The Cleveland Cavaliers say a group text message thread called “BORED” is the key to their success. Channing Frye’s group text that includes Cavaliers players like LeBron James and Kevin Love has been credited for bringing the team closer together through the wonders of smartphone technology.
ESPN posted a story on Wednesday that chronicled how Frye’s texting group crated a more intimate atmosphere for the Cavaliers when he arrived on the team in February 2016.
The “BORED” text thread solves important debates like who is better: The Rock or Arnold Schwarzenegger. Other times it’s to set up dinner plans or to share GIFs. But it’s worked. Cavaliers themselves said that Frye’s thread even helped bridge the gap between LeBron James and Kevin Love.
There was a time when neither James nor Love could have envisioned joining forces as a tag-team texting tandem. Their relationship was stilted, uneven, awkward. It wasn’t a matter of dislike, but more a disconnect between two talented players who were struggling to establish a healthy communication on and off the court.
Cavs players say Frye is the one who changed that.
“We were a good group before Channing got here, but he came in and connected some important dots,” said Cavs forward Richard Jefferson, who signed with Cleveland in August 2015. “He found a way to have LeBron and Kevin see each other in a different manner.”
This kind of story is often silly fodder for between games, but it’s a very real phenomenon and clearly a huge asset to the Cavaliers. The way we communicate today is so unique, and group messages—whether on SnapCchat or Slack or regular old MMS—are a unique way a group of people can grow closer. Some group messages are terrible, sure, but if you know all the contacts involved and you get a genuinely group together, you can create something special.
One of the most interesting things about cell phone technology is that it actually is the great equalizer. No matter how many gold accents or Mercedes logos you put on an iPhone or Android device, it’s the same phone whether you’re a billionaire or someone who bought it on contract at a mall kiosk. No matter the difference in occupation or economics, sometimes the ways we communicate as humans are strikingly similar.
Millionaire basketball players—sometimes they really are like us.
(Via ESPN)
