In the arch of Ohio’s history, the past 30 years have seen the tides of change take much away from the state’s shores, while bringing in new opportunity for Ohio to reinvent itself and reassert its place as an international leader in producing innovation–and innovators.
The transformation from a state that thrived in the economy of old to a state that is claiming its place in the new global economy is a difficult one, to be sure. Countries across the world are bearing that out now, and no state has born the brunt of that responsibility more so than Ohio. But its people in its cities have taken the onus that has come with being an old capital of the manufacturing belt, and they’re now leading the way in helping the U.S. adapt to the times. Consider the city of Toledo, once a bustling port that produced glass and cars, its economy has struggled in recent years as the way people do business changed. But innovators and innovation, in collaboration with government and private business, have made the city a global leader in developing and producing solar technology.
A state whose communities and schools have cultivated renowned figures in law, medicine, politics, literature and sport has seen one of its favorite sons rise to extraordinary heights on the basketball court and off in LeBron James, the Akron-born and Akron-raised superstar whose proclivities in the NBA have made him the most sought-after free agent in professional sports history this summer. Being courted by a billionaire to join the New Jersey Nets, by the glitz and glamour of the New York Knicks, by the ability to replace the void left by James’ idol Michael Jordan at the Chicago Bulls, LeBron James is coveted the most by his home state of Ohio and the people who knew him when he was dazzling with his promise to be a legend. Now having become one, James has the opportunity to write another chapter in his and his home state’s lore as someone who transcended more than business and basketball, to do something few athletes have ever had the opportunity to do: to build up one’s community from whence one came, all the while pursuing that which one loves.
As Ohio reinvents himself, so too has LeBron James reinvented the game of basketball, bringing to the court a physicality steered by grace, ever capable of adjusting to that which each game situation requires in order to maximize his team’s ability to win. In a few days, LeBron will announce his decision to stay or go, and though Ohioans all over will support him no matter what he chooses to do, this state’s story will be all the more enriched by a decision to stay and continue to help write it.
