Drought over, doubt over: Does Cavaliers' victory mean more optimism and less dread when it comes to Cleveland sports?
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The “Kiss Cam” reached its conclusion and there was LeBron James, pressing his lips against the shiny, gold Larry O’Brien trophy.
Fans at Progressive Field cheered. Then they cheered some more. In fact, they haven’t ceased the cheering.
The positive energy in Cleveland is palpable. Fans young and old flooded the streets of downtown after the Cavaliers’ Game 7 triumph. More than 1 million lined the sidewalks to watch the parade. Streams of fans continue to flock to the Cavaliers’ team shop and to the countless local T-shirt companies, which can’t print new, championship designs fast enough.
Winning is now part of the Cleveland sports fabric, it seems. No Cleveland team has sputtered since the Cavs evened the NBA Finals at three games apiece. The Indians have rattled off 11 consecutive victories. Moving forward, will the sense of belief outweigh the assumption of inevitable failure?
It used to be the other way around. Cleveland fans have been loyal, despite 52 years of athletic missteps. But their hope was always tested. Their faith was challenged by every fumble, every error, every untimely injury and every botched draft pick.
They’ve endured every variation of heartbreak in the most critical moments, which explains why, for some, the prevailing thought has been: “I’ll believe it when I see it.” Cleveland sports teams have been considered guilty of failing their fans before they have a chance to prove themselves innocent.
“We’ve been conditioned to have disappointments,” said Phil Lesage, a longtime Cleveland fan who attended the Cavs’ parade, “so we’re a little gun-shy to start celebrating with a minute left.”
Lesage said that once Kyrie Irving nailed a go-ahead 3-pointer, he kept saying, “We got this.”
“Well,” he added, “a Cleveland-style ‘We got this."”
That style includes a clarifier meant to convey apprehension, something along the lines of, “We got this, I think,” or, “We got this, maybe.”
“[We think], ‘What’s going to go wrong to make us have another black mark?"” Lesage said.
‘Only in Cleveland’ has a sweet, new meaning
Did the Cavs, though, shake that attitude from everyone’s conscience? Might the “woe is us” mentality dissipate, or at least take a lengthy hiatus? Will the positive vibes spread across the Gateway Plaza? An 11-game winning streak certainly helps foster optimism.
Has the Cavs’ odds-defying feat altered what we consider to be the realm of possibility for a Cleveland sports team? Maybe the ending of the championship drought will also remove that nettlesome sense of doubt.
After all, Cleveland is due for a championship flood. Those who pleaded for one Cleveland championship before their demise can now increase their demands.
In Cleveland, anything is now possible.
Parade offers justification for those who maintained hope
Drought over, doubt over: Does Cavaliers" victory mean more optimism and less dread when it comes to Cleveland sports?
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