Cleveland is such a sad sports town and I love it. Being a Steelers fan allows me to watch them usually demolish the Browns on a yearly basis and it is fun for me. I am also a Miami Heat fan (pre-Lebron, when Wade arrived) and it was so much fun to watch the Cavaliers rot into nothing after Lebron James put the dagger in their heart.
Although I find a lot of joy in the fact that Cleveland as a sports city is awful, it is hard not to feel bad for them sometimes. Here is a little history:
THE BROWNS
The Browns have never been to the Super Bowl and their last NFL Championship was in 1964. In 1987-89, they went to the AFC Championship and lost to the Broncos all three times. Since 1990, the Browns have been to the playoffs twice, losing in 1994 and 2002 to the Pittsburgh "Six-Time Super Bowl Champion Best Team Ever" Steelers. (Sorry if I was a little biased there). It is safe to say that if you are a Browns fan that you have to be suicidal at this point.
THE CAVALIERS
Another sob story. The Cavs have made the playoffs a lot more than the Browns, but still have failed to obtain a championship. Their only deep playoff run before 2005 was in 1991, where they lost to a Bulls team led by a man named Michael Jordan in the conference final.
ENTER LEBRON JAMES
The King arrives in 2003. Born in Akron, Ohio, James was essentially playing in his hometown. Cleveland fans adored Lebron and were confident that he could take the Cavs to a championship level...and he did.
It only took him four seasons to get to the NBA Finals where the Cavs were set to face a veteran San Antonio Spurs with a lot of championship experience.
Lebron could not deliver the title yet, but Cleveland was willing to wait for him to do it. Then, their best player quit on them when he became a free agent.
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EXIT LEBRON JAMES
The Cavs were 19-63 this season and last in the Eastern Conference. Ouch.
THE INDIANS
The last time the Indians won the World Series was in 1948. They appeared in the World Series in 1995 and 1997, but lost both times. They took a Game 7 vs. the Marlins in '97 to extra innings before losing, which to me seems to be the most brutal Cleveland sports memory of all time.
To most, it seems as if maybe Cleveland sports are cursed and will always be awful. But I, even as the Cleveland-hater that I am, can say that soon enough this ship is going to turn around.
The Indians are currently 25-13 and sit atop of the AL Central almost forty games into the season.
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| Winning. |
The Browns just had a great draft, where they got Baylor defensive tackle Phil Taylor, who I happen to think is going to give the Steelers offensive line fits next season (if there is a next season). Every creditable source of draft coverage loved what the Browns did and expect it to lead to a brighter future.
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| Quarterbacks Beware: This guy will be in your face all day. |
Then, on Tuesday, May 17, 2011, the Sports Gods decided to try to do something special for the city after the departure of a basketball hero one season ago. The Cavaliers won the 2011 NBA Draft Lottery, giving them the first pick in this years' draft. The first pick was acquired from a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers this season. They also have the fourth pick in the draft.
The Cavs have their pick of the litter.They could go to Kemba Walker, a guy fresh off a national championship with the Connecticut Huskies, or Kyrie Irving, a solid guard that sat out a lot of last year with an injury but still has very high hopes as an NBA prospect. Maybe both?
Anyway you try to spin it, its hard to say that Cleveland does not have a few things to be really excited about for the future of all their professional franchises. Most other cities that go through this would have me writing an inspirational story about how "right now could be their time to shine" or "look out for this feel good story."
Not this story. I hate this story. I wish I was not writing this. I like Cleveland just the way it is, but sadly things are probably going to take a big change.
But before all you Cleveland fans start bragging about all this, just remember one thing:
You guys still suck.
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