It had to be Cleveland

Quicken Loans Arena is going to be rocking once again this year. By Erik Drost, via Wikimedia Commons

Cleveland is rocking once again. LeBron is back.

For a fan base abandoned by their hometown star four years ago, this is the biggest day in Cleveland sports history. While it doesn’t do much for the past heartbreak the city of Cleveland has suffered, getting LeBron James back is, simply put, the biggest free agent acquisition in the NBA. Ever. James will go down as a top-five all-time player in this league when all is said and done. His move to Miami sparked four dreary NBA years of the Heat dominating the East. Now, the Eastern Conference is wide open once again.

When he left Ohio, the thought of Cleveland ever getting him back was the ultimate pipe dream. It was obvious nobody even considered a return a possibility. All over town, Cavs fans burned the jersey of their prodigal son. Owner Dan Gilbert unleashed a tirade unlike any other I’ve seen from an owner, publicly lashing out at the superstar who spurned the organization and region.

Many blamed LeBron for leaving in the first place for the greener pastures in Miami. He got some of what he wanted there: championships, some kind of validation, a chance to play with two other All-Star caliber players. He also learned that not even that was enough. In the end, James decided that winning a championship in Cleveland is a challenge he was ready to take on, once again.

In his essay on SI.com today, he talked about the past four years as a proxy for college — interesting for the biggest no-brainer high school talent ever. Since he left Cleveland has certainly been forced to grow-up, out of the bubble of Northeast Ohio.

Being from the Central Coast, I had to move away for a few years to appreciate everything about it. (Yes, I just compared myself to LeBron James). The cliche goes that you don’t know what you had until it’s gone. The same goes for places — sometimes a person doesn’t realize what a place truly means until they leave.

In the mean time, LeBron has kept his head down in Ohio. His public relations persona in Akron seems to have remained intact and weathered the storm over the past four years. According to his website, his charitable endeavors still focus mostly on Ohio. Throughout the championship runs in Miami, LeBron kept his roots where they have always been. Despite the rampant speculation that has basically broken twitter and the Internet over the past few days, James chose this time around to take his time and put his feelings into writing — a very wise choice following the dumpster fire that was The Decision.

In many ways, LeBron’s career path is becoming an ideal one. Following an archtypical hero’s journey, he helped grow the Cavs brand in his hometown over the first seven years of his career. After he failed there, he went away, abdicating his regional throne and shunning those who had worshipped him over the past decade. While he was gone, he learned how to accomplish his ultimate goals while Cleveland fell back into “ruin.” Now, Bron Bron will return to try to restore his place as the King of Cleveland and resurrect a franchise he once took to the NBA finals.

LeBron ended his announcement today pretty simply, acknowledging the new challenge ahead of him.

In Northeast Ohio, nothing is given. Everything is earned. You work for what you have.

I’m ready to accept the challenge. I’m coming home.

American sports fans sit, eagerly awaiting the season opener and a chance to glimpse a once and future Cav. After all, doesn’t everyone love a story about redemption?