Saturday, February 25, 2012

Why It Got Hot for LeBron in Miami

Michael Jordan is undoubtedly “The Man” in basketball. He earned this title because he has had 25 game-winning shots, 6 championships, and has been dubbed the best player to ever step foot on a NBA court. This is why his opinions on all matters associated with the NBA have nearly become law. LeBron James seems to have much of the talent of Jordan with exactly zero sixths of the championships. When LeBron chose to switch teams from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the stacked Miami Heat, it began a wave of controversy and dislike towards LeBron. The Miami Heat had several superstars already, and when Lebron left for Miami it looked like a desertion of the Cavaliers. Basketball fans had just begun to view LeBron as one of the greats before he switched; he had almost become “the man”. "The Michael Jordan view of LeBron James" is an effective argument that convinces basketball fans who dislike Lebron to stop and view LeBron as wise rather than short-sighted by using logic, appeals to authoritative NBA sources, and evolving, repetitious diction in order to break down what being “the man” in basketball means.



The author of “The Michael Jordan View of Lebron James”, Henry Abbott, begins with logical arguments of what made Jordan “the man”. Abbott defines being “the man” in a way everyone would agree with by using words like “indomitable”, “fearless”, and “victorious”. The order in which he presents the rest of his arguments is very logical and easy for a basketball fan to agree with. He first goes on to define why LeBron has not received the same level of applause as Jordan from basketball enthusiasts. He claims LeBron has not been living up to the current definition of “the man”: “When people heard that James was teaming up with Wade and Bosh [in Miami], though ... wow. You know how men have this reputation as not being willing to pull over and ask for directions?” Lebron switching teams for help was seen as a loss of man points.  However, Abbott goes on to logically break down the current definition of being “the man”. His arguments leave those with dislike for LeBron wondering why they have those feelings. He begins to logically lead them on a path that says perhaps being “the man” is more than attempting to win alone. Perhaps it is being able to build a better team in order to win championships, as LeBron has done. Abbott begins to cite Jordan’s own unhappiness at his team mates in his Hall of Fame acceptance speech in order to show the Jordan way of winning is unsatisfactory, “ ‘Jerry’s not here,’ Jordan explained. ‘I don’t know who’d invite him. I didn’t. ... ‘All this bitterness, even though they won championships together!’“ Abbott is logically driving home the point that LeBron has not been living up to what most people expected of him, but maybe people have been expecting the wrong thing. This is very effective because Abbott has made it clear that Michael Jordan was undoubtedly the hero of the NBA. Yet, Jordan has his own conflicts with his team mates that sports fans never saw. Abbott has efficiently declared that although Jordan won 6 championships, he was bitter. Maybe LeBron has discovered a way to win 6 championships without the hard feelings. Abbott has put his arguments in an order that leads readers to believe they have currently had the wrong definition of being “the man”.



With Michael Jordan being the premier ex- star of the NBA much of his opinion is agreed with and constantly supported. Abbott effectively appeals to the ultimate authority in basketball by using Michael Jordan quotes. He also makes a reference to Charles Barkley’s opinion, another basketball star, on LeBron, “Jordan, Charles Barkley and others are making fun of James -- perhaps the most biting of all of Jordan's words was "kid" -- for getting help.” Pulling in quotes from the past stars of the NBA is very effective, because most basketball fans find it hard to disagree with their favorite past NBA stars. Nearly all basketball fans love Michael Jordan, thus when Abbott quotes him to further his own point it is truly difficult to disagree. He sets up an untouchable, shining pillar to support his argument. He uses Jordan’s own opinion of success in the NBA to support LeBron’s decisions. One quote Abbott uses shows that maybe Jordan has more respect for LeBron than he has been showing. Jordan states, "There's no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry [Bird], called up Magic [Johnson] and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team,' " Jordan said, “But ... things are different. I can't say that's a bad thing. It's an opportunity these kids have today. In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys.” Abbott supports his own cause with Jordan’s quote which admits the game has changed and he cannot even blame LeBron. Michael Jordan, the legend of all basketball, just admitted that while he may not agree with LeBron’s choice, he doesn’t condemn him for making the decision. Abbott has shown that Jordan, the king of basketball, may agree that Lebron is making a good choice, which gives a big boost for Abbott’s argument.












In order to further break down the definition of being “the man” in basketball, Abbott employs repetitious diction; which is in fact one line repeated 3 times throughout the blog: “Hell no I don't need help.  At first, the line is used to further strengthen the idea that Michael Jordan was the superstar of the NBA because he didn’t need help to play the game effectively. Part of being “the man” was not asking for help and getting it done all by yourself. The second time Abbott uses this line it is to show that LeBron did indeed fail as being “the man” by the current standard. However, when Abbott uses the line the third time he completely breaks down the old definition of being “the man” in sports, and ultimately ridicules the idea of not seeking help in order to win championship. He draws basketball fans in with the repetitious diction in a very clever way. He gets basketball fans to agree with his argument of what “the man” in basketball is. The line is used twice to ridicule LeBron’s choices: which Abbott’s target audience, basketball fans who dislike LeBron, will find favorable. However, the third time he employs the repetitious line he strikes down what being “the man” entails, and shocks his readers. He states how Jordan could have been more useful to his team. He takes the repetitious diction the basketball fans have come to trust, and throws it in their faces, “By the metrics of being the man, Jordan would have been a failure. Talk about pulling over to ask for directions. But Jordan would have been a better winner. He'd be more valuable to his team and his fans in every way if somehow he had pulled that off. Hell no I don't need help.” The final use of the repeated line is used very sarcastically as if to say only a fool would not seek help. The repetitious diction was cleverly used over time in order to finally break down the essence of the hate against LeBron. At first the line is condemning and points an ugly finger at LeBron; however, the final time it is used it puts LeBron on a pedestal by breaking down arguments against him.



Henry Abbott builds his case for LeBron by using diction that repeats and evolves, appealing to authoritative NBA sources, and the use of logical arguments. The repetitious diction evolves in order to become a powerful line to support Abbott’s view. When Abbott pulls in quotes by Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley it is hard to disagree with such stars of basketball and thus creates a compelling argument. Abbott also has the ability to logically construct an argument that breaks down the definition of being “the man” within basketball. His argument very convincingly turns the heads of basketball fans that dislike LeBron. These three uses of rhetoric combine to create a compelling argument and issue a call for all basketball fans to think a little more clearly before throwing out another insult against LeBron James.

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