Sometimes, the Bad Guys Do Win

By - Kris Fletcher

Everyone is familiar with the old cliche, "the good guys always win."

But in reality, we all know better than that.

Case in point -- the Miami Heat's 121-106 series-clinching victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals last night.

Photo by: Getty Images

Before you go jumping to conclusions, no -- this isn't going to be a "slam LeBron and crew" type deal. In fact, it would be hard for anyone to do that based on how well they looked over the course of this year's postseason.

I mean, I'm not Skip Bayless.

The bottom line is, LeBron was dominant, his supporting cast rose to the occasion, and in the end, the Heat were just better than the 29 other teams in the National Basketball Association.

Now, having said that -- I still don't like them.

And therein lies the beauty of sports.

When LeBron bolted from Cleveland two years ago, he gave the biggest part of the country the very thing they crave when it comes to athletic competition -- a villain.

Since everyone knows, nothing makes for a better storyline than the whole "good vs. evil" plot.

Last year, the Dallas Mavericks played the role of hero, as Dirk and company knocked off LeBron and the hated Heat in six games.

However, Episode 2 went the other way. A sort of, "Revenge of the Sith" if you will.

That makes what Miami did this season that much more spectacular.

See it's one thing to reach your ultimate goal, but it's something entirely different to attain it when the better half of the folks watching are hoping that you ultimately crash and burn.

So was the case in these NBA Finals (yet again).

But even if you were in the majority, any true fan of the sport surely appreciates what they witnessed throughout the course of this year's playoffs. LeBron playing the best basketball of his career and finally carrying his squad to the top of the mountain.

But hey, even in victory -- they're still the bad guys.

So good for you LeBron. After nine long seasons, you finally got over the hump. And not only that, but after two years of being cast as the premier villain of sports, you also managed to silence your harshest critics.

For the time being, anyway.

But don't worry big guy. The masses will be back in full-force next year. Rooting against you. Hoping to see you fail all over again.

Since bad guys are supposed to lose.

You may be a champion, but it's going to take a lot more than one ring to shed your label.

After all, Jordan has six. Kobe has five. So in the grand scheme of things -- your one sittin' there by itself really doesn't seem all that impressive...