In ESPN the Magazine's NBA season preview, the sports media company teamed with the comics publisher to illustrate story lines for all 30 teams using such popular characters as The Hulk, Iron Man and Fantastic Four. As for the Cavs, they come off as far less than super.
View full sizeMarvel Comics teamed with ESPN the Magazine to write its preview of the NBA season. In it, the only team report not to have an illustration of a current player or owner is the Cleveland Cavaliers. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- As if "The Decision" weren't brutal enough for Cavs fans, ESPN is throwing another gut punch.
ESPN the Magazine's NBA season preview hits newsstands next Friday. The sports media company teamed with Marvel Comics to illustrate story lines for all 30 teams using such popular characters as The Hulk, Iron Man and Fantastic Four.
Flip to the Cavaliers and what will you see? Two panels reflecting ESPN's low expectations for the Cavs this season.
The first scene is a man walking away from his Spider-Man getup tossed in the trash can. It's accompanied by text: "I was just a young, unthinking teenager when I first became Spider-Man. But the years have a way of slipping by, of changing the whole world about us. And every boy, sooner or later, must put away his toys and become a man!"
Scene two, labeled "Unamazing Cavaliers" and "King James no more!," carries an image of LeBron James in a Miami Heat uniform walking away from his crumpled number 23 Cavs jersey in the garbage can.
It's a twist on Marvel's iconic moment from a Spider-Man issue published in 1967 when Peter Parker quits being a super hero and leaves his alter ego behind.
But Cavs season ticket-holder Brian Barney, a downtown ad executive who saw the images online, was upset at what he considered a cheap shot.
"It's belittling," he said. "It seems mean-spirited."
Especially after ESPN's burn this summer. The network staged James' prime-time revelation that the Akron native and two-time MVP was bolting for Miami, known as "The Decision."
The Cavs are the only team in the preview issue not illustrated by an image of a current player or owner.
Gary Belsky, ESPN the Magazine's editor in chief, said his staff was sympathetic to Cavs fans, but when ESPN writers and editors presented story lines for the season to Marvel artists, they decided this was the way to tell it.
"Honestly," he said, "we talked a lot about that and we didn't see it as kicking the city and Cavs fans while they're down."
In fact, Belsky promised a special-edition image if the Cavs surpass ESPN's expectations.
"Nothing would make us happier if that would be the case," he said. "If they get past 40 wins, I will go back to Marvel and say, 'Dudes, we were wrong.' "