Miami Heat’s 
LeBron James entered the court at Quicken Loans Arena last December to a rain of boos. It was an unfamiliar sight for James. Sure, he completely mishandled his departure from the team that drafted him and the team that he led to the top of the Eastern Conference standings. Sure, it was his hometown team.
But there was no way even he could have expected the same kind of animosity he received from Cleveland fans when he returned in that white Heat jersey. The crowd was as loud as it has probably ever been in a giant cathartic moment of anti-LeBron venom.
The LeBron hate went a little overboard. A lot of people probably understood his right to leave, but hated the way he made a show of it. James learned a lot from that summer (maybe) and (might have) gained some humility.
That humility might be coming out in the form of regret.
James was on Twitter answering fan questions and someone asked James what is one thing people don’t know about him. James gave a somewhat surprising answer:
“How much I miss my fans in Ohio/Cleveland.”
He has been oddly quiet this summer, popping up for a few exhibition games and in a McDonald’s ad making fun of his own bravado. One thing remained unanswered though — he never formally apologized for the way he handled leaving his hometown and branching out. It seemed he never understood the link that a city could have with its superstar player.
He seemed to love the limelight and the adoration, but was somewhat distant and always conscious of his public image. Even though he was so impersonal, Cleveland was his home town and he meant the world to them.
Apparently now, we know Cleveland fans meant something to him too.
I would not expect Cavaliers fans to forgive James quite yet. All they seemed to want was a heads up that their hearts would be broken and not be given the false hope that James would be theirs forever. This will not make that hurt any better. I am sure Cavs fans wanted him to respect their feelings in the summer of 2010.
Better late than never. James misses you a bit, Cleveland.
