair to take my frustrations with the system out on LeBron James. My anger isn't so much at him personally as it is at the realization that this is the way things are these days and I better get ready for some of my young heroes to rip my heart out one day, just like the Cavaliers faithful had theirs torn out. And stomped on.

All along, I said I didn't care what he did and clearly I do. Maybe I ought to go back to not being a fan of anything.