If you watched the end of Game 5 between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat, you noticed LeBron James celebrating like a madman once his crunch-time scoring binge ended. He even was caught crying because he had finally conquered the rival that gave him so much heartbreak over the years. Since athletes showing emotion before winning the title is one of the Seven Deadly Sins of to bitter sportswriters, a lot of people were mad.
Celtics Vs. Heat: LeBron James Celebrates Like He Won NBA Title, And That’s Fine
It was predictable, but it doesn’t make things less silly. Why shouldn’t LeBron be excited that he finally beat the Boston Celtics? None of us will ever understand what it must feel like for a superstar athlete to be thwarted at every opportunity by the same team. We can’t possibly understand the psychology of LeBron in that very moment. So why do we pass judgment so freely?
I liken Wednesday night to LeBron finally graduating college. He may have struggled a lot, and he may have transferred to an easier school, but it’s still him getting his degree. College kids celebrate graduation with a week-long party, a huge ceremony, a shiny diploma and lots of support from some of the most distant family members they’ll ever know. If we celebrate graduating college like that, why can’t LeBron celebrate beating the Celtics? Sure, he has more work to do to win a title, but by the same token, human beings aren’t automatically successful just because they graduate college. That doesn’t mean they can’t pause and be proud of passing a significant benchmark towards success in life.
How would you like it if someone told you that you celebrated your college graduation too much because you still didn’t have a job? Think about that before passing judgment on LeBron.
For all five of Wednesday’s 2011 NBA Playoff memes, click here.
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