Fame can come in many ways.
It can come from determination, a little luck, or even by random occurrence. It can be lifelong or short-lived. This holiday season, Get Up host Mike Greenberg witnessed some local fame stemming from a simple message to First Take commentator Stephen A. Smith.
“LeBron James is the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time),” James said.
No, LeBron isn’t talking about himself, even if he has said before that he believes he’s the GOAT.
This message came from James, the local taxi driver and avid sports fan that Greeny has come to know and bond with from frequenting the island of Anguilla throughout the years. Each time the two connect, James asks Greeny if he can relay a message to Smith. This year, Greeny took it a step further and let him go directly to Smith with a video, and naturally, Smith had a response.
Excuse me @Espngreeny! How in the hell are you tweeting me about one of my island brothers disagreeing with me? How dare he! Just for that, I’m delaying my trip to Anguilla for another 3 years
Enjoy that vacation buddy https://t.co/Xx3capbyUK— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) December 29, 2023
In that moment, the power of social media took over. Social posts from Greeny and Smith involving James quickly traveled throughout the tiny island, and James’ moment was in full bloom.
First, it was locals coming up and wanting to take photos. Then, it reached top-ranking Anguilla officials, with Greeny and James meeting with Premier Ellis Webster and Minister of Tourism Haydn Hughes about ways to grow tourism on the island. Wait what?
“There was never anything I expected less than to be asked to meet the elected leader of the Island,” Greeny said. “It was a delightful surprise.”
It started with a simple message about LeBron James being the GOAT. Now, James is on his way to becoming one with the locals of Anguilla.