Thursday marks one of the most talked about days in sports in a long, long time. For weeks, almost all anything anyone has talked about is NBA free agency, which begins midnight Thursday. This year’s crop includes guys like Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson and even Lebron James, the self-appointed “Chosen One.”

And while as a sports fan, it is fun to think about all the possibilities of combinations that loom out there, here’s what really gets to me. What if we employed the same tactics in everyday life as Lebron James has? Would potential employers be lining up to throw gobs of money at us?

Think about it. This guy has come with loads of promises and expectations, yet he has failed to win anything. He has brought his entire entourage into the Cavaliers organization and has somehow managed to get his coach and general manager fired.

He has continually complained about his teammates and their lack of talent, albeit in a very passive-aggressive way.

What if we did the same things? Seriously.

What if Bob from accounting brought in the whole gang from his Thursday night poker game and demanded they be catered to?

“This is Ernie. He gets free access to the break room or I walk.”

Would Bob have companies eager to offer him maximum dollars?

What if Viola from the mail room continually complained that her inability to get it done was based upon the human resource department’s inability to surround her with capable coworkers? Would people be dying to work alongside her?

What if it was the most critical time of the company’s year and George from sales tanked it for a few days due to a phantom arm injury? Would major corporations be moving personnel around to add George?

Or what if Carol decided to meet with employees of other companies for a “summit” in which they all decided where they could best be benefitted by the situation around them?

How many people would be dying to add Carol’s services to their roster?

But that is where we are in our superstar-driven society. As long as you’ve got the talent, or at least the potential to be good, you can pretty much get away with whatever you want in the world of sports. And you can probably sell a few tennis shoes in the process.

Sometimes I wish it worked that way in the real world.

It’d be stinking awesome if newspapers all over the country were lining up to offer me major, major salaries based upon my potential.

“Listen Jeremy, we know that you have been at The Times for nearly two-and-a-half years now and have yet to win an Alabama Press Association award for something sports related despite the fact that you are a sports editor. But we think that is all because of the people around you. Why don’t you come work for us and bring your most obnoxious friends with you?”

Yeah, it must be good to be King.