So yes, the LeBron James fever in Cleveland is bubbling over the top a little.
In a move that I’m sure is solely motivated by his excitement about LeBron returning to Northeast Ohio to lead the Cavaliers — and is in no way just a politician trying to grab on to the hot thing to boost his image and reputation *cough* — an Ohio legislator has suggested the state commission a LeBron James license plate.
I so wish I were making this up, but the Associated Press has the details.State Rep. Bill Patmon is planning to introduce legislation to permit the sale of a commemorative ''LeBron James Witness 2.0'’ plate honoring the Akron native’s decision return to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
''When LeBron came home, it was a big deal for us,’' said the Democrat from Cleveland. ''It might not be for the rest of the world, but it’s a big deal for Cleveland.’'
Um, it was a big deal for the rest of the sports world, although I’m not sure about the “world.” I’m pretty confident rice farmers in Thailand don’t really care, and there are people in Sudan with more pressing concerns. But as sports stories go it was a big deal and we saw you all were pretty pumped up there, Mr. Patmon.
And apparently Ohio gives out specialty license plates like rolls of Smarties on Halloween — the state has 150 of them already. Patmon pushed through a Superman specialty plate because the comic book character was created by two Clevelanders. However, there are no plates commemorating a real person, dead or alive.
The extra money raised could be directed to charity, I suppose, but still…
What is Patmon going to propose if Johnny Manziel turns out to be the real deal?
