What an NBA Championship Would Mean to Cleveland
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers are officially in uncharted territory.
Never before have the Cavs been leading an NBA Finals series. Never before have they captured a victory on Cleveland's home court. Heck, up until a few days ago, they had gone 46 years without winning a Finals game, period.
Yet, here they are, 2-1 over the Golden State Warriors entering Thursday's all-important Game 4. Going up 3-1 could prove to be a crushing blow to the Warriors. Even a 2-2 split would be an accomplishment given the current personnel.
For a tortured fanbase haunted by so many past failures, this is a remarkably resilient group.
"We root for our teams no matter what. Obviously, there hasn't been a lot to cheer about in the past few years, but people still show up to games," explained Josh, a local Boys & Girls Club sports director. "It would be great to finally have the vindication and to get rid of the 'Cleveland never wins' mantra. To not be the butt of every joke about losing."
Now, hope is everywhere in Cleveland, formerly a burial ground for positivity.
Even for the team's watch parties, with the Cavaliers playing 2,500 miles away, thousands of fans line up early to file into Quicken Loans Arena.
"This is the fifth watch party I've been to," said Kenny from Akron, the first person in line prior to Game 2. "The energy in the arena is unbelievable. It's sweet to be around other fans."
When pointing out that it was still nearly an hour-and-a-half before tipoff, he said, "I've already been here about two hours. I came on Thursday an hour before and the line was already so long, so we came early this time."
So lies the spirit of Cleveland.
"Cleveland has been through the ringer," explained WEWS chief meteorologist Mark Johnson (who's recently become an Internet sensation). "The businesses move away and things change so we latch on to our sports teams for hope, for escape and for fun. We get very passionate and get very connected to them.
"It's psychological. Long-suffering Cleveland sports fans think that the universe is out to get us. We're all waiting for the next ball to drop. The next bad thing to happen to our Cleveland sports teams. A championship would officially break that cycle. It would be a cure to what ails us. We're all Cleveland championship virgins."
A title would certainly make all the difference to the mindset of fans that have been through nearly every heartbreak imaginable. Still, Cleveland fans are considered some of the most loyal in all three major sports.
"It's their passion. Their passion for sports, their passion for their players that represent their teams. It's one of the most passionate sports towns in the country," said Kenny Roda, a 29-year veteran of Cleveland media and current sports talk host on WHBC Canton.
"I know a lot of other cities are going to say that. It's the most passionate sports town that hasn't won jack squat. They've suffered more than any other city in America and that's why, when they finally do win a championship—and hopefully it's this year with the Cavaliers—they'll appreciate more than any other city that's won a championship because of the drought."
That well-documented drought has reached 51 years. The Cavaliers have gone 44-plus seasons without a title. The Cleveland Browns, the city's last champion in 1964, have never won or even been to a Super Bowl (they won the NFL Championship). The Cleveland Indians did capture a couple of World Series crowns, but none have occurred since 1948.
Fans are aware of the history. So are former coaches and players.
That doesn't mean they didn't enjoy their time here.
"That was probably the best seven years of my life," Craig Ehlo, Cavaliers shooting guard from 1986-93, said.
"It's such a hard-working town. It's not really a white-collar town, mostly hard hats and lunch pails. The fans are rugged, passionate, not afraid to talk to you and are so supportive because sports are their outlet. They love sports. It gives them a sense of pride. They're just hard workers that love supporting their teams, win, lose or draw. If it turned into a bar fight, they would be there to support you. They had my back."
Ehlo, of course, was front and center for one of the city's greatest collapses. The primary defender on Michael Jordan in Game 5 of the 1989 Eastern Conference opening round, what's now known as "The Shot" knocked the heavily favored Cavs from the playoffs.
In a strange and mysterious way, however, Ehlo refers to that as his best recollection as a Cavalier due to the connection it created with the fans.
"When Michael got the ball and made the shot, it just took our hearts and ripped them out. It was dead quiet. You might say that's a bad memory, but it's actually the best memory I had, because the fans felt the pain of the loss just like I did. I felt great because if I went out, no one said, 'Gosh darn it, why didn't you do this or do that?' It was just, 'Hey, you guys are paying your dues, you're going to make it next year.' With the fans being so supportive, that was my best memory."
Ehlo, who now lives in Spokane, Washington, regularly attends the Cavaliers' summer charity golf outings and admits that his heart "is definitely in Cleveland."
Why is such a player, primarily known nationwide for being part of the black eye of Cleveland sports history, loved instead of loathed?
"It's the nature of the city. They understand their support is so important to the success of their teams," said Mike Fratello, Cavaliers coach from 1993-99 and current TNT NBA analyst. "They've suffered pain and suffering from generation to generation. Cleveland fans are special. They've gone through a lot of tough times. They're proud of their teams and show it full-heart.
"Players talk about taking their game to another level (in the playoffs. It's the same with the fans. There's a craze that takes over the city. That's what everyone talks about at work, at lunch. It's all about the playoffs and the opportunity to win."
Although winning doesn't happen all too often on the shores of Lake Erie, when it does, fans recognize and reward it.
"If you've ever played in Cleveland and had some success, they treat you in such a way that, you know, it's just a special place," said Mark Price, Cavs point guard from 1986-95. "Playing there nine years myself and playing on some good teams, I developed a relationship with the city of Cleveland. I just really enjoyed playing for their franchise and being a part of that environment."
That environment has gone from one of misery and defeat in recent years to hope and optimism ever since LeBron James announced his return home last summer.
Now just a pair of wins away from the first championship in over half a century, Cleveland has been infused with new life, even if the fans never gave up hope.
"It would mean, as LeBron said, everything. It would mean absolutely everything," Roda said. "All the pain, the list—what other city lists their failures? The Shot, The Drive, the Fumble, the '95 and '97 World Series. The list goes on and on.
"If LeBron and the Cavs were able to end that drought, Clevelanders would be able to stick out their chest with Cleveland across the front of it proudly and pound their chest and feel like other cities have felt, as a true champion. Not that they're not proud of their city, because they are, but it would mean that much more to them and the waiting would be over. The celebration, I can't even imagine it. It would be sports-talk nirvana for me as a talk show host. The city would go absolutely crazy, and we're all hopeful that they can get it done in the next week to 10 days."
Many former Cavs are very much interested in what's about to possibly transpire in Cleveland.
"I'm definitely rooting for Cleveland. As a former player with my jersey hanging in the rafters, I'll always consider myself a Cavalier," said Price, now the head basketball coach at UNC Charlotte.
"I think it's something that obviously as sports fans in the city of Cleveland, it's kind of the monkey that's been on the back for quite a while now. Now with the opportunity to get that off and to win a championship would obviously bring a lot of joy and happiness to the city of Cleveland."
There are so many storylines surrounding James and the Cavs. A title would simply be the final chapter to what's been a historic year.
"I think it would be one of the greatest sports stories in history," Johnson said. "It's a made-for-TV movie. The hometown hero comes back. The guys around him go down with injury. All these unknowns step up to support LeBron."
James, Northeast Ohio's native son and best chance for a title, knows the history of the franchise. He knows what a title would mean for Cleveland and all who wore a Cavaliers jersey before him.
"The first time I met LeBron at one of his camps, before I could even say anything to him, he spit out, 'I can't believe y'all never got to the championship. I watched every game!'" Ehlo said.
"He named all of us. (Brad) Daugherty, Price, (Larry) Nance, (John) Hot Rod (Williams), (Ron) Harper. It just shocked me. He felt like he was part of our team. I just feel like if he actually wins a championship this year, he wants to include everybody that ever wore a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform.
"That banner hanging in the rafter would be for everyone in the organization, regardless of who owned them or who coached them."
Greg Swartz has covered the Cleveland Cavaliers and NBA for Bleacher Report since 2010. All quotes obtained firsthand.
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