Is there a more miserable existence than the life of a Cleveland sports fan? Right now the Indians are getting dominated to the tune of 11-18 in the AL Central. The big hitting lineup that we were expecting for this season is about as evident as the reason for duck poop to be protected as a national treasure. It's completely non-existent. Strangely enough, the strength of the team has been starting pitcher a few random relievers, both of which were supposed to be sore spots for the team.
Take a peak over at the NBA playoffs and you will see the best player in basketball nursing a sore elbow and fluctuating between utterly dominant and invisible. LeBron James seems to be able to turn it on any time he wants to... but he only seems to want to about 50% of the time. The solid group of role players around LeBron is faltering as well. Mo Williams is bricking wide-open shots that he made all throughout the regular season. Delonte West is having brain farts at a frantic pace, probably because he's been thinking about how cool he looked with 3 illegal handguns strapped to his body as he whipped down the highway on his motorcycle. Anderson Varejao, one of the best offensive rebounders in the league in the regular season, seems to have the ups of my 81 year old grandfather, with the speed to match. With 3 games left, no Cavalier fan feels safe, and I think we are all quietly terrified of facing Orlando in the next round.
These recent events only add to years of misery as a fan of Cleveland sports franchises. I lived through the talented Indians teams of the 90s when the likes of Albert Belle, Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel, and Kenny Lofton were practically an unstoppable force. Except that even with 2 World Series appearances, the Indians squandered their chances. In 1995 they just couldn't match up with the starting pitching of the Atlanta Braves. Who could? Maddox, Glavine, Smoltz... all in their prime. That's a murderers row. The real shame was losing the 1997 World Series to the Florida Marlins. The Fish managed to scrape together enough cash to buy their way to the championship, but not without the help of Senor Smoke, Jose Mesa, who blew the save and the game (game 7 of the series) with a very unclutch performance. Those Indians teams define how I view Cleveland sports... no matter how talented they are, they will find a way to lose when it really matters.
The Cleveland Browns are nowhere near competing at a high level, and that's somewhat strange considering that they've been rebuilding since 1999. I think the correct word is "retooling" not "rebuilding" when the changes you make don't necessarily imply success. Most of this can be blamed on the Browns' drafts since 1999. Take a look at the first round picks from '99 to '08: Tim Couch, Courtney Brown, Gerard Warren, William Green, Jeff Faine, Kellen Winslow II, Braylon Edwards, Kamerion Wimbley, Joe Thomas, Brady Quinn. Only one of those players is still on the Browns (Joe Thomas) and only two have made the pro-bowl (Edwards and Thomas). Braylon Edwards had one good year, and fell back into oblivion. Honestly, Joe Thomas was the only good pick in that era. The second round picks aren't any better, but I'll spare you from them. Browns fans are dying a slow and painful death, and only new team president Mike Holmgren is capable of giving us the antidote. All we're asking you to do is to not waste our draft picks, Mike... can you do that?
I've placed all of my hopes of Cleveland ever winning a championship on the broad shoulders of LeBron James. I can't take any more losing... this is supposedly the best team Cleveland has ever had in any sport, capable of matching up against any team no matter what players they have. I will learn whether the curse of Cleveland is real or not by who ends up holding that championship trophy. If it's not LeBron James, you can kiss him goodbye, along with the hope I have in Cleveland ever winning a championship in any sport.
No comments:
Post a Comment