The Life of a Cleveland Sports Fan

I live in Massachusetts now and most people around here can sort of relate to the heartache that comes with being raised a fan of Cleveland sports. Prior to the last 8 or 9 years, Boston/New England hadn't won anything in quite a long time either.  But since, Jesus-Christ have these fans been blessed.  Between the Pats, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics, there is constantly something to be excited about in these parts. 

I have been here for about 3 years and while I do root for the teams here, I don't bleed their colors like I do for the Cleveland teams and I don't think I ever will.  I would be excited to see the Sox win the series this year but nothing near the tear-jerking, holding back vomit, weight of the world off of my shoulders, utter-jubilation that would ensue if a Cleveland team managed one championship in my lifetime.  To this point, I live 10 minutes from Foxborough, where one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the game plays for one of the greatest game planning coaches in the history of the game and I watch the Browns on DirecTV instead. 

I find it amazing, that I am 30 years old and no Cleveland team has won any sort of title throughout my entire life.  Statistically, this seems about as likely as me being attacked by a shark and a bear on the same afternoon.  I find it absolutely amazing.

Below is a rundown of what exactly pops into my head, immediately when asked..  "What's it like to be a Cleveland Sports Fan?" 

The Fumble:
I remember being 7 and watching the Browns score what had to have been the game clinching touchdown vs. Denver in the AFC Championship that was going to put them in their first ever Super Bowl.  Only to watch John Elway destroy the Brown's number 1 ranked defense that season and score a tying touchdown with 2 seconds left on the clock.  Then watching Denver win it in overtime.  I remember being happy that we had gotten that close and wondering why my father was threatening to kick the television through the wall. 

The Shot:
I remember when I was 9 years old.  I did not miss a single game of that Cavaliers season.  I learned most of what I know now about basketball watching Mark Price and Brad Daugherty and Larry Nance take on anyone who would challenge them and usually win.  Then Jordan hit the shot over Craig Ehlo and in 2.2 seconds, at 9 years old, I learned how bitter of a pill it is to be a Cleveland Sports Fan.  I remember being 9 and wondering why in the hell Lenny Wilkins had decided to have Craig Ehlo check the greatest player in the history of the NBA with the season on the line. I hyperventilated for about 5 minutes.

The Blown Save:
I remember being 17 and watching Jose Mesa trot in from the bullpen for the Indians in game 7 of the World Series against the Florida Marlins.  Mind you, Jose Mesa, hadn't really been touched all season in a save situation.  However, on this night, me and 20 of my closest friends watched as Edgar Renteria lined a single, inches over Mesa's glove into center field, scoring two and ending the World Series for the Tribe.  I remember watching as my normally boyserous, outspoken friends leave my house in silence, almost a state of shock. I didn't sleep for 3 days.

The Decision:
I remember my 30th birthday, July 8th, thinking, there is no fucking way, Lebron James is going to go on ESPN tonight, on a show called "The Decision" and leave Cleveland.  Not today, not on my 30th birthday.  After all, who could possibly be that big of a scum-sucking douche bag?  And then after one sentence... "I'll be taking my talents to South Beach", I nearly vomited my birthday cake onto my 48 inch flat screen.  I remember being too pissed off to be pissed off.  Which is an emotion only a Cleveland sports fan can relate to.

There are plenty of honorable mentions to this list; namely The Quit. When Lebron just decided to mail it in during the Boston Series in the 2009-2010 playoffs.  Or even the "Other Shot" where Jordan buried an impossible, fall away, 20 footer over Gerald Wilkins to end the Cavs season for another year. You can also add "The Meltdown" when the Indians took a 3-0 Series lead against the Red Sox only to lose 4 games in a row in the ALCS, knocking them out of the World Series.  I would mention "The Fumble", Ernyst Byner’s famous fumble at the 1 yard line vs. Denver in the AFC Championship Game, ending the Browns season, but I was like 4 and don't remember it happening, thank god. 

Rooting for Cleveland sports teaches one to deal with heart-wrenching disappointment at an early age.  These are emotional scars usually reserved for people in their late 30's that I began accumulating inside of me before I knew long division.  Recently, I have been asking myself, how much happier would I be as a sports fan, if I had been born and raised in Pittsburgh or Boston or New York or anywhere but Cleveland?  Why did I have to be part of this demographic of pain and disappointment?   Why did my parents have to park me in front of my first Brown's and Indians and Cavs game?  Why did I love it?  Why do I still love it?   What the hell is wrong with me?

The answer is this; there are a couple of million people in the Cleveland/Akron/Canton/Elyria/Mentor/Lakewood market that have had the same heartbreaks that I have experienced.  And when the Browns win a Super Bowl or the Indians win a World Series or the Cavaliers win an NBA Championship, it would be a million times sweeter than a team winning their 8th Superbowl or a team winning it's 3rd World Series in 10 years or the Yankees winning their 500th World Series. It would be a celebration unlike anything this country has ever seen on Euclid Avenue.  A collective gorilla being lifted off of the backs of millions of people in an economically depressed region.  A team would instantly be heralded the greatest ever in the eyes of so many championship starved fans.  It would be terrifyingly fantastic; it would be heaven on East 9th.  For this reason and this hope, I will die a Cleveland Sports Fan...  Hopefully, they win a championship by then.