Back in 2010, LeBron James shocked the basketball world as he decided to reveal his Free Agency decision live on ESPN. Of course, this telecast was pegged as "The Decision," and in retrospect, it was the biggest mistake of LeBron's career. Had he gone to Miami quietly, people wouldn't have been upset. However, the drama that came from "The Decision" ultimately turned him into a villain for a few years.
ESPN is set to do a backstory broadcast on "The Decision" and as it turns out, the idea for the telecast actually came from a random fan who wrote to Bill Simmons as part of his mailbag. The fan marked his name as Drew and explained why the idea would be huge. “What if LeBron announces he will pick his 2010-11 team live on ABC on a certain date for a show called ‘LeBron’s Choice?'” Drew wrote to Simmons. “What type of crazy ratings would that get?”
For the upcoming ESPN special on "The Decision," the fan was revealed to be a man by the name of Drew Wagner. Wagner as asked about where he got the idea from, and as he explained, he figured it would be interesting for LeBron to do the same thing that teenagers do when announcing which school they are committing to.
“I remember everyone was talking about where LeBron would go, and it seemed to me that LeBron should do the same thing these kids do and announce it live on TV,” Wagner explained. “I used to enjoy those Simmons mailbags quite a bit, and I thought it would be a fun idea to send it.”
Wagner could never have imagined what kind of drama he was about to cause, but alas, such is life. Now, "The Decision" remains one of the most iconic moments in sports history.
[Via]