NBA star Lebron James was among thousands of fans who attended last weekend’s Premier League fixture between Liverpool and Manchester United. The Miami Heat forward was clearly excited as was evident by his tweets.
“Just got to Liverpool, England,”
“Riding through the city. What a beautiful place. Home and birthplace of the One and Only ‘BEATLES.’ “
It is not clear which team James supported, however, his gesture, did prove that the beautiful game indeed has no boundaries. Of course, James was able to make the trip to Liverpool because of the current NBA lock out between team owners and the players.
The main issue of contention is the over $4 billion annual revenue generated by the league. Under the agreement that ended on June 30th 2011, the revenue was split on a 53 per cent to 47 per cent share with the players getting the 47 per cent and the team owners 5 3 per cent.
The Players Association however, feel that the terms need to be scrapped and improved as it is their effort that earns the league that brings in most of the revenue.
It is not known how long this lockout will last as NBA commissioner David Stern has already postponed the start of the league by 2 weeks and it is believed that if a solution is not found any time soon, there could be a possibility of the league starting in mid or late December.
That said, the match did make an impact on James. Tweeting after the match, this is what he had to say:
“One of the single best experiences of my life!”
“The excitement that these fans have is like no other. Extremely loud start/finish.”
Apparently, James owns Liverpool. As shocking as it may seem, the NBA star has a minor stake in Fenway Sports Group which owns Liverpool and MLB side Boston Red Sox.
The love for both games is gaining momentum and it is very apparent that more and more players will be making the trans Atlantic journey to watch either sport whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Photo credit © thehoorse24
