Cleveland fans have taken a beating in the media, at least in my opinion for their reactions to "The Circus" Thursday night, so I feel the need to justify mine and my fellow Clevelanders reactions. (This will be painful, my friends, but bear with me.)
My earliest memory in sports is not the Ohio State football game I went to when I was 3 or even the game in 1985 when the Buckeyes shocked #1 Iowa. No, my first sports memory is the 1986 Cleveland Browns (I'm sorry, loyal friends, it stands to be mentioned...)
So there I was, January 11, 1987, 8 years old, with my milkbone "pin," painted orange, brown, and white, adorned by cute ribbons (no doubt made by some church lady somewhere), watching the Browns. They take the lead 20-13, kick off with a bizarre kickoff that sails behind the Broncos, and they are pinned down on their 2 yard line, with only 5:32 left in the game. SUPER BOWL! SUPER BOWL! Chants all over Municipal (RIP) Stadium. The fans believe it. Bernie Bernie, OHHHHH YEAH!!! Super Bowl....wait, what? THE DRIVE... If reading it isn't enough to make you want to kick yourself in the face...watch this.Incidentally, the Cleveland Indians in 1986 had a record of 84-78, which was, sadly, it's best since the 1968 season. 1987 they would go 61-101, finishing dead last, and inspiring the movie "Major League."
But I digress...January 17, 1988, Mile High Stadium in ...
Denver, Colorado. The Broncos were up 21-3 at the half, absolutely killing my beloved Brownies. In the second half, though, Bernie Kosar (who STILL holds an NFL record for most completed passes without an interception, btw) led the team to 4 touchdowns and halfway through the 4th quarter it was 31-31. John Elway then led the Broncos to a score, making it 38-31 Denver with 4 minutes left. The Browns then drive down to the Broncos 8-yard line with 1:12 left in the game. Byner goes left, he's in the end zone, the ball is not... May 7, 1989, Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, Ohio...the
Cleveland Cavs are playing in the 1st round of the NBA Playoffs against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. The Cavs are up with 3 seconds left and the Bulls call timeout. There I was, 10 years old, sitting on the edge of an old white leather chair in the living room. Michael Jordan was going down!! Everyone could feel it. (He wasn't quite Michael yet, remember) The Bulls inbound the ball...you gotta be effin kidding me.Go back in time to 1973.
Art Modell leases Municipal Stadium to the city for $1/year, then refuses revenue sharing with the Indians. In 1994, the Indians convince the city to build the Gateway Project, with Jacobs, I mean, Progressive Field, and Gund, I mean, Quicken Loans Arena. Art Modell refuses to take part, believing that the Browns will still make more money. He was wrong, dead wrong. November 6, 1995, the Browns were 3-4, Art Modell announced he was up and moving the team to Baltimore the following season. Fans were outraged, sporting "Muck Fodell" shirts, holding protests, even a protest in Pittsburgh, the ONLY time the two sides were united, though that protest was hardly mentioned, and filed countless lawsuits against Modell. The NFL, Cleveland, and Modell came to an agreement in 1996, in which the Browns Franchise would be "deactivated," retaining all of it's colors, history, accolades, while Modell would be given an expansion team in Baltimore, but retain all the players and contracts of the current Browns. The Browns would be inactive for three years, while they built a new stadium.
The Browns returned in 1999. They've had only 2 winning seasons since their return. The Ravens have, however, been to the playoffs six times, and won Super Bowl XXXV, January 28, 2001. Art Modell is no longer the majority owner of the team, going bankrupt and selling 49% in 2000, and more of the team in 2004. He is still the most hated man in Cleveland, going all the way back to 1963 with the firing of Paul Brown.1995: Cleveland Indians vs. Atlanta Braves, World Series.....Atlanta 4-2.
1997: Cleveland Indians vs. Florida Marlins, World Series...not only were the Florida Marlins a wild card team, they were a five year old franchise. The Indians were the heavy favorites to win. Game 7. Bottom of the 9th, Indians up 2-1. Closer Jose Mesa comes in to bring Cleveland it's first World Series championship since 1948. BLOWN SAVE. Extra Innings...Bottom 11. Craig Counsell hits a ball between first and second...THE ERROR. Instead of a routine out, the ball goes off Tony Fernandez's glove. Edgar Renteria hits a ball, it bounces off of Charlie Nagy's glove into the outfield, Counsell runs home, Indians lose...
Yet through ALL OF THIS, the Cleveland fan doesn't stray. THIS IS KEY. The Cleveland Fan DOESN'T STRAY. We stay through all of it, and we love them. We absolutely friggin love them. We inevitably know what's going to happen to us, should a small amount of success flop our way, but we HOPE that just once, JUST ONCE, a ball bounces OUR way and WE will be victorious. We wear hideous colors, orange and brown, wine and gold, orange and blue, (can't go wrong with the red, white, and blue of the Indians, though) and we wear them PROUDLY, no matter WHAT. We join in on the jokes, though from some sources (ESPN) we don't appreciate them. You can't knock it til you tried it. It's a religion. Northeast Ohio: the birthplace of football. We are a proud people. You look at us, at our city, you call it garbage, it's people "depressed," both economically and emotionally. Do you say that about Detroit fans, whose plight is similar to that of Clevalanders economically? No, they've had the Pistons (championships) and the Tigers (World Series appearance out of nowhere) lately, so you don't knock them. You knock Clevelanders.
Sure, you may pick on Cubs fans, but the city of Chicago has had success from ALL of their other teams. No sir, only the Cleveland fan has lived a lifetime and never seen a championship come to their city. It's fun to kick them while they're down. Cleveland: the Lovable Loser. The "Mistake by the Lake."
Enter Lebron James....
Lebron, the self-appointed "King." The Ohio born son, that never showed any love for his state. The band-wagoner "The Yankees," "The Cowboys." His disdain for all things Cleveland never deterred us. We defended him. "Of course he would like the Cowboys, the Browns weren't even around when he was growing up." (Though I never got the Yankees thing, the Indians were WAY better at the time...) We bought into his hype, hype he himself generated with the money-hungry slobs at Nike. We were all witnesses. In countless games, he would pass at the wrong moment. ESPN would question his desire for championships, saying he passed off instead of taking the shot because he couldn't handle the pressure. We said "why wouldn't he pass? He was triple teamed, the guy was WIDE OPEN! It's not Lebron's fault the other guys can't handle it in the clutch." We waited for YEARS for him to make his decision. As the time grew closer, the writing was on the wall. Celebrities were coming to Cleveland to watch games. He was gone. No one comes to Cleveland for fun, right Joakim Noah? Then the Boston series happened. The Lebron praise was drifting away. We all saw it, we knew he quit. We voiced it, we were pissed off. But through it all, again, WE HELD OUT HOPE. Lebron calls a one hour tv special on ESPN to announce his decision. Surely he won't embarrass us on national television, not our native son. He parades kids from the Cleveland Boys & Girls Club out on stage with him. He announces he's leaving....
Did you hear the heartbroken children sigh? No? You couldn't hear it through the screaming at your television?
To all those who judge the Cleveland fan, I offer this: it's not that he left. Athletes come and go, and no one understands that better than Cleveland fan (let me give you some names: Ray Fosse, Manny Ramirez, Joe Carter, Cliff Lee, CC Sabathia, Vinny Testaverde). No it's not that he left. It's not about mindless idol worship of someone that doesn't deserve it. Lebron doesn't pay my bills, Josh Cribbs doesn't pay my bills. Athletes aren't heroes. Let me tell you what this is about. This is about the WAY he did it.
Cleveland Fan is loyal. Cleveland Fan loves you no matter what, for all your faults. (How else do you explain attendance at Browns games in negative temperatures?) You wanna leave? No problem, son, there's the door. But you give me the respect and dignity I deserve when you do it. You do not go run and hide in another state, have an hour long special where you talk IN THE THIRD PERSON, you do not have "your people" contact the Cavs. BE A MAN. You've showed that you're NOT a champion, because champions don't need other superstars. The Lakers were not great because of the stars, the Lakers were great because of each other. Michael Jordan MADE Scottie Pippen better (remember, too, Scottie Pippen cried like a baby and sat on the bench because he wasn't getting the last shot). Larry Bird MADE the guys around him better. Tim Duncan MADE the guys around him better. You, young man, are a whiny little child that didn't get your way. Perhaps what we were all Witnesses to was your inability to live up to the hype. You will never be Kobe Bryant. You will never be Michael Jordan. You are nothing but an accessory on Dwayne Wade's team.
In closing, Cleveland Fan, I offer this: when the Miami sHeat comes to town next season. Go. All of you. Pack em in. Wear the wine and gold proudly. Say nothing. No cheers. No boos. Absolute silence. He doesn't deserve your boos. Save your boos for the likes of Joakim Noah, who bashed the city...and Lebron said nothing in our defense. Burn his stuff. It was your money that paid for it. You've already pissed it away. Burn it. It's just stuff, you don't actually need it anyway.
