Behind the scenes with LeBron

So a couple weeks back I bought an issue of GQ. That's something straight guys do, right? RIGHT?
Regardless, I had a good reason: The September issue contained a feature on LeBron James written by J.R. Moehringer. I came across a promo for the story on ESPN.com. Apparently Moehringer had rare access to LeBron around the time he made "The Decision": Two exclusive interviews before, and one interview after.
I was even more intrigued when I realized Moehringer was the dude who wrote an amazing profile of Pete Carroll back in 2007, excellently entitled "23 reasons why a profile of Pete Carroll does not appear in this space." I came across that piece in a sportswriting anthology book, and it simply blew my mind. You can read that story at the following URL: www.lamag.com/article.aspx?id=6918. It's well worth the 45 minutes it'll take to read. Trust me - print it out, read it on the can if you have to. Moehringer is wicked talented.
At any rate, the LeBron story doesn't measure up to the Carroll piece, but it was still well worth the $4.99 I paid for the magazine. Here are some of the highlights:
-- Best line: "He sounds like a big kid," Moehringer says of LeBron, recounting their final chat. "Maybe that's why it all unfolded this way. Kids get into all kinds of trouble. Especially during the summer." Bazinga.
-- Worst line: "I arrive in Cleveland at the start of July. James's decision hovers in the humid air. Poland must have felt this way in the summer of 1939. Except it's not an invasion Cleveland fears, but a departure." Point taken. But while LeBron was culturally important to Cleveland, his departure seems somehow less impactful than Poland being invaded by the Nazis. A bit of an exaggeration, J.R.
-- Moehringer was on set for "The Decision" and got all kinds of deadly behind-the-scenes stuff. My favourite part was that James arrived at the shoot with Kanye West. Surreal. Also, the kids who sat in the bleachers behind James, serving as props for TV, had chugged a bunch of free Vitaminwater before the show (the company was one of the sponsors) and were pretty much bursting with pee by the time the show was over. This is the random stuff that makes a story come to life.
-- Moehringer talks to Maverick Carter, one of James's advisors, after the decision, as everybody was ripping James to shreds. "He (Carter) sounds baffled and woozy, like a science buff who was mixing chemicals in the garage and accidentally blew up the neighbourhood. 'How did it get so big?' he asks plaintively." Classic stuff. I'm no genius, but it seemed patently obvious to me that the only way the TV special would go over well was if James was returning to the Cavaliers. Memo to LeBron: Next time, don't listen to a guy named Maverick. Unless he's teaching you how to cheat at cards or dispose of a body.
-- There's a recurring scene where Moehringer negotiates with LeBron's publicist to find a private interview room. "This won't work," the publicist says at one point, evaluating a potential interview location. "LeBron's never been in this room before." Are you kidding me? Classic.
-- In the end, Moehringer more or less concludes that by heading to Miami with his buddies Bosh and Wade, James is trying to recreate the tight-knit vibe of his high school team. Seems logical.
-- A quick word on GQ. In between the pages and pages and pages of ads, there were a lot of interesting features worth reading. I'd buy it again. But I'm not going to become a metrosexual.