I want to write about the Cleveland Cavs and the complete playoff implosion, but it hurts too much to do so. Instead I will discuss the complex relationship I have with the Cavs, even though they disappoint me every season, but I keep coming back like Whitney Houston to Bobby Brown. The Cleveland Cavs and I started dating in the third grade when I started my semi-professional playing days. She was the prettiest girl around. Sure I flirted with other teams for awhile my favorite hat was an Indiana Pacers hat, but Mark Price was my favorite player (still is). My first game came soon after at the old Richfield Coliseum against the Milwaukee Bucks and it was amazing. My fanaticism only grew from there, especially when my playing career ended tragically in 8th grade, when my skill level was completely gone. We got engaged in high school and married sophomore year in college (a year before Lebron, also that 17 win season is still my favorite). I have seen great times (making the finals, finally beating Detroit in the playoffs) to the bad (trading Mark Price, Brad Daughters corpse, EPIC collapses against the Orlando Magic last season and Boston this season) and the fun times (the mid 90’s teams, Darius Miles fists to the head thing, Drew Gooden). So I am in for the long haul with the Cavs, till death do us part, for I am ‘catholic’ so divorce isn’t really a realistic option.
Now that you know a little background info, let’s dive into the deep psychological aspect of why the past two seasons have left me emotionally and mentally bruised and why I will take even more of it. It all centers on the belief that ‘this is our year.’ You see there are 4 types of years for any sports team’s expectation level;
1-We have no shot- think Pittsburgh Pirates (MLB) every year, no way are they winning anything, there fans celebrate if they win 65 games.
2-We are going to surprise some people- We are young, have some talent, and everyone is going to underestimate our ability. Think Oklahoma City Thunder of Seattle the last few years in the NBA.
3-We are good, but we are not winning it this year-favorite example of this, The Cleveland Cavs of 06-07. They made the finals against San Antonio and promptly got swept, it sucked, but I fully understood that we had no right to win it that year.
4-THIS IS OUR YEAR- it is a season of high expectations when nothing less than winning it all is satisfactory and what makes it even more intense is the fact you are one of 3-4 times that should win it.
The last two seasons the Cleveland Cavs have been hardcore in the THIS IS OUR YEAR level of expectations. Finishing both years with the best record in the regular season, this is no easy feat. They have set the expectations so high that I expect nothing less than a championship and they have fallen flat on their face early in the playoffs both years. The plot of both years was basically the same, and seemed to have been stolen from Tracey Chapman’s song ‘Fast Car.’ The team has obvious problems, we think we beat our problems, and then we end up with the same problems again down the line in the playoffs, that beats us. This leaves everyone involved angry, frustrated and depressed, multiply all that by the lack of a champion in Cleveland for 3 centuries and you get an indescribable feeling. It is especially painful this season when it looked like the whole team just quit on the basketball court after game 3, but I don’t want to talk about it, its only going to get me upset, more then I already am.
Why do I keep following the Cleveland Cavs? Why don’t I jump ship like so many alleged fans will when/if Lebron jumps ship? Because the ship is located on a river that is on fire, and I would rather be stuck on an always sinking ship then burn. Being a Cavs/Cleveland fan also has the comparison of smashing your head against a brick wall, it is going to feel oh so good when you stop, and the only way to stop is to have a championship tear down the wall and we will rejoice like the people in Berlin did with David Hasselhoff music. That day may never come, but I am sure the Germans thought the same thing.
I will end on this inspirational quote. Ok, I couldn’t think of any, but had I thought of one, it would have gone here.
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