Legend has it that in 239 B.C., Hamilcar Barca held his nine-year-old son Hannibal over a roaring fire in a sacrificial chamber and demanded that the preadolescent swear an oath of eternal hatred against Rome. The future leader of Carthage was soon given reason to be demanded of such a pledge. Hamilcar would suffer such a defeat at the hands of Rome that he was stripped of Sicily and required to pay an annual tribute of 66 tons of precious metals.
Young Hannibal was now forced to endure the constant degradation of his people, his mind teeming with gradual repugnance, solemnly resolute to one day avenge the humiliation. True enough, in his subsequent ascent to the throne, a fully grown Hannibal would make amends for his father’s failures at the Battle of Cannae, when he revived the rivalry and inflicted a whopping 50,000 casualties, at that time the greatest amount of carnage ever recorded against the once invincible Roman army.
While war can hardly be analogous to sport, the comparisons linger in popular culture, at least on a superficial level. This year might mark the genesis of a new dynasty sown from the seeds of vengeance.
On May 7, 1989, Michael Jordan turned an ordinary Sunday into one that will forever live in infamy in the hearts of Clevelanders. Floating to his left and burying a jumper at the buzzer over the outstretched hands of Craig Ehlo, Jordan’s Chicago Bulls eliminated James’s hometown Cavaliers from the playoffs in a manner that forebode a bleak future. Almost immediately after sinking “The Shot”, Cleveland was powerless to stop His Airness from emblematically punching holes into the city’s soul. A four-year-old from nearby Akron named LeBron Raymone James had ventured over to the television screen when the groans could be heard throughout Ohio.
“Take it hard?” he recently asked Ohio.com. "When was that? ‘89? I was [almost] five. I wanted to hit the same shot after he made it.”
For the next nine years following that fateful moment, Chicago earned the title of professional basketball’s evil empire. Cleveland, meanwhile, was relegated to no more than a footnote in the Bulls’ historic run.
That’s not to say that the Cavs didn’t field some good teams during this period. They did. Cleveland had eight winning seasons and made the playoffs in seven of them. Mark Price, Terrell Brandon, and Brad Daugherty had All-Star years during this stretch. But that kind of thing can get lost in the shuffle of Chicago winning seven Central Division titles, six Eastern Conference championships, and six Larry O’Brien trophies, not to mention the emergence of a player and supporting cast that transcended the sports section of the newspaper. Even guys like John Paxson and Steve Kerr became household names.
All the while, the Bulls often enjoyed success at the Cavs’ expense. Having already succumbed to Chicago the year previous to “The Shot”, Cleveland would exit the postseason five out of six years in total thanks to none other than Jordan & Co., with each thrashing more disappointing and discouraging than the last one.
"It almost seemed like he was going for a career high every game against Cleveland," recalled a less-than-amused James.
Needless to say, this series of events inspired a young LeBron to practice tirelessly on his Little Tikes baby hoop. Over the years, the pre-schooler would soon develop into the type of player destined to take the torch from none other than Jordan himself upon his entrance to the league. As fate would have it, James landed in Cleveland’s lap on Draft Day. And eleven years later, he has an opportunity to settle the score, as the new millennium’s Cavaliers have been once again paired with an old playoff nemesis—Chicago.
While the Windy City can no longer be likened to Rome since Caesar in Size 13 Jumpmans departed the game, and the names on the backs of the jerseys are different, the specter of Jordan’s presence remains in the form of the lifesize statue bearing his likeness outside the United Center and the six world championship banners hanging from its rafters.
A rivalry is a misnomer if only one side wins, and with a win tonight up three games to one, LeBron James can do his part to write a new chapter in the ongoing battle between these two Midwest franchises. Eliminating Chicago can act as a symbolic springboard toward a reign of Jordan-like proportions if the Cavs can go all the way this spring.
However, one would be wise to learn from the mistakes of Hannibal. While he brought the Roman Empire to its knees after Cannae, he inexplicably chose not to take over its capital for good. Maharbal, his cavalry leader, famously told him afterwards, “Vincere scis, Hannibal, sed victoria uti nescis.” (”Hannibal, you know how to gain a victory, but you do not know how to use it.”)
The omission to act was a tactical blunder that led to Hannibal eventually falling short of his goal. Instead of mercilessly besieging Rome, he offered his enemy a peace treaty that was rejected. Buoyed by the extra time to recover, the Romans were able to rebuild their army, and Carthage was ultimately annihilated so badly that few remnants of the upstart North African republic exist today.
It remains to be seen if LeBron James can thrust a stake through Chicago and consequently conquer the rest of the NBA. But while his lasting legacy has yet to be etched in the annals of sports history, at the moment, a victory tonight can right a lot of wrongs for the city of Cleveland—and for the four-year-old boy that still lives within the man who would be King.
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