Silly seasons, LeBron James and Judd Apatow and Hop Along: While We’re Waiting
June 26, 2015Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, we love you so
June 26, 2015One of the things that I’m most interested in as a sports fan is the study of sports fandom. In practice, that means never-ending analysis of us as a group, other cities and their sports fans, and also the most insular type of audit, of the guy I see in the mirror. (When I see him, he’s generally making funny faces shaving and brushing teeth.) I know I’ve been doing it non-stop since the Cleveland Cavaliers lost in the Finals, but it feels like the right time to reflect even more as the Cavs really broke the playoff drought with their long playoff run.1 The most interesting thing that the Cavaliers’ run has done for me is make me instantly nostalgic and sentimental. While John Lennon spoke about instant karma — and I’ve always doubted its value scientifically, but not philosophically — there’s no denying the existence of instant nostalgia.
I’ve thought quite a bit lately about someone like Adam the Bull from 92.3 the Fan. He’s a guy who has spent plenty of time in Cleveland, but for a variety of reasons, he’s never had a chance to see Cleveland sports fans rally around a playoff team for real until this year’s Cavaliers. Yes, there was a magical run for the Tribe in 2013 that ended up in a one-game playoff loss to the Rays. And yes, it counts as a playoff appearance and it was fun, but let’s be honest. It was over before it really started, unfortunately. Point being that with this year’s run by the Cavs — finally — someone like Adam finally got to see what Cleveland is like when the bandwagon is in full effect and everyone’s pumped up by a team. The Cavs struck gold with their “All In” rallying cry and it truly worked as the entire city was embraced in the glow of watching LeBron James and his band of leftovers take a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals. Adam the Bull is just an example I thought of because he’s so ingrained in the sports scene, but at a relatively new level from an historical perspective.
Those of us who have been here a long time can try until we’re blue in the face to tell people what it was like to have our high schools have Cleveland Indians rally days where we were all encouraged to wear Tribe gear as they marched into the playoffs. I was a sophomore in high school in 1995 and I remember what the hallways were like throughout that entire run. Lunch ladies and Spanish teachers and principals alike had common ground with almost every student. The boys who didn’t like sports were watching the Tribe every night instead of the bad sitcoms they normally watched. Girls who didn’t like baseball at all were staring at Kenny Lofton’s butt as he rounded first and remarking about it to their friends at the lunch table.2 It created a generation of Tribe fans, not only by cementing the die-hards, but also giving some of the more casual kids undeniable memories.
That’s sometimes lost when this city is in an ugly playoff drought. When you fail to see any of your teams in the playoffs for a very long time, you completely forget about the value of the playoff run itself, even if ultimately your teams aren’t able to get over the top. It’s all about that ring in so many ways, but that’s not completely true. The pursuit of that all-important ring helps validate the chase as well. The ring isn’t simply like a carrot at the end of a stick. It’s certainly the biggest carrot or carat, (see what I did there?) at the end of the trail, but with the playoff experience you get to eat all along the way.
I remember being in Boston and getting made fun of a bit because the Indians noted their non-World Series championships on the outfield wall. I think the wall read “Era of Champions,” but I’m not positive. That was meant to help recognize the fact that the Indians won their division in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2001. It was meant to recognize that the Indians won the AL Pennant in 1995 and 1997. As if it should be a point of embarrassment to celebrate a great run by the team just because they weren’t able to be the last team left standing at the end of any of those years.
I think of LeBron James talking after these Finals about how he sometimes thinks it would be easier not to make a run at all than to fail in the Finals.
I always look at it would I rather not make the playoffs or lose in the Finals? I don’t know. I don’t know. I’ve missed the playoffs twice. I lost in the Finals four times. I’m almost starting to be like I’d rather not even make the playoffs than lose in the Finals. It would hurt a lot easier if I just didn’t make the playoffs and I didn’t have a shot at it.
If LeBron James had stopped his quote right there, it would have been earth-shattering for me to even think about as a fan, but he didn’t stop there.
But then I lock back in and I start thinking about how fun it is to compete during the playoffs and the first round, the second round and Eastern Conference Finals. If I’m lucky enough to get here again, it will be fun to do it.
It’s good to know that results-based thinking is tantalizing for us all, including the guy who ultimately has more control over the result than anyone else on the planet. It’s also good to know that even if those doubts creep in for a guy like LeBron James, he quickly says, “Naw. I’d rather lose and have competed than not compete at all.”
It’s important for sports fans too, even as we’re just observers. And we know it anyway, because of the feelings of instant nostalgia. We know it in our hearts that we need to keep room for good seasons like the one the Cavaliers put together. In a timeframe when we’ve recently celebrated that 1995 Cleveland Indians team that lost the World Series to the Atlanta Braves, it’s especially illuminating. Time will heal any of the bitterness of not making it over the top. Someday maybe Timofey Mozgov will show up in Cleveland with a bald head and a slight beer gut to wave to the crowd and mark the 20th anniversary of the Cavs’ magical run in LeBron’s first season back.
It’s easy to look at this year’s Cavaliers team and get bitter and call it a failure because they didn’t win it all and the “curse” of not being healthy helped doom the Cavs’ fate. That discounts so much though. How will I feel about this season 20 years from now when I’m 56 years old? How about the 16-year-old today who will be 36 when this year is two decades in the rearview?
Maybe it’ll be just the first celebration of a wave noting a Cavaliers era of champions. It sure would be nice if that era included more than just Eastern Conference Championship, but there are worse fates in the world, I think. Winning a lot of games — and yes, even losing the final one — can teach you so much about the value of sports and being a sports fan.
3 Comments
Those years when the Browns were headed to the playoffs, the Christmas season was even better than it already is. Those holiday seasons were so much fun. The whole county was geeked. Can’t wait until we get there again.
Adam the Bull = UGH!
part-time working I looked at the bank draft which had said $7782@mk9
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