As I'm sure everyone has heard, Lebron James announced last night that he was going to sign with the Miami Heat. In the past, I've written in my blog how excited I was at the possibility that Lebron might come to Chicago to play for the Bulls. After watching the hour long special on ESPN where Lebron made his announcement, I actually found my self feeling more sorry for the sports fans of Cleveland than I was disappointed by his choice not to play in Chicago.
Being a Cubs fan, I have had my fair share of sports heart break, but at least I have been lucky enough to witness 1 Bears Super Bowl victory (and another Super Bowl appearance), 6 Bulls championships and most recently, the 2010 Stanley Cup victory of the Blackhawks. I even got to see a Chicago baseball team win the World Series in 2005 (even if it was the wrong Chicago team). If you are a Cleveland sports fan, the last time you saw one of your teams win a title was in 1964 when the Cleveland Browns won the NFL Championship. This is not a typo---I didn't write Super Bowl, because this was 3 years before Super Bowl I was even played! The Indians haven't won a World Series since 1948---the only team that has waited longer for a World Series trophy is my beloved Cubs.
Not only has Cleveland had the longest championship drought of any major city, but they have also suffered some of the most memorable and demoralizing loses that I can recall. I remember as kid watching the Browns lose to the Broncos in back to back seasons (1987 and 1988) in games that are better know as "the drive" and "the fumble". Then of course,you can't mention devastating Cleveland loses without bringing up what is simply know as "the shot", which coincidentally was one of my favorite sports memories growing up as a young Bulls fan. Any Cleveland fans reading this have likely punched holes through their monitors already, but if you've somehow made it this far, you will be relieved to know that Major League Baseball has no interest in using the internet to promote the history of their sport, so I was unable find a clip of Jose Mesa's blown save in game 7 of the 1997 World Series. I won't even get into the saga concerning the only man who may rival Lebron as public enemy #1 in Cleveland, Art Modell.
You can now add Lebron James' departure from Cleveland to the list of heartbreaking moments for the sports fans of that city. To lose arguably the biggest sports hero in the city of Cleveland since the great Jim Brown, just as he hits the prime of his career ranks right up there with "the drive", "the fumble" and "the shot" as far as painful loses go. The next time I get ready to post a rant about how terribly the Cubs are playing, I'll pause for a minute and remember that it could be worse. I could have been born a Cleveland sports fan.
