More Than a Game for Cleveland

"In a place like Cleveland, hope comes in small morsels." Alex Kotlowitz, Writer.

There's a reason why, on Tuesday, I was standing in the middle of a sports bar clasping my hands in prayer while watching as the Cleveland Cavaliers let Game 4 slip away.

Though I stood several hundred miles away watching the game from a New York City restaurant, I knew exactly how my fellow Clevelanders felt, as we all witnessed what seemed to be hope dwindling away in the remaining seconds of over time.

Being born and/or raised in northeast Ohio means a few things; blue collar working class background, gray days, and living and dying with every single Cleveland sports team from the Browns, to the Indians, to the Cavs. It also means being resilient and holding strong to our pride in the face of Chicago Bulls and Pittsburg Steeler fanatics, and even uninspiring sports writers.

Ever since I was a young girl growing up during the quintessential "Jordan Era" I've been a die-hard Cavs fan. I used to send birthday cards to my hero, Mark Price, every year - and when I wasn't attending the games or stalking my favorite players, I'd typically be watching my boys on television alongside my father. Some of the best moments of my life.

It's more than just a game to us.

To be a Cleveland sports fan is to know what intimacy means. By definition, intimacy is a unique closeness and familiarity with another thing. It's also an enduring love, despite the pain, to which we usually associate deeply felt emotions and long-standing memories. It may sound silly to others, but until you know what's it's like to come from a city most notoriously taunted and heckled for just being what, and where, it is (yes, I'm talking to you, Charles "I'ma Professional Hater" Barkley), then it's difficult to grasp why winning a championship is so important to the city itself and to its citizens.

It's about hope.

And in Cleveland with the unemployment rate at 8.8%, with 1 and 13 homes vacant as a result of foreclosure, property selling for $5000 a pop, jobs being outsourced, and General Motors (one of the largest employers in Ohio) going bankrupt, it's no wonder why even the smallest amounts of hope in the form of a winning NBA franchise ultimately means so much - abundance even.

Perhaps it's naive and foolish to admit, but I believe that if the Cavs can bring home an NBA championship for the first time in history then Cleveland's economy and its culture can be resuscitated. Tourism will likely increase, possibly opening up more small business opportunities for the locals. City leaders, with the right prioritizing, might actually work together and budget to build better community centers, parks, and invest in local entrepreneurship. Maybe then, we can remedy some of the rampant crime and poverty. Even find ways to reinvest in and rebuild abandoned homes.

Perhaps it's a pipe dream to 1) believe that the Cavs can pull out a series victory over Orlando only to face the Western conference champs for another grueling series, and 2) believe that a championship team can single-handedly save a city from its perils.

A pipe dream, perhaps, but a dream nonetheless. A dream that many in Cleveland are quite familiar with, frustrated by, and even exhausted over because we've all been hanging on to it for so many years decades.

But since the rest of the country could care less about the city of Cleveland, (presumably because they have their own issues to deal with state-by-state, and city-by-city), it's up to Clevelanders to do what we've always done, continue to work hard and believe in brighter days beyond our gray skies.

For Cavs fans, bringing home a championship is more than just winning a game; it's reclaiming a legacy tarnished by others. It's living for that moment when the nay-sayers react to our win with a "betch you're happy now that Cleveland's back on the map."

To which we Clevelanders will respond,

"We never fell off."

Note to all the haters, only Clevelanders can poke fun at Cleveland, or "The Land." Ya'll better recognize . . .

Cleveland Tourism Video #1

Cleveland Tourism Video #2

Read more at www.youthnoise.com/playcity

Comments

[Perry Forman]

Haven't posted something to the Huff in a while. But i had to respond to this. I have lived in Cleveland. Granted it was almost 20 yrs ago. But an experience as bad as I had means that it will take an extraordinary event to get me to return.

Besides the dreariness of the place, I had way to many experiences there that had never occurred to me before or since. And after I left, and thought about the various experiences, they all seemed to have a common thread. There's a culture there of people with massive chips on their shoulder.

I can see how someone could get used to that attitude growing up in that environment. But there is just no way that attitude is acceptable to an outsider.

And it just seemed to me at the time that native Clevelanders liked it just the way it was. I remember going to the Flats and seeing the enormous salt piles and not knowing what they were. Until I read an article in the Plain Dealer where a city official was quoted as saying that the piles were part of the ambiance of the Flats and would never get removed.

[Dexter Ingram]

That was a great piece Tara. Someone should pay you for that! Your growth as a writer has been great to see. As far as the game tonight, it should be a classic, I'll just say have fun watching!

[PlaceboStudman]

Drew Carey summed it up in 2 words

"CLEVELAND ROCKS!"

"nuff said

[progressiveblkgrl]

It's crazy, Tara, you took all my thoughts and feelings and wrote them. I love my hometown! I often refer to it as the greatest place on Earth. It's hard to love something so much that other's seem to hate. Thank you for validating my love (because many Clevelanders are just as down on it here as the outsiders) and making me feel like I am not alone in my unwavering dedication to making it better here. I agree with you that if we win that will do such great things for our economy and spirit! Regardless, our city is on the way up. I know it might not look like to the outsiders but so many things are changing here - and for the better. But Lord knows it will go so much faster if LeBron leads a parade down Euclid Ave. I'll be praying with you tonight, and I know LeBron's been praying all night long.