Paula Creamer Goes “Nova”
July 11, 2008How About Some Links…
July 11, 2008…Do we have to change our URL?
How apropos would it be of Cleveland sports if Bernie Kosar moves a two-win Arena Football League team to Cleveland and it wins a championship? Alanis Morrisette would have to revise Ironic, as it would be simply mind-blowing. First the Cleveland Barons, then Force, and now an AFL team in its first year of existence?
Count us in on ESPN’s Titletown USA!
As you may or may not know, the Gladiators are one win away from their first ever Arena Bowl. The only roadblock in their way are the wavy locks of Jon Bon Jovi and his franchise, the Philadelphia Soul.
Terry Pluto wrote an all-encompasing piece on Raymond Philyaw in today’s edition of the Plain Dealer, discussing the many attributes of a guy who takes hits that would make Tim Couch look unscathed. If he were just tall enough, we would likely see him at the next level. However, the vertically challenged quarterback (he’s listedat 5’10”) has spent seven years on the short field, hitting receivers that get to start their routes pre-snap.
Not to get ahead of myself, but by no stretch of the imagination would a Gladiator championship quench the thirst of Cleveland fans. Would it increase the popularity of the sport in this town? Sure. We would see a bump from the 10-14,000 people that witness the home games, perhaps a little more coverage, and even more promotions. But in no way would a title be sufficient enough for the fans of this championshipless city.
A city that has witnessed John Elway pull the carpet out from underneith their collective feet. We have witnessed Jose Mesa blowing the Vegas odds out of the water. Dare I even mention Joel Skinner holding Kenny Lofton at third while Manny Ramirez was still bending down to pick up a soft grounder to left? And don’t get me started on Jordan/Ehlo…
It’s unfortunate that a win that would be so important to an entire organization of people would be qualified as “nice, but…” by the town. But I guess that is just the way things are until the Browns, Cavaliers or Indians (ha!) take the next step in winning. Until then, Philyaw (as good as he is), will just be grouped in with Hector Marinaro, Zoran Karic, and Bill Needham.
10 Comments
I’m sorry. I certainly hope that the Gladiators do well, it’s just that I’m not investing in another team. Between the Buckeyes, Browns, Indians, and Cavs I’m lucky to still be married….
False.
Your Titletown reference made me throw up in my mouth a little. Maybe the starting QB who ends up with 8 TDs and 4 INTs will be part of next year’s “Who’s Now?”
Given the fact that #19 is the team president, this seems appropriate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX7FKDI-fGQ
Unfortunately, nobody will care. It will be exactly like the Cleveland Crunch, anybody remember them?
I know Ill be rooting for them though.
haha yeah i was just thinking about the Crunch too.
I think the Gladiators are a serious improvement over them though-if only because it is (a form of) football, and thats more of our kind of sport.
I dont follow these guys like I do the Cavs, Browns or Indians (regardless of the pain it brings these days), but I have watched a few of the games, especially during the playoffs, and they are certainly entertaining. As everyone else has mentioned, it won’t be a cure to anything. But is certainly something to smile about, and the Tribe certainly isn’t providing many smiles at the moment…
alex and zach, i thought the same thing.
my roommate and i were watching the gladiators game the other day and he was like “how weird would it be if the gladiators won it all?” and i brought up how the crunch won like 6 straight indoor titles in the 90s and he said “i didnt even know they were still a team then.”
the gladiators winning is like using a bandaid to cure cancer
The Curse of Chief Wahoo might allow for a Gladiators or Lake Erie Monsters championship — if only to mock us, like using a band-aid to cure cancer — but Cleveland won’t win a major sports championship until Wahoo is retired.
http://www.clevelandfrowns.com/2008/06/curse-of-chief-wahoo.html
I respectfully disagree frowns. Good luck with your crusade…but I’m keeping the Wahoo.
You’re far from the only one who disagrees, many much less respectfully. Would be happy to be proven wrong on the curse, but look at what keeps happening to our teams. There are a lot of dead Natives buried in these parts.