Cavalier Fans Need to Focus on Cleveland, Leave Miami Alone

The Miami Heat lost the NBA Finals.

For many, those are sweet, sweet words to hear.

Let's face it, every basketball purist was cheering for the Dallas Mavericks, the team over the individuals, the good over the perceived evil.

Like any good-hearted Disney classic, the good guys won and the villains were vanquished, if only for a little while.  Outside of Dallas, perhaps no one celebrated as much as the Cleveland Cavaliers fanbase.

This is quite understandable, as Yahoo! Sports columnist Dan Wetzel probably put it best when he said, "This was the girlfriend that dumped you getting dumped herself—only live in HD while an entire city toasted her comeuppance."

Cleveland had every right to cheer for the Mavericks, or against the Heat, whichever way you choose to look at it. 

They were scorned, embarrassed, humiliated and tossed aside like any ex goes through during a highly publicized break-up.

However, Cavs fans, it's time to move on.  My message and challenge is this: shift your focus.

Many of us have never witnessed a championship in the city in our lifetimes.  For Cleveland, watching the Heat lose the finals or the Pittsburgh Steelers lose the Super Bowl is like a championship to us.

This needs to change.

While it's always nice to see rival teams lose, it's even more sweet to see your own team win.

Clevelanders need to shift their focus to the upcoming NBA draft on June 23rd when the Cavaliers own four picks, including the first and fourth overall selections.  They need to support and welcome with open arms Kyrie Irving, Derrick Williams, Enes Kanter or whomever the Cavaliers decide to draft that night.

They need to shift their focus on the young talent on the court in Cleveland this fall, the great coach we have in Byron Scott, tremendous general manager Chris Grant and the passionate owner Dan Gilbert, and not care so much what the Heat are doing.

Everyone in America has witnessed Cleveland's passion for turning on those who have wronged them.  What we need to remind them of is the way we so lovingly embrace those who fight for the city.

Players such as Bernie Kosar, Kenny Lofton, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Omar Vizquel are always cheered and admired for the years and service dedicated to the Cavs, Indians and Browns, yet the media never mentions them when pointing out Cleveland's reaction to players who leave.

We need to remind them.

As nice as it was to see the Heat lose, the reality is they have five years left together, all in the prime of their careers.  Miami won 58 games in their first year together.  Imagine what they'll be doing in year three, four or even five when years of chemistry all comes together.

Miami is far from done.

So Cleveland, you have two options.

One, you can continue to focus your energy on badmouthing the Heat, gather together in bars to celebrate their losses, continue making jokes and t-shirts and websites all designed to tear down the Miami organization, just like the media wants you to do.

Or second, you can stand up for your own team, cheer like hell at the upcoming NBA draft when Cleveland's future is assembled, and believe that management is doing everything they can so that one day all of America will be cheering for Cleveland just like they were Dallas, should they meet Miami in the playoffs down the road.

Cavaliers fans, we've had our fun.  Miami lost and the road to recovery and an NBA championship can officially begin again.

Shift your focus on building up the good city of Cleveland, and remind America just how well we can support a winner once again.