Cleveland Cavaliers Lose In Playoffs; In Other News, Grass Is Green
Whether you love or hate LeBron James and/or the Cleveland Cavaliers, at some point you have to start feeling sorry for Cleveland fans. I mean there are many cities with long traditions of losing professional sports franchises, but Cleveland really is the worst. Here in Chicago, the Cubs and White Sox went about 100 years without winning a championship, but at least they fielded decent teams once or twice a decade. Cleveland had some good baseball teams in the 1990s but other than that have not won a major sports championship since the Browns in 1964.
What must that do to a fan base’s psyche? As a Cubs fan, I know the heartache of terrible management, coaching and players, but at least in recent years there have been signs that competent management exists in the organization (see: MacPhail, McDonough, Hendry). Where I always feel like the Cubbies will “get it done next year”, Cleveland fans lost that optimism years ago.
With the Cavs this year, things were different though. This isn’t the same old “have no shot at a title” Cleveland team. This is a team led by the best player in basketball that absolutely torched the entire league all season. Historically, 
Cleveland is not like the Red Sox in how they were so close so many times but just couldn’t get over the hump. Besides the Indians of 1997, Cleveland has just been shitty year in and year out. Playoff droughts and losing seasons are par for the course. Even though this was different, it seems the reaction from the city had a familiar tone to it. A story on TrueHoop yesterday summarizes Cavs fans emotions very well:
But all over the Web, more than anything, Cavalier fans seem to be as supportive as every of their team. They’re not accusing anyone of anything. Instead they are grabbing their plates, and lining up for yet another trip to the buffet of disappointment.
28 NBA teams have already been eliminated. But in this one, more than any other, such an event can feel like destiny fulfilled.
And so the heartbreak carries on, and Cleveland fans are so disillusioned with their respective sports franchises that they can’t even appreciate that they still have at least one more shot at an NBA title, after which LeBron may or may not leave as a free agent. Pride and faith in my Chicago teams, through thick and thin, has always brought tons of joy to my life. I just hope Cleveland fans can find that joy someday, and the faith…well I probably wouldn’t have that either if I were them, but maybe an NBA Championship in 2010 could turn that around.
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