Fans of the Miami Heat are hoping that their starting forward, LeBron James, will get more high-fives from his teammates tonight than the glassy-eyed, dumbfounded looks he received from them in Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Chicago Bulls. ("Dude, why are you just standing there?")
If you've ever dreamed of being able to high-five LeBron -- be it sarcastically or otherwise -- now's your chance. It'll just cost you $3,000.
Upper Deck, a worldwide sports and entertainment company, is offering an authentic LeBron tegata. A form of memorabilia that originated in Japan, tegatas are a framed, artistically displayed hand print of a famous athlete set against a colorful background. They typically also include the athlete's name elegantly written in Japanese calligraphy. Apparently, tegatas are big business in the world of sumo wrestling. Check this out:
That's right, for a relatively princely sum, you could put LeBron's hand up on your wall and get him up-top every time he, say, passes off the ball to Mike Bibby or bricks a jumper at a key moment with the shot clock winding down. (We kid, of course. LeBron is a great player. Total respect.)
What's more, LeBron James is reportedly only the second American athlete to be honored with an authentic tegata. The other? None other than Michael Jordan.