"Crabs in A Barrel"

                            Good morning all. Today is a new day and after being scrutinized for two and a half seasons my team the Miami Heat are the 2012 NBA champions. They were targeted and accused of  "Stacking Talent" to have a Big 3. No one tagged Boston when Garnett, Patton and Allen joined the team to win their 1st title. Did the world forget about teams in the 80s and 90s of Bird, Parrish and McCale of The Celtics? Or how about Magic, Worthy and Kareem of the Lakers? Or my personal favorite from the 90s, Jordan, Pippen and Rodman of the Bulls? All those teams were stacked. There are a few other teams the were stacked as well. But for some reason, the Heat of 2010-2011 were the target of much ridicule. Because of how one of the leagues best players, LeBron James, left his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.         People, especially cavs fans, we're furious at LBjs decision. Leaving the fans feeling hatred for him. They even went as far as burning their Jerseys and memorabilia. They must be crazy!!! Cause at the end of the day, I know I payed too much of my hard earned money to be burning my clothes because my favorite player left. And to listen to most, it wasn't the fact that he left, it was how's he left. There was thin hour long interview with he and Espn. There, he made his announcement saying "I'm taking my talents to South Beach, and joining the Miami Heat. There were bonfires and cutting of T-shirts and cutting up of cards, people were turning over cars. Some even had thoughts of suicide. Suicide? Really? The devil is that busy that he can mess with someones mind that bad over some man leaving a team. He even has folks wanting to fight over this debate.        My brothers and I had a heated debate over this and other NBA issues. But what it boiled down to was ones hatred for LeBron because of what he said when the Heat lost in the 2011 NBA finals to the Dallas Mavericks. When asked a certain question about his play and his conduct, after being fired upon by media and booed almost every city he visited, LeBron answered a question out of frustration. He did not Stop Think and then Go on that one. He just went in. His response was "At the end of the day, I'm still rich and everyone else is going to go back to their ordinary lives". Wow!!! Very true statement though. Should he have said that? Probably not. But he did. And it's very true. But a lot of people are forever scorn buy his decision to leave and his response. So when the Heat lost in the finals, boy did America love that. They laughed and they taunted and they applauded and exploited their defeat. "Crabs in a Barrel".        It's a shame how people hold on to a statement or something someone may have said for so long. If we keep holding on to the past, weather bad or good, because of what someone said, we will never be able to move on with our own lives and succeed. Rather than taint that man and mock him, take what was said and use it for motivation to move forward. Yeah it might have been a bad choice of words. But again. He was in the heat of the moment. But what happened at the beginning of this short, crammed season? LeBron matured. He went on to say the he was immature for the was he handled some things in the past. He may not have directly apologized for what he said, but he did own up to his immaturity. He changed his game to better his teammates, he's spoke to the press better, and he has a new set of fans who love him for helping bring another title to the city.       Now I'm not a LeBron fan. But, he can do some amazing things on the court. I'm happy for him for getting his first title. Hopefully the first of many. Many of us agree that the Miami Heat were going to get laughed at if they didn't win again. People were going to say "they should won because they have all that talent". Or if they lost guess what they were going to say? "They should won because the got all that talent." It's like a double edge sword. They were dammed if they did or dammed if they didn't. I don't know which of the Miami fans were ready to jump ship. But I wasn't. I enjoyed this 68 game season which is usually 82 games. The NBA suffered a lock out because of player and owner contract and merchandise negotiations.  Now it's time to get past what LeBron said 2-3 years ago and move forward. Stop being the crab in the bottom of the barrel pulling someone else down trying to dig your way out of any situation.  Cause at the end of the day, like he said, He's still rich and we're are home living our everyday lives. Once you realize that you are you're own worse enemy, and admit it. You will be able to move forward an succeed in life. Although some may like to be, the reality of it is, We are not in those players shoes. They are the ones under the microscope of the media. Meditate on that.       Well, enough for now, I'm going to bask in the moment of my team winning the championship. God bless you all. Enjoy your day and have a safe blessed weekend.                                          ~Rev. Tyrone Birch~