When LeBron James announced he was coming home to Cleveland two years ago, I bought ice cream sandwiches for the newsroom. The Celtics fans in the room grudgingly accepted the free snack and sent me on my way back to my desk.
I texted my brother in California.
“I see a Cavs game in our future.”
We met up in Cleveland with my mom and sister and headed to an early season game that November. Having grown up an hour east of Cleveland, we have been die-hard fans since birth. Much to our disappointment, later that season the Cavs lost to Golden State in the NBA Finals.
Maybe next year.
Ah, the familiar refrain of Cleveland fans everywhere. Browns, Indians, Cavs. The Drive. The Fumble. Need I go on?
Since the Browns took the title in 1964 — six years before I was born — it’s been a lot of heartache and disappointment. Yeah, there were good times, too.
One of the great memories for my dad, who died last year, was being able to go to a World Series game in Cleveland in the 1990s. He was a huge Indians fan, one of the types who preferred the radio announcers to the TV guys, whom he believed were always in the bag for the opposing team.
And, through the years, dad’s belief that nothing good ever happened to Cleveland sports teams made the chip on my shoulder feel heavier and heavier. After LeBron left in 2010 to go to Miami, I was one of the fans who read “The Whore of Akron: One Man’s Search for the Soul of LeBron James” and actively rooted for Oklahoma City when they played Miami in the finals.
Then LeBron came back. And this year, they made it to the NBA Finals again.
For Game 1, my brother, mom, sister and I were together again to watch a game, this time on TV at a hotel bar in Los Angeles. Since then, we’ve watched games together through text messages.
June 8, Game 3
My brother: “Let’s hope the Cavs have something left for the next game.”
My sister: “Hanging tough so far.”
June 10, Game 4
Me: “Good 1st q. Have to question ‘Little China Girl’ as music heading to commercial.”
My brother: “Lol. Good call on the bumper music.”
My sister: “Well? Not too bad?”
Me: “I say good!”
My sister: “Yes, we will take it.”
June 19, Game 7
My brother: “Unreal!! History made.”
Me: “Yes!!!!!”
So I guess it’s time to head back out for some more ice cream sandwiches for the newsroom. And, next time I introduce myself as a Cleveland fan living in New England, I’ll drop “long suffering” from the description.
Susan Cover is the Kennebec Journal city editor. She has been a fan of all things Cleveland since her birth in 1970, the year the Cavs joined the NBA.
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