New NYC Lure for LeBron: Tickets for Life to Band He’s Probably Never Heard Of!

Between now and July 1, we’re going to hear approximately six million different offers of free X and Y for LeBron James if only he comes to play basketball in City Z. But we may not hear a dumber one than this.

⇥Sure, his good pal Jay-Z may be a part-owner of the New Jersey Nets, and teams like the Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers can also offer him pretty sweet deals. But if LeBron James signs with the New York Knicks, he’ll get free My Chemical Romance tickets for life.⇥⇥Yes, in a move sure to anger Cleveland Cavaliers fans — and lift the deflated hopes of Knicks supporters everywhere — MCR guitarist (and Knicks superfan) Frank Iero took to his Twitter account Sunday in an attempt to lure James, who can opt out of his deal with the Cavs this summer, to Madison Square Garden, where he will presumable resurrect the once-proud Knickerbocker franchise and bring them their first championship in nearly 40 years.⇥

⇥⇥“I would like to sweeten the deal & offer LeBron free MCR tix for life if he decides to play for the Knicks next year,” Iero tweeted, before adding the hashtag “LeBronshouldbeaknick.”⇥

If you don’t know what My Chemical Romance is, you’re better for it, but the band that made screamo anthem “Helena” would seem to be an odd fit for King James, who’s a hip-hop head through and through. He’s been seen rapping along to “Forever,”, the massive posse cut featuring Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem that happened to be on the soundtrack for his More Than a Game film, and apparently listens to less notable rappers like J. Cole. I’d guess My Chemical Romance isn’t even a blip on his radar, and though I think being wanted probably revs LeBron’s engines, if he actually did go to a show, he might regret it. It just doesn’t fit.But the reason that people with things to offer would be foolish not to throw out ever more outlandish lures for LeBron is because of this simple fact: they will make news. It cost Iero probably ten seconds to think of that tweet, and now he’s got a free article on MTV. (And here.) There are ways to estimate the value of news coverage, but there’s also some immeasurable value of using social media to make a commercial product personal, and a band whose guitarist is a Knicks fan who wants LeBron is a little more interesting than one whose guitarist is just some dude.

So you can expect copycats to pop up throughout what may be the most excruciating month-and-a-half of NBA history for basketball fans who prefer the drama on the court to the dribs and drabs about a player picking a new home. Meanwhile, Dwyane Wade waits for a MySpace bulletin from Panic at the Disco’s drummer.

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