A Special Night...

I rarely blog about sports on here because that's what I talk and read about all day. I simply use this as a forum to express my thoughts on a variety of other issues, as you can see by my previous entries.

However, as with anything, there are expectations, and today is one of them.

I often say that for those of us born in the early 80s, we were fortunate enough to grow up amidst some of the greatest athletes and witness some of the greatest sporting moments in history. First and foremost, we had the Jordan-era. Anyone who grew up watching the Bulls in the 90s can look back in appreciation of what we were able to see. Whether you were a Jordan fan or not, you can tell your grand kids you were around when the greatest player of all-time was in his prime.

In addition to Jordan, we had Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the NBA, the Braves dynasty in the MLB, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield in boxing and Carl Lewis, FloJo and Michael Johnson in track and field.

But perhaps the most influential athletes of our generation was and still is Tiger Woods. Woods has transcended the sport of golf. He's made it cool for minorities to watch and play golf. He made golf culturally relevant outside of the country clubs and suburbs, not to mention his total domination of the game from the '97 Masters until now.

So, because we were spoiled growing up, sometimes it's hard to jump on the bandwagon of these new age "superstars" Ever since 1998, there has always been the next Jordan-syndrome. Whenever someone new, fresh and marketable came along, they have been unfairly given this label, and many have failed.

So we wait. Waiting for that moment when an athlete "comes out" and catches our attention. Giving us flashbacks to the "good ole days"

Last night, LeBron James made us believe. He made us believe that sports, particularly the NBA, can be as good, if not better than they were in the 90s.

Bron Bron elevated his game and single handedly beat the Pistons in one of the best performances I've seen in years.

48 points, included 29 of his team's final 30 points in the Cavaliers 109-107 double overtime win over the Pistons. The Cavs are now one win away from heading to the NBA finals.

Yes, I too am a witness.

It was one of those moments where if you went to bed early, you kicked yourself the next morning. If you saw, you still watched the highlights this morning, over and over. And if you were bold enough, you let your tongue utter the almost blasphemy-ridden words in basketball - "that was Jordanesque."

There's no guarantee it will happen again. There's also no guarantee the Cavs will win the series. But, for a few hours on Thursday evening, we allowed ourselves to be in awe, to think back and to enjoy sports at the highest level.