An athlete tells the truth

Usually, when athletes win championships they talk about how happy they are and how much winning means to them. They also, however, typically start with a caveat to their happiness, depending on their parental and/or marital status, naming the day of their wedding or the birth of their child(ren) as their happiest with the accomplishment of all of their lifelong goals coming in second. I’ve always thought this was interesting because it is basically an athlete’s default statement in these sorts of situations and often appears to be intended to conform to social norms more than based in legitimate sentiment. When LeBron James won the NBA championship with the Miami Heat on Thursday night, though, he was quoted as saying this: “You know, my dream has become a reality now, and it’s the best feeling I ever had.” He didn’t say it was the third best feeling he’d ever had after the births of his two sons and the day his fiancee accepted his proposal. He said it was the best feeling. That James was willing to tell the truth in his biggest moment might not come as a surprise to some. He does, after all, have a history of flouting social norms.