'Come home LeBron' billboard shows up in Akron, rally planned for Wednesday's Cavs-Heat game
Love him or hate him, LeBron James is hands-down the best player in the NBA. And Cleveland wants him back. Maybe not all of Cleveland, but enough people to launch a full-blown election-like campaign dedicated to lure 'The King' back to the Cavaliers.
A group of local fans recently kicked of the "Come Home, LeBron" campaign with t-shirts, social media and a website. Things got serious on Monday when this billboard popped up right across from LeBron's alma mater, St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.
Another billboard is scheduled to go up on I-71 near Pearl road in mid-December.
There's a good chance that James, who still owns his home in Bath, Ohio and frequently visits his former high school, will see the billboard, which is one of the main goals of the campaign. Josh Raggi, the 24-year old Cleveland native and Kent State grad who came up with the idea for the crusade, said they just want to LeBron to know that he would be welcomed back.
"Our main goal is not to beg him to come back," Raggi told Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal. "Our main focus is to let LeBron know we're going to accept him coming back. We're not the group of haters."
Raggi said the idea for the movement was inspired by the fan who stormed the court during the Cavs-Heat game in March, wearing a shirt that read "WE MISS YOU, LEBRON 2014". That crazed fan, James Blair, is a member of the founding group.
The group plans to hand out T-shirts outside Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday night.
LeBron declined to share his thoughts on the matter when asked about it at practice on Tuesday.
"Heard about it," said James, who refuses to talk about next summer until it arrives. "Heard about it."
LeBron's Heat teammate Shane Battier heard about the rallies and billboard. When it comes to 'The King', Battier says he understands the hype about James' pending free agency.
"If it was anyone else besides LeBron, I'd say no," Battier said, "But he's sort of past the sublime level. For someone else? Yes. It's gone from the ridiculous to the sublime in general with LeBron."
(Original story via Ohio.com)
