Homecoming

It happened. LeBron James made the decision to return to Cleveland and rejoin the Cavaliers. Four years ago he took his talents to South Beach and the reaction from people in northeast Ohio was as you might expect, anger. It seemed that in every video you saw from the night LeBron said those famous words was of Cavalier fans burning their number 23 jerseys. The way James approached this years free agency was much different from what it was in 2010. He didn't sit on a stage in front of the cameras, he didn't give a whole speech to the world about why he did what he did, he handled it like a professional. He was quiet. It was somewhat of a maturation process for LeBron in the sense that he realized coming home to Cleveland is the last chapter he is going to write and he wants to do everything he can to bring the city who once loved him, then hated him, and now loves him again, the championship they deserve. When the news broke yesterday that the King was returning to the team that drafted him in 2003, the people of Cleveland took a 180 degree emotional turn from what they were at when he left. It seemed that they've been ready to welcome him back with open arms when they found out the possibility of a return. In the letter he wrote to Sports Illustarted, and as told by Lee Jenkins, James says he's ready to accept the challenge in Cleveland and says in his own words, "I'm coming home". He knows what he has in Cleveland with All Star point guard Kyrie Irving, rookie Andrew Wiggins, who with the tutoring of James can be in that next group of great players, and a supporting cast that is deeper and more talented than what he had previously. He also knows that winning won't come right away and it won't come easy; "I'm not promising a championship. I know how hard that is to deliver. We're not ready right now. No way....It will be a long process, much longer than it was in 2010". For him to admit that and understand that this won't be an overnight success says a lot about what he is willing to do. He wants to bring the city that drafted him its first professional sports title in 50 years. He is also returning to play for an owner in Dan Gilbert, who called James a coward and also mentioned that he quit on the team in multiple instances. LeBron and Gilbert met face-to-face and worked out their differences says James; "We talked about it. Everybody makes mistake. I've made mistakes as well. Who am I told hold a grudge?" That also says a lot about LeBron and his willingness to put all of the negativity behind him from the fallout of his decision and return home.

If you think that the money was the reason he returned, or lack of money from Miami was the reason, you're looking at it all wrong. It might be easy to sit back and say that this was an easy choice for James, but leaving Miami probably wasn't the easiest thing for him to do. He clearly isn't worried about winning right now, having won two rings in Miami and having made it to the Finals four straight times means he knows what it takes to get there and ultimately win. He sees that with Cleveland and sees the opportunity to add more titles to his resume. A resume in which it will always be compared next to Michael Jordan's. That isn't what he is worried about though, sure he wants to be the greatest of all time, what athlete doesn't? LeBron has been building his own legacy since he was 17 years old. It's us the fans and the media who try and build his legacy and when it doesn't go the way we want, we try and erase it and start over. It turns out we can't do that and all we can do, and all we should do, is sit back and appreciate what he is doing. If there is one thing I've taken away from his career that's how to be a fan. He has a long way to go in his career and we all need to stop building him up and tearing him down every time he makes a mistake or doesn't win the big game. We need to just enjoy what he's doing and the athlete that he is because it only comes around once in a lifetime.

• You can read his letter to SI.com here