Joy at Cavs win a family memory to treasure: Mark D. Jones (Opinion)
What the Cavs did Sunday night was more than just win a championship. They gave us a new memory. But this memory is one we won’t want to forget.
Our house went crazy. I’m surprised I’m still alive. My blood pressure was off the charts! I was a nervous wreck pacing back and forth during each commercial break, and squirming in my seat like a kid on a road trip desperate for a bathroom. I could barely take the stress.
But, when the buzzer sounded, all of us (minus my 7-year-old daughter Kate, who was upstairs asleep, but who later awoke due to our extremely loud celebration) darted out the door like Jay Jay the Jet Plane, screaming, shouting and running around in our yard and driveway! It was awesome! I can’t imagine what our neighbors thought.
As a kid growing up in north-central Ohio, I remember sitting on my parents’ bed with my dad or Grandpa Crown, watching on my parents’ 13-inch black-and-white TV (yes, black and white) as the Browns, Indians, and Cavs lost game after game.
I remember in my teen years taking a couple road trips to watch Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, Craig Ehlo, Larry Nance, Ron Harper, and the rest of the Cavs at the old Richfield Coliseum.
I’m old enough to remember watching, not replays, but the actual moments of “The Drive”, “The Fumble”, “The Shot”, “’95 & ’97.” I remember as a kid at Christmastime, visiting my Grandpa & Grandma Crown, who lived outside of Cleveland. I remember crying with friends in their living room after the Indians blew Game 7 in the ’97 World Series. I was 24.
Trust me, there were moments I wished I could not be a Cleveland sports fan. But that is impossible, because there’s a loyalty to Cleveland that is impossible to shake. At least, for me there is. It’s a loyalty not only to the city and teams, but more so to the people and memories attached to Cleveland sports.
So now, nearly 20 years after the ’97 tears, to have our beloved Cleveland Cavaliers, with LeBron James at the helm, bring us a championship brought a world of emotion. Yes, I know it’s just sports, and yes, there are more important things. Totally agree.
But I will enjoy this moment, and not apologize.
You see, it’s not just about Cleveland winning it’s first championship in more than 50 years. Yes, that is awesome. Don’t get me wrong. I love it, and still can’t believe it!
But for me, Sunday’s win is also about the memories of family and friends associated with Cleveland sports. To win a championship, and to win the way they did, sent me into a world of emotion, and into a trip down memory lane. The championship win also gave me a new Cleveland sports memory. Not just the new memory of a historical sports moment of a Cleveland championship (although that’s amazing), but the new memory of sharing the momentous victory with my family running around, with my sons, my daughters, my wife acting like crazy hooligans, hugging, jumping, screaming, and shouting.
Thank you, Cavs! You not only gave us a championship, but also a memory with people we love and a memory we can share together for the rest of our lives! #CAVSWIN
Mark D. Jones hails from north-central Ohio and currently lives in Cincinnati with his wife and four children. A version of this op-ed was first posted on Jones’ Facebook page.
Joy at Cavs win a family memory to treasure: Mark D. Jones (Opinion)
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