A city scorned gets its chance to scream back

By Zac Jackson
FOX Sports Ohio
December 2, 2010

CLEVELAND -- To understand why there's so much hype, so much hate, so much angst, so much passion surrounding LeBron James' return to Quicken Loans Arena tonight, you must understand what James was during his seven years here with the Cavaliers.

He was a hometown hero. He was a franchise changer, on and off the floor. He was, to put it simply, The Man. A myth. And a legend.

All three play into the type of reception he'll receive tonight, and why a game between two teams that have each defeated exactly one team with a winning record in this young season has become the most anticipated regular-season NBA game in some time.

All eyes are on the one who's never run from the label, "The Chosen One."

MAN

He became a man here while he was becoming The Man here.

Drafted first overall in 2003 at the age of 18, LeBron had already been a national celebrity for two years. He had been living in the Akron projects but driving a $50,000 Hummer to high school for one year. He signed a $100 million contract with Nike the same week he graduated. The Cavaliers went from playing in front of 5,000 a night to selling out weeknight road games.

As you probably know, a superhuman performance