Dear LeBron James,
Many will be mad. Many will not understand. But know that those of us loyal to you and our city understand you and your decision to leave the Cavs to play with the LA Lakers. Sure, we will miss you, and the Cavs will likely never be the same. Many of us cried when you announced you were leaving again, but really it was because we knew it was an end of an amazing era for us and our city. But you had to make the decision that is the best for your career as a basketball player. We really do wish you the best, LeBron.
With that said, thank you for transforming our city. I think it is safe to say that everyone from Cleveland is proud of where they are from. There is an automatic connection made between people from Cleveland. Seeing someone in a Cavs jersey in a bar, airport, class, you name it, is like seeing a piece of home. I immediately feel connected to the person love going up and talking about the Cavs! So thank you LeBron for making this a reality for lots of Clevelanders. We were not this proud of our city without you!
Also, I want to thank you for helping our city thrive. You brought in millions for our restaurants, stores, etc. in the time you were here. Thanks to you, business in Cleveland has been booming! The area around The Q has turned into a hotspot for new restaurant and Cleveland shops, and The Flatts have been booming as well! And it's safe to say that we owe a lot of it to you, LeBron.
But, most importantly, thank you for teaching our city what it means to hope. After years upon years upon many more years, our city was faced with a drought: a drought of championships. And finally, in 2016, you lead us to one, LeBron. With you leading our city, we knew to never give up hope. And that is exactly what our city needed. We needed to know that hope was not lost, and together we stood supporting you and the rest of the Cavs.
Thank you, LeBron for leading the Cavs to an NBA Championship.
There was not a single dry eye in the city of Cleveland that night. Some may thank God, but I also thank you LeBron because we would not have been able to do it without you. Whenever you were with the Cavs, you gave your all to a sport that can be brutal. You fought for our city, you trained for our city, and you loved our city. Many a time it was hard, and many a time you quite literally carried our team. But you did it nonetheless. For that, we can never thank you enough.
You will always have a home here in the 216 with us, LeBron, and we hope and wish to see you back soon (maybe to play with your son). In the meantime, you best know that our second favorite team (behind the Cavs, of course) will be the LA Lakers because you will be leading them now. Let the haters hate, LeBron. No one has any right to be mad at you for leaving because you did the right thing for yourself after years of putting our city first. Thank you, LeBron. Thank you for making us proud to be from Cleveland. Thank you for calling our city home and for instilling a sense of pride in where we are from. You will NEVER be forgotten.
With love,
A Cleveland-er
