Coming off the 2007 NBA season, things were looking promising for the young Cavaliers. That summer we had made our first trip to the Finals against the San Antiono Spurs and despite the loss, the optimism throughout the city was sky high. In my opinion, the following season did not count because that off-season the Boston Celtics formed the big 3 with Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett, and they were a wrecking ball smashing every team on their way to the title. Granted the Cavs did make it interesting forcing a game seven in Boston; nobody truly felt that we had a legitimate shot at beating their big three. The 2009 Cavs season began with the catchy moniker “win a ring for the king,” and they seemed destined for greatness. In fact, based on those legendary commercials featuring the Nike puppets for LeBron and Kobe, the entire league thought it was a foregone conclusion that the Cavs would play the Lakers in the finals that season.
However, as a lifelong Clevelander prone to disappointment, I should have known better.
The Cavs had won a league best 66 games and finished with the best record in the entire league that season. For me personally after recently losing my job, and with no choice but to move back in with my parents, I was looking for any mental escape from my problems of unemployment and homelessness, so focusing my energy on the Cavs was an easy distraction. Game two against the Orlando Magic allowed me to forget all my personal woes. I remember the announcers call after that miraculous shot from Bron like it was yesterday, “[Rashard] Lewis playing off the ball. [Mo Williams] gets it to LeBron, for three, for the win… Yes! LeBron James, at the buzzer.” To say the least, that game was spectacular. With tears of joy flowing down my face, that moment was bliss.
It was not only my circle of friends who were excited, but the mood around the city was ecstatic. From barbershops on Euclid to grocery stores in Brook Park, no matter where you were, everyone had a positive outlook for that Cavs team. So, after the Cavs eventual defeat in six games, it was like shoving a nine-inch blade though the hearts of all fans. Admittedly, as distraught as I was, my Cleveland skepticism protected me from a full-blown cognitive collapse.
Most likely if you’re reading this post, you have some type of connection maybe menial, but that painful loss affected every fan in their own way. Some coped by declaring they’ll never watch the Cavs anymore, others by proclaiming that the city is cursed, and some even expressed the sacrilegious comment that LeBron is overrated; I heard all the possible excuses for that setback. To be frank, those same sentiments may have made it to my vocabulary during one point or another. And you wouldn’t be wrong if you felt the same way, because these emotions are the unfortunate part of being a Cleveland fan.
To make matters worse, that crushing defeat combined with my thoughts of unemployment, I was basically a despondent vagabond. But after I managed to find a decent gig and met my future wife, Brittaniee, two important takeaways came to mind. The first was to remain even keel during every victory or failure. Secondly was a saying that all Cleveland fans should know and remember whenever you find yourself being strung along emotionally; it’s a motto my father would often repeat, “Boy, don’t ever have faith in any of these goddamn teams, that way you won’t eva’ eva' eva' get upset.”
Comments