While We’re Waiting… Cavalier Thumping, Browns in South Beach, New Home for Dunn
December 3, 2010The Browns Will Win If…
December 3, 2010We were told that there were “no friends on the basketball court;” for 48 minutes, it was “all about the [wine] jerseys.” And we have been told that this “young team” will continue to give fans all that they can, continuing to earn their support in a time when winning basketball may not come as easily.
In return, fans came out in droves. Premium-priced seats within Quicken Loans Arena were full with 25 minutes to go before tip-off. Waving towels, chanting unprintable names and making it about their team for the night. Unfortunately, save for a handful of choice moments in the 118-90 loss to the Miami Heat, the respect, passion and All For One mentality was not reciprocated on the faintest of levels.
Allowing LeBron James to score a season-high 38 points at home is one thing. While controllable to a small degree, the undermanned Cavaliers were tasked with defending the two-time MVP for four quarters of basketball. Having a starting lineup combine for nine field goals is also forgivable, one can chalk such up to (another) bad night. But when it came down to items well within their control, the Cavaliers fell way short of fan expectations in terms of respect, unity and a cohesiveness bound by city ties. Instead, several members of “our” Wine and Gold embraced their former teammate, allowing him to stand near his old bench and have friendly chats during timeouts, opting for jokes and ball-busting rather than defending what should have been theirs.
There was no “going for his neck,” as we were told would occur by Daniel Gibson earlier in the week. Sure, Gibson amassed a team-high 21 points on 6-of-14 shooting, but his intra-game embrace of Cleveland’s most abhorred basketball player did not speak highly of the mutual respect which fans had been told was rampant.
“The Cavaliers haven’t went anywhere,” Gibson said in his letter to fans this summer. “We just lost a piece…. Somethings we cant control, But the thing we can control is our passion and our love for city of Cleveland and state of OHIO. And that every single night we take that we floor We Will represent.”
It’s no secret that Gibson and James are friends as the two have talked several times this season. But what is said within phone calls or texts is not displayed in front of 20,000-plus fans, most of which were paying well into three figures for their seat. To use the Mo Williams analogy, Gibson danced with the ex-girlfriend on the night of his wedding.
Following the game, head coach Byron Scott would not say that he was embarrassed in the way his team played. He continues to call them “young,” despite the starting five being an average age of north of 28-years old – the eighth-oldest team in the NBA on a minute-weighted scale. He continues to tell the fans that it’s “very early in the season,” despite the calendar year is end coming in just four weeks. And he continues to say that a lot of the guys in the locker room “haven’t been on a stage” as big as the one which they played on Thursday night when in fact the team has several former All-Stars and nine players who were on the roster when the Cavaliers were in the midst of a championship run.
Team owner Dan Gilbert reportedly left the arena without saying much of anything to anyone, 30 minutes before the media session with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh would even kick off. There is no doubt that Gilbert – who arrived to a cavalcade of cheers – is trying all he can to avoid the wake-up call that was the Heat/Cavaliers game, hoping to keep his ground and ensure that his team does not have to go through the full rebuilding process. But there is also no doubt that this night hit him like a box full of six months of legal findings being thrust upon his head; its tough to ignore a team that is not on the same page in a basketball sense, but even tougher to do so with a team that is not on the same page with in terms of competitive respect.
“I really didn’t see [him by the bench],” Cavs coach Byron Scott said postgame. “I’m not really worried about that,” Scott said. “That stuff is what he does most games.”
And therein lies the problem as Cavs fans wanted this to be a place where James could not get away with such behavior and a top-down embrace of an ideal was the only possible way such would be accomplished.
Scott would later say that James being over by the bench throughout the game did not bother him, something that does not speak well on the expectations he has of his team. And while Mo Williams would give James the cold shoulder, Anderson Varejao would rip his headband off, and assistant coach Jamahl Mosley would have not-so-kind words for the “self-proclaimed King,” the change in tone throughout Quicken Loans Arena over the course of the game was very telling as there was no team-wide ideal to be had.
By the end of the game, fans became aware that – at least on that night – they were on their own. The night was about them more than it was the New Expression of a team they adore. There was no cheering when Gibson was given a technical foul for jawing with Miami’s Eddie House. There was no unified response to James as he walked off of the court and into the waiting arms of TNT’s Craig Sager. The mortar that was holding together the fanbase of bricks had thinned on national television, leaving fans to wonder what it is they are cheering and giving unconditional support for every given night.
Thankfully, for the Cavaliers, they play seven of their next eight games on the road. Quicken Loans Arena can use a break following the two-game evisceration at the hands of the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. But even moreso, it allows this team to reevaluate what it is they are bringing to the the table in reciprocation to the 20,582 that were under the impression that this whole “process” would be a two-way street.
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(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
84 Comments
I hate to be this guy – but, c’mon everybody, it’s sports.
Asking people to “fake it,” being so upset that you’re physically sick; it’s time to chill and move on.
I laugh when DA looks like a dumb[expletive deleted] on television, i’ve gone from loving LBJ to thinking he is a massive dbag, and I would have rather lost to the Bills last year in that 6-3 victory than have to win in such a terrible fashion.
But it’s time for a little perspective.
@Nick – you nailed it. After last night, I just don’t see how I can really care for this team.
Reading all these comments makes me glad I gave up on the NBA back in the early 90’s. What a joke of a league. Basketball may be a great sport, but the NBA is beyond laughable.
I can’t imagine players in any other sport acting chummy in game like that with a supposed rival. As a fan, why should you care? The players can’t even pretend like they care. Heck, pro wrestlers don’t hate each other either, but you don’t see Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes hugging.
Considering all the media hype, I think Clevelanders should be proud of themselves after last night. It’s a shame we can’t get teams, players, and owners who share our passion.
Cleveland State is 9-0.
Just sayin’.
@ 36. Lebron said, while trying to justify his decision that he is from Akron, not Cleveland. And when he was in high school his team was rivals with, and didn’t like a lot of teams (people) in Cleveland. So because Lebron as a 25 year old man uses a high school grudge (I’m assuming somewhere he lost to a Cleveland H.S. and is still sad) , the national media thinks that all of Akron has a “rivalry” with Cleveland. They are more like brothers or cousins or somethin than rivals.
And BTW, it’s time to blow it up. We are not a playoff team so why waste our time? The only way to win in the NBA is with a STAR. You don’t get a star with the 12th pick. You get a star with the 3rd or 4th pick.
I am utterly disappointed. The only reason I still follow the NBA and the Cavs (and with passion, I might add) is because of Gilbert’s vitriolic letter. That’s the only thing that’s kept me engaged. His letter was awe inspiring – it made us think that he is just as angry as we are and that this whole team and organization is out to prove something and play with an enormous chip on its shoulder. I assumed this rage would filter all the way through the organization and into the players.
It didn’t.
The players just don’t care.
@JPS3 and JK – You’re both onto something. What’s at the root of our hatred for LeBJ? That he just didn’t care about us? We thought he was as passionate about this game as we were. Then he betrayed us, we found out who he really is; that he didn’t care. Well last night we found out that the rest of our “team” also doesn’t care about us or how we feel either. Should we hate them?
Why couldn’t they feel our rage, Gilbert’s rage? Why couldn’t they play to the level of their fans’ passion?
I’m beginning to think that we are the problem. That we use our beloved sports teams as an escape from our own personal realities. We imagine this world where the players all embody our deepest emotions and passions. We unfairly project these values onto people who are just performing their job. Sometimes they embrace our ideals, sometimes they pretend to, others just take their paycheck. But that’s what it is – a business.
We unjustly want it to be more than that. We want them to succeed where our city, in the real world has not. In a way this game has been great closure for me. Not just for my hatred for the Un-Chosen One, but for sports in general. I don’t know if it’s worth it for me to be so emotionally invested in these people, or these teams, or sports in general.
I think as a culture we are loosing touch with reality. What would a Championship really bring us? 15 minutes of fame, but what’s that worth? We already know the players don’t share an emotional bond with us – would a Championship just ring hollow if we finally got one? After all, win or lose, they are just going to work and doing their job’s while we project all of our deepest values, desires and emotions on them, and why? Because they are athletically gifted? That says absolutely nothing about who they are as a person.
If this has taught me one thing, I think it’s that we should focus all of this pent up passion/emotion/frustration on the real world, on things that actually matter. Would you rather our city win a Championship or would you rather see it become an economically sustainable place, a thriving metropolis once again? Would you rather see a player win the MVP or would you rather see a citywide school system that churns out bright, independent thinking individuals that could lead Cleveland into a new age?
If the players don’t care about what happens on the court, why should we?
This is a sad day for the sports world, but maybe in the end it will make tomorrow a better day in the real world.
Cheer for the other Cavs in NE Ohio.
Walsh University Cavaliers (http://www.walsh.edu/athleticsnews)
They are ranked No.1 in NAIA Division II and are 6-0 with an average margin of +48.8 this season!
1. Very disappointed no har fould on quitness. Many chances to put him on his back. Supports the theory that the players are all friends who just work for the paycheck and don’t care about their city.
2. No excuse for lack of effort.
3. Players were brought here to compliment quitness, and without him thier lack of individual talent really shows.
4. Time to blow it up and get into the lotter for the next TWO years. No point in winning 25-30 games. We need two young studs.
5. Pro sports will never equal high school sports nor even college sports. The kids actually care. Let’s keep our perspective. Four local teams in the state fotball finals. Ultimately this is more significant than our pros winning a championship.
6. Sports only entertainment. Just enjoy the beauty of the game(lesson learned from being Tribe fan since 60’s).
There’s a huge cultural difference between the the fans and the players. To the fans, this is their home to be defended. They were born Cavs fans, and they’ll die Cavs fans. The players are young guys, not from Cleveland, who know this is a business where they could be wearing a different jersey tomorrow. As soon as the Cavs can find someone better to take their spot, they’re gone. They are more mercenaries than soldiers. The system does not promote stability or even loyalty to one’s own teamates, and the players just don’t understand things the way the fans do. That being said there is obviously no one on this team prepared to step up and be a leader; they are still without a captain, still wanting to follow their old one, and that does not bode well going forward.
December 2, 2010…the day the NBA died in Cleveland. Want a team Seattle???
@9: ignore him. Tweet him after the game.
they showed their fans that they support LeBron James. I felt sick.
oh and by the way, Sir Charles Barkley was of the same stance as Scott (Sargent). He said during halftime that Cleveland fans should be ‘pissed’ (quote verbatim) (twice).
I get all the comments about the players not giving a damn where they’re at, etc. We have a lot of evidence of that, but I can’t agree that it’s universal and unavoidable. How would you explain the Celtics? Kobe Bryant? That’s not a large body of evidence, granted, but can anyone deny that the Celtics get what Boston is about and play with pride for that team and city? Can anyone deny that the current Celtics squad defends home court exactly like we wanted the Cavs to last night and would have told LeFraud to get his butt back by his own bench?
So, @Frowns et al, THAT is what I wanted the Cavs to do. I refuse to accept that the Cavs players’ behavior last night is inevitable. The question is, how does an owner like Dan Gilbert go about building a team that actually cares when another team/player disrespects them on their own court? Because this team doesn’t even understand that LeBron was laughing AT them last night.
@Kevin Hignett – Don’t confuse having a talented, successful team with a team that “gets what their city is about and plays with pride for that team and city.”
Winning covers up a lot. Would you have said (prior to last years playoffs) the Cavs of 2008-2010 got what Cleveland was about and played with pride for the team and city?
another sport another season down the crapper. ah well, i’ll live vicariously through my wife who is from San Francisco and tasted sweet victory over TX this year. at least i have that going for me.
@architrance: @Kevin:
That doesn’t matter, my friend. We’re not Dan Gilbert. Let’s as what we can do. And here’s what I suggest. It’s what I suggested when The Decision happened and it’s what I suggest now.
Boston? LA? They have cities that people, get excited about. Not stories that are the punchline to a bad joke. They have cities to be proud of. Not cities that are circling the drain. (don’t get me wrong, I am proud of the culture of Cleveland, but the economy here has sucked since the 50s)
If the Cleveland fans that poured their heart and soul in to rooting for the cavs for the past 7 years poured their heart and soul in to making Cleveland a destination for half that, we would have a place free agents might just want to come to. And once that would be gaining population, not dropping like flies.
Hope the players enjoy playing in front of a half filled arena, cause it’s coming.
@66 “Hope the players enjoy playing in front of a half filled arena, cause it’s coming.”
the arena’s not half full, it’s half empty
@63 – Yes, and you prove my point further. Those teams had EXCELLENT home records and anytime the crowd at The Q witnessed disrespect towards us or the team, we AND those teams responded with total annihilation. Last night our team, with many of the same players, didn’t fight for us. That shows that it’s a choice they make, not some inevitable cultural shift towards ambivalence. Last night the Cavs chose to bend over for LeBron.
@65 – Fair enough, but I would argue that the good civic intentions of 20-30,000 of us might not have accomplished much in the corrupt and backwards political environment we’ve had in NE Ohio for 30+ years. And even if we could, we can’t change the weather.
[…] “By the end of the game, fans became aware that – at least on that night – they were on their own. The night was about them more than it was the New Expression of a team they adore. There was no cheering when Gibson was given a technical foul for jawing with Miami’s Eddie House. There was no unified response to James as he walked off of the court and into the waiting arms of TNT’s Craig Sager. The mortar that was holding together the fanbase of bricks had thinned on national television, leaving fans to wonder what it is they are cheering and giving unconditional support for every given night.” [Scott Sargent] […]
The only way anybody would be happy is if the Cavs won the game last night. Would people feel better if it were a close game and the Cavs lost at the end. I would not. I’d still be upset. It seems like many posters are jumping ship, I’m still on board. I also am not in agreement that the entire team should be dismantled. All the team is lacking in my opinion is a legit scorer from the wing and a low post player. For people to give up on the team after this one big loss early in the season is disheartening.
aren’t sports supposed to make you feel better?
well, maybe Cleveland can at least beat Miami in football. We’re a football town anyway.
In almost 50 years of rooting for teams from Cleveland, I have never been so embarrassed of a team from my hometown. No courage, no guts, no character. I place a lot of blame on Byron Scott. Why would he not have this team prepared for its time on center stage? Why would he tolerate Lebron coming to the Cavs bench during the game? I’m in favor of gutting this collection of no talents and softies. Let’s start over. Why would I want to spend my time and energy rooting for these guys? Last night couldn’t have been worse. Cleveland humiliated. Lebron smiling as he left town.
I really hate all the cyber punks telling us to “get over it”.
Last night was nothing nothing short of the death of pro basketball in Cleveland.
Everybody awoke today with the EXACT SAME REALIZATION: “why the hell do we care so much about something that cares so little for us”. Winning DOES cover that up – last night it was EXPOSED and in the most magnifying fashion possible.
Last night – we yelled and screamed at LeBron for the damage he did to our collective psyche and our sense of civic pride. He turned around and gave us all the middle finger and the Cavs let him. And now, just like Rick’s piece, we realize – everything we thought we knew was a mirage. It’s the end of an era for Cleveland sports. And this time it’s different. Sure, we will still cheer for the Cavs, there will still be a dawg pound, John Adams will still beat the drum. But deep down, a part of all of us is gone – that child-like hope and hero-worship is gone. My hope is that we don’t continue to define ourselves by our sports teams’ record, or the coastal elite’s depressing Cleveland narrative. I’ve been to a lot of places, some have the most overblown reputations you could possibly imagine. Cleveland, while not a utopia, has, BY FAR, the worst reputation of any place I have ever been compared to how it actually is. In sports terms, you would say CRIMINALLY underrated. I just hope we stop believing that, pick ourselves up, and take pride in our city for the right reasons. The Cavs will not (and maybe SHOULD NOT) be that source of pride. Now is truly a time of sports death, but it’s also an opportunity for civic rebirth.
Can we clear Mo’s name of all charges? He wasn’t getting all grab @$$ on #6 like the rest of the Cavs.
@74 – Mo, Sessions, Powe, and Graham. They all get a pass. The rest are guilty as charged, regardless of the spin they’re attempting to put on it today.
Oh, and Hollins too. Pretty sure he was fine.
Earlier this morning some commenter on here was claiming Mo hugged #6 in pregame.. I’m sorry I ever doubted Mo.. I wanted to post that video hoping to clear Mo’s name of “LeSucking Up to”
Nevermind. It seems the link was removed from this story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4ZG2eE2K1c&feature=player_embedded
No actually it is half full sorry try again.
@ post # 35, yeah, Cleveland Blue Jackets has a nice ring to it!
Matty:
Sorry man they did hug.
http://unlimitedwhispers.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/9093082-large.jpg
Darnit
I have been a Cleveland sports fan ever since I went to my first Browns game in the 50’s. Indians, Barons, Pipers, who actually won a title, Ohio State and Cavs. I have backed, and still do, all of our teams no matter what. The Shot, The Drive, and the Mesa debacle. Even after moving to California my loyalty has remained steadfast. You can imagine all the flak I’ve taken since moving here.Having to deal with every Faker, Raider, Niner, Charger, and Angel fan. Through all that abuse I’ve remained loyal.I have NEVER been more DISAPPOINTED with any those teams as I have been with the Cavs on Thursday. There was no eay they should have let that CLOWN come into town and score like that and act all chummy. Being friends is one thing, but save that til aftr the game. the team let the fans down more than whats his name did when he left. Good thing I was in the hospital cause if I had watched it at home I would have shot the tv.
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