Another sad King Cavalier
There’s always next year.
I really thought it might continue. The Thriller’s Black Hawks won the Stanley Cup, and I hoped it might be my turn to back a championship team of my own as well. Alas…
Why? Why do we feel such affinity towards a sports team? Why do we take their losses so hard and so personally? The reasons are plentiful, according to which opinion you read, but I guess mine centers around pride for an area that has certainly seen its share of hard luck, and for which a pro sports championship has not been won since I was five years old. It doesn’t matter which Cleveland sport you choose; the result is the same. They’re snake-bit, but that doesn’t stop the hope train from roaring to life at the opening tip/pitch/kickoff of each season. You’d think I’d be tired of that scenario after 35+ years. Naaah.
Being a sports fan is a dubious undertaking. A fan spends enormous stores of energy for an event over which he or she has absolutely zero control, and whose identity the favored players on the chosen team will likely never know. Reading derogatory comments after a stunning loss (and oh my, they are in plentiful supply on the Cavs social media pages this morning) hurts, offends, enrages. Why do we take it so personally? OK, why do I take it so personally? What will a championship win really do for me, and why would I most certainly feel a party to it being won, as if I might have had something to do with it?
As a Cleveland fan, I’ve endured unending jabs at school, mostly by students whose favorite teams have beaten “us” the night before. (I’m used to it, believe me.) Many behave as if they owned the winning team, and were paying back some long-ago slight by smashing my team into the dust. The hubris. The nerve. How dare they trounce my perennial chumps?
I know. I’m just jealous and disappointed and, quite possibly, a sore loser. Of course there are other things in life to celebrate, and I’ll get over this. That’s how it always goes — ask me how I know. I’m looking on the bright side, as Vegas odds have predicted what every Cavs fan wants to hear, but again, it’s Cleveland, so…
The Curse continues, but hey, at least we dominate one ESPN list. Yeah!
Life goes on, ja? The milk’s on the floor — no amount of boo-hoo is going to make last night un-happen. At any rate, I can relax and not worry about a Game 7. Time to enjoy the summer for real! The Js last night and today, the A-Team Thursday and Friday all day — a good week ahead, even though it’s already Wednesday. Hope yours is good, too, especially if you’re a Warriors fan. *sigh*
Pity party over. Time for breakfast. Go Cavs!
It certainly was a tough loss to watch as a Cavs fan. I read somewhere a great synopsis of the series “…the best team beat the best player” and I think that is very apropos.
Hopefully the ownership will see the need to upgrade the talent around LBJ during the off season; and just maybe the injury “bug” will stay away next year.
Enjoy the kids, enjoy the Summer! Peace!
People treat the second best team in all of the NBA with disdain just because they’re disappointed? What? Realistically, I think the CAVS did remarkably well in the face of tremendous adversity. We’ll never know what the outcome would have been if Kyrie and Love had been able to play, but it probably would have been better. My that’s off to the CAVS. I’ll continue as a die hard CUBS fan. As such, I’m stubbornly familiar with the “wait until next year” mantra. Sigh!
Agreed, men — as the Thriller said the other night, only two teams out of 30 make it that far, so I’m happy about that. The sting is wearing off a bit as of today.
But it’s always been the case with LBJ that there is uncertainty every summer. I hope he doesn’t drag Cleveland fans through all that again, as Gilbert lays out upwards of $110M just for salary.
Bron and Love didn’t really hit it off (either on or off the court), so since they’re now asking James’s opinion on who they should get, that could be interesting. He has back and shoulder probs, and is quite expensive, so it’ll be interesting to see what LBJ says, especially since he was so hot on getting Love last year.
I really thought when they got Love he and Bron were going to do great things; simply because Love was such a great spot up shooter and Bron such a great passer. No so; which underscores that team chemistry is so crucial for the long run.
Football soon….