“Playoff Fatigue.”

We are in the midst of a golden age. The playoff basketball we’ve been watching since LeBron James returned Cleveland is the best display of sporting excellence this region has ever seen or will ever see. It is only rivaled by Jim Brown’s 60s excellence that cemented his place as (still) the greatest running back of all time. LeBron is among the greatest athletes in the the world today. Yet, we’re guilty of taking him and this golden era for granted.

This week, I got an email from a ticket brokering website that noted that in the secondary market, “The Cavaliers currently have the cheapest home playoff tickets of the [2nd] round, much in part to fan playoff fatigue.” They sent me a list of the prices for the Raptor series and I was a bit amazed.

I confirmed this with a season ticket holder who’s had a hard time unloading his tickets at even face value this season and in the postseason, and they described the market as “crazy soft.” Now, don’t get me wrong. In the regular season, the Cavs sold out all their games according to ESPN. But, the demand hasn’t been there like it’s been in years past, at least from a secondary market standpoint. A quick perusal of FlashSeats will tell you that. And, I’ve caught some watch party snapshots that tell me that attendance is far below what it was last year.

Not that this is a a bad thing. I’m sure a lot more people can afford to go to games this year than could last year. I’m cool with that. It just seems weird. But again, nothing can capture the magic of last year, and the ending of the 52 year drought. It’s probably natural to have a little bit of fatigue after that, especially combined with a magical Tribe run that went all the way to Game Seven of the World Series.

It’s also true that the Cavs’ treatment of the regular season – as an extended and inconsistent preseason – turned off many a fan. LeBron and Co.’s frequent postage stamp games cost the King a shot at MVP and the Cavs a top seed. But, as we all noted, 70% effort Cavs was good enough for a second seed, and they made it to the playoffs with the roster rounding into health (Andrew Bogut notwithstanding).

Another factor is the seeming inevitability of a Golden State/Cleveland Finals rematch that makes these preliminary rounds seem routine. We’ve all remarked how both of the Toronto games have been played with the passion of the regular season, at least from the Toronto side. I’m sure it’s a factor in keeping the out-of-towners home, and the jet-setters from fueling their Lears, which I don’t mind a bit.

Still, I feel a lack of passion around the water cooler, on the talk radios, and from the fanbase in general. Which is sad. You don’t see Patriots fans any less enthusiastic. The Dubs Zealots are just as obnoxiously entitled as they always were. I heard more talk about the NFL draft this last week than I did about the Cavs. It’s a shame because LeBron James is currently working on becoming the GOAT, and that designation extends beyond basketball. He has a chance to objectively be the most transcendent athlete in American Sport history. We should be a hell of a lot more excited about it.

Perhaps the only one appropriately reverent towards James’ current excellence is our own Tom Pestak, whose instacaps after games have evolved into Tom talking to his LBJ bobble-head totems, extolling James’ accomplishments to LeBron’s younger self. Tom’s fantastic dialogue is a must watch, because Tom’s one of the few people that realises that James’ feats are so unbelievably legendary that not even a younger version of the King himself could fathom them.

LeBron Raymone James is stronger, faster, and more coordinated than all his competitors. He’s amassed thousands of hours of experience, and honed his intelligence and his reflexes to allow his synapses to fire faster and more efficiently than any other basketball player in the world when reading situations on a basketball court. If you dropped him into any football uniform at 19, he’d probably have been the greatest player in the history of the NFL at almost every single position. (He’s too tall for a running back, and I haven’t seen his kicking game). He’s Paul Bunyan, Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, Muhammad Ali, and Babe Ruth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGQtTd7G9Wk

I remember crowds hanging on every basket last year at the bar. Last night when I yelled “WHOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!” in the middle of the Winking Lizard after Irving hit a trailing LeBron who thunderously slammed, I got a lot of looks, when last year just as many people would be whooping just as loud. Perhaps we live in an age of apathy. 2016 was a year of dizzying highs and befuddling lows, and it took a lot out of us all. But we can’t take this moment in our lifetime for granted.

Supposedly, Phil Jackson talked Michael Jordan into returning to basketball because Jackson convinced him that he was robbing the world of talent so inspired that it rivaled the likes of Mozart and DaVinci. His performance had transcended sport and become art… LeBron looks poised to surpass that guy. It isn’t going to happen overnight. But soon, LeBron will lead the NBA in all time playoff scoring. In the next few years, he will work his way up the career scoring ladder, and may some day pass Kareem. This is a fact we all take for granted, because his health and excellence seem like a constant. They’re not guaranteed. We are incredibly blessed that Mr. James works tirelessly on his game and to maintain his health.

We are inured to the thought of any challenge to James’ excellence. We feel as if age, injury, or random chance cannot affect him. In reality, we should be watching passionately as he and the best team he’s ever played with toy with greatness night in and night out during the playoffs. LeBron is playing nearly flawless basketball right now, and the rest of teammates are contributing mightily. We ought to appreciate it more than we do.

Watching the rest of the playoffs, it’s clear that the Warriors and Cavs are operating on another level. The Cavs are so good, it makes it hard to watch games like Boston and Washington, where players randomly throw themselves around and try to win with bravado and thuggery. Meanwhile out in San Antonio, the Golden Turd, James Harden, makes a mockery of the sport, as his entire goal seems to be getting refs to blow their whistle as he engages in flopping behavior that would get him punched out in most Ys and playgrounds in America.

Yet, the King and his men continue to provide highlight reel after highlight reel on both ends of the floor as their play rounds into form. I guess part of what irritated me last weekend was the perpetual talk of the NFL Draft and what it means to the Browns. Forgive me for ranting, but why in God’s freaking name should anyone in this town waste their mental energy on the Browns when the reigning champs are playing in the Q, and last year’s boys of October play across the street? The Cleveland Browns stink. No draft picks, quarterbacks, or coaches will change that, or the fact that the NFL is one of the most loathsome enterprises in America and a symbol for much of what is wrong with our country. No matter what, the Browns will never. Ever. Be this good. STOP CARING ABOUT THE STUPID LOSER BROWNS!

I know. I know. I should stop telling people what to think. And I know that few sports fans hate the NFL as much as I do. But it’s not about that, I just wish people would be as fanatic about a sport that is being played at it’s highest level right now, two or three night’s a week, for the next couple months. You may not see its like again.