I'm happy for the city of Cleveland as they revel in their first sports championship celebration in more than 50 years.

As a fellow “Rust Belt” city, with my native Chicago, it’s kind of like being happy for a cousin who does well.

And as a lifelong Cubs fan, as I’ve discussed, eternal stretches of having nothing to celebrate, with a preponderance of heartbreak, as something I can relate to.

What I don’t get though is this talk of how we can’t dislike LeBron James anymore, since he won another championship.

That rationale makes no sense to me.

While I’ve always respected James’ playing ability, recognized the extraordinary player he is, I’ve never been a fan, which in the parlance these days deems me a “hater.”

Firstly, he started his career on a team that was in direct competition with my Bulls, so of course I wasn’t going to like him.

Then there was “The Decision” in 2010, where he essentially walked away from his hometown team, and broadcast it nationally.

It’s one thing to make the decision he made, which was going to hurt Cavaliers fans anyway, but then to make it a big televised special made it even more hurtful to them.

Not to mention, the decision itself irked me in the sense that players of his caliber, at the age he was at, shouldn’t be chasing rings.

Yes, I’m old school with that, growing up with Walter Payton struggling through years with bad Bears teams for a decade before the organization finally put a team around him worthy of his greatness.

The Bulls of Michael Jordan’s early years were quite dreadful and yet he took a few of those teams, which had no business making the postseason, almost single handedly into the playoffs.

Sure, players at the end of their careers, a la Karl Malone, after having not won a championship, have sought out situations that might get them one, and you can kind of understand that.

But this was the top player in the league, in the prime of his career, essentially giving up and saying he couldn’t do it on his own.

He was going to leave his team, work out a deal with a couple of All-Star caliber friends and team up in Miami.

Of course, there was that over the top, self congratulatory meet and greet with the Heat fans, promising “not one, not two, not three...” championships, before they had even started playing.

The star-studded ensemble would reach the NBA Finals four times, winning two.

Even then the chorus of “you have to like him now” came about, to which I thought, “why?”

He gave up and sought out this easier chance, and then succeeded.

I didn’t like it before and now that he got what he wanted, now I’m supposed to like it?

When he made his return to Cleveland, along with the letter he posted in the local paper for Cavaliers fans, I could at least respect that, but it by no means meant I had to be a fan of his.

Much like any opponents of the teams I root for, be it Larry Bird, Mike Schmidt, Dan Marino back in the day, I can respect their ability, but since they stand in the way of my team, why would I like them?

Is LeBron James a phenomenal basketball talent whose ability I appreciate? Yes.

Was he surprisingly good in “Train Wreck,” his major motion picture debut? Very much so.

But for the fact that he is forever an opponent of one of my teams, along with the callous “Decision” that actually ended up working for him, as well as his continued success — what is there for me to like?