The LeBrons: Can LeBron James' New Cartoon Change His Karma?
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Yes, LeBron's popularity is still slipping. Yes, Heat fans should begin to worry (position in the East, how the team responds to injuries, etc.) And yes, this is the moment LeBron (or his people) have chosen to announce that he will have a new web-cartoon series all about... yep, LeBron.
"I'm really excited about this show," he says in his announcement video, posted to a new YouTube channel called "TheLeBrons." James explains that the forthcoming cartoon will feature the characters originated in the Nike commercials from a few years ago, the four characters LeBron says he is "on a day-to-day basis."
There's Kid LeBron, Athlete LeBron, Business LeBron, and the elder statesman of the family, an older LeBron he calls simply "Wise."
In the video, LeBron doesn't say when the first episode will premiere or how long each cartoon will last. He simply asks viewers to subscribe to the channel. And in one day, nearly 3,000 people already have. Perhaps a cartoon in which LeBron makes fun of himself will be just the thing to make some of his scorned former fans -- the ones who used to love his commercials -- come back around.
(We might suggest that after a few rough weeks, Sarah Palin might benefit from her own cartoon show too. But of course, Sarah Palin already is her own cartoon show, so...)
LeBron is certainly not the first big-time pro athlete to start a cartoon series at the height of his career. Gen Y-ers with good memories will remember the short-lived early '90s Saturday morning cartoon "Pro Stars," in which Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, and Bo Jackson teamed up to fight crime and save the environment. You'll note here, in the opening credits, when Bo Jackson finds a man cutting down trees in a forest, he immediately uses his brute athletic strength to kill the man and set ablaze his tree-chopping device. Bo knows disproportionate retaliation.
Follow The Juice on Twitter: @TheJuiceBPB.
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