(Photo by Jack Balayla, Twitter)
LeBron “King” James is arguably the biggest star in the NBA. So when the Miami Heat player was spotted by a fan riding his bike to the arena for a game last night, it was sort of a big deal.
The photo was snapped by Jack Balayla (@jackNruth on Twitter) and from there it went to the Palm Beach Post newspaper and now it’s making headlines on ESPN and NBA.com. Adding to the mystique of the bike ride is that, during the game, James made one of the most amazing plays ever.
According to reports, James decided to bike into work because of traffic snarls caused by the Miami Marathon. But, in a post-game interview shared by ESPN James made it seem like the ride was no big deal.
“Did you have fun riding your bike to the game?” a reporter asked.
“Fun? I mean, I do that.. I do it all the time.”
I loved James’ answer. The reporter couldn’t fathom that riding a bike is simply how James decided to get to work and he didn’t do it just to have “fun.”
It’s always interesting and revealing to see how the media responds to situations like this.
One fan blog, The Bleacher Report, covered the story with headline: “LeBron James Channels His Inner Child by Biking to AA Arena.” While that might annoy bike advocates, you’ll be happy to know that the author ended his post by writing:
“I’m not going to lie, now I feel like riding my bike to work. All I need is a bike and a job that isn’t confined to my home office.”
Aaron Naparstek, founder of Streetsblog, had this to say via Twitter this morning:
“Possibly the most powerful piece of Bike Lobby propaganda ever (or until Beyoncé and Babé-Z are spotted on a bakfiets).”
He might be right.