Today is the anniversary of The Decision, the famous announcement made by LeBron James in the summer of 2010, which revealed to the general public on ESPN that he was heading to Miami. But who had this idea, which earned LeBron to be one of the most hated men in the United States?
This is Drew Wagnera 40-year-old Detroit Pistons fan now from Columbus, Ohio, who is the famous fan who pitched the idea of ” The Decision to the former ESPN journalist and founder of The Ringer Bill Simmons in its mail from the readers on its site on November 26, 2009, that is to say 7 months before the famous emission.
“Drew Wagner: – What if LeBron announced that he was going to choose his 2010-11 team live on ABC on a certain date in a show called ‘LeBron’s Choice’? The audience would be crazy! »
Bill Simmons: – If LeBron was smart, he would market the event through his company, sell the rights to a channel and reveal his choice during this show. He might even do pay-per-view…”
It was in the media last week following the promotion of the documentary devoted to The Decision that Wagner had confirmation of what they had been telling his friends for all these years: it was his idea.
“He’s a good friend of mine. Since the airing of The Decision, he hasn’t stopped telling us that it was his idea. Of course he wasn’t sure, but that’s what he assumed. Craig Bachman, 39, manager for Rent-A-Car in Columbus
” It was me. I sent this email. It’s posted by Simmons, and 7 months later it’s all the talk of the sports world. »Drew Wagner
A 2004 Ohio State graduate from Detroit, Wagner has lived in the Columbus area since college and manages logistics for a Midwestern building materials company. The famous idea came to him from press conferences held by high school students to announce their choice of university.
“I remember everyone was talking regarding where LeBron was going, and for me he had to do the same thing as these young people and announce it live on television. I really liked reading Simmons’ letters from readers, and thought it would be fun to send him this idea. »Drew Wagner
via ESPN
