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"If there was an opportunity for me to return to Cleveland and those fans welcomed me back, that'd be a great story."—Lebron James
Scott Raab is a last vestige of Gonzo Journalism in an era when sanitary decorum reigns. Crude but warmhearted, poetic but raving, Raab has chronicled—at GQ and Esquire—everything from nights out with the likes of Tupac and Mickey Rourke to a moral investigation into Holocaust death-camp guard Ivan the Terrible to the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, but the book you hold in your hands is neither a story nor a job: The Whore of Akron is the product of lifelong suffering, and a mission bound with the meaning of existence.
Raab sat in the lower bowl of Cleveland Stadium on December 27, 1964, when the Browns defeated the Colts for the NFL World Championship—the last sports title the declining city has won. He still carries his ticket stub wherever he goes, safely tucked within a Ziploc bag. The glory of that triumph is an easy thing to forget—each generation born in Cleveland is another generation removed from that victory; an entire fan base "whose daily bread has forever tasted of ash."
LeBron James was supposed to change all that. A native son of Akron, he was already world famous by the age of seventeen, had already graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, was already worth $90 million to Nike. He seemed like a miracle heaven-sent by God to transform Cleveland's losing ways. That the Cavaliers drafted him, the hometown prodigy, with the first pick of the 2003 draft, seemed nothing short of destiny. But after seven years—and still no parade down Euclid Avenue—he left. And he left in a way that seemed designed to twist the knife: announcing his move to South Beach on a nationally televised ESPN production with a sly title ("The Decision") that echoed fifty years of Cleveland sports futility.
Out of James's treachery grew a monster. Raab, a fifty-nine-year-old, 350-pound, Jewish Santa Claus with a Chief Wahoo tattoo, would bear witness to LeBron's every move, and in doing so would act as the eyes and ears of Cleveland itself. (He did not keep this intentions a secret and was promptly banned by the Miami Heat.)
The Whore of Akron is an indictment of a traitorous athlete and the story of Raab's hilarious, profane (and profound) quest to reveal the "wee jewel-box" of LeBron James's very soul.
As the title indicates, Cleveland Cavaliers fans did not take the departure of basketball superstar LeBron James lightly. They joined a degrading nickname, set up angry websites, picketed, distributed petitions, burned his jersey, and constructed at least one hostile billboard. Cleveland native Scott Raab decided that the only way to track the betrayal of the man they called "the whore of Akron" was to track the culprit, even if it meant contributing to Miami Heat box office receipts. This is the story of one man and the obsession of another.
Anonymous
Posted January 1, 2012
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 16, 2012
Lebron James is the best person in the world I dont like you insaulting him like that
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 5, 2012
Love it
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Posted November 16, 2011
As a sports fan and self described "fanatic," this book is a MUST read!
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Posted January 2, 2012
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Posted January 30, 2012
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Posted November 22, 2011
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Posted December 28, 2011
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Overview
"If there was an opportunity for me to return to Cleveland and those fans welcomed me back, that'd be a great story."—Lebron James
Scott Raab is a last vestige of Gonzo Journalism in an era when sanitary decorum reigns. Crude but warmhearted, poetic but raving, Raab has chronicled—at GQ and Esquire—everything from nights out with the likes of Tupac and Mickey Rourke to a moral investigation into Holocaust death-camp guard Ivan the Terrible to the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, but the book you hold in your hands is neither a story nor a job: The Whore of Akron is the product of lifelong suffering, and...