June 19th, 2016

One afternoon, I was listening to 'The Bull and the Fox,' the sports radio talk show that airs on 92.3 The Fan.  It was June, 2016, and the Cavs had just tied the Warriors with a monstrous Game 6 win to force a Game 7.  The city was buzzing with adrenaline.  It was the first time in 19 years that a Cleveland sports team would play in a game with a championship on the line.  A caller called into the show and passed down a story I will never forget.  He was a middle aged adult male that had lost his father to cancer years ago.  While lying on his death bed, terminally ill, his father passed him down a book with an inscription inside.  It said, "When Cleveland wins a championship, take this book downtown and we'll burn it together."  A few days later, on Sunday, June 19th, 2016, the Cavs would win the championship.  On Father's Day.

Something that we will be hearing a lot in coming years, and maybe forever, is how the Cavs managed to win, "Just one," championship with the best player of a generation.  To that, I ask:  Could that one have possibly been any better?  With the odds stacked against them, a hole no other team in history has crawled out of.  Against a team that set the NBA record for wins in a season, a team that had beaten them the year before.  Watching LeBron James collapse to the ground after winning a breathtaking game 7, one of the best Game 7's in sports history, a game that was tied with under a minute to go.  This was no ordinary championship.  Because of the stakes, because of LeBron leaving then heroically coming back, because of the opponent.  The Cavs could have won 3,4,5 (not 5, not 6, not 7) championships, and none of them would have come close to the elation to the first one.  

Watching Golden State win the title last night, there was no crying.  No collapsing to the floor in pure elation.  No overcoming the spectacular odds.  Was it simply because they have been there before?  Perhaps.  But I would like to think that our 1 lonely championship is worth the 3 of theirs and then some.  We may not have won more, but we sure partied our asses off for the 1 we got.  Like seriously, you guys remember Klay Thompson making fun of LeBron after Game 4, saying, "It's a man's game, I guess he just got his feelings hurt," and LeBron LAUGHING when he heard the comments while at the podium.  That shit still sends chills down my spine, knowing what followed.

It truly felt like the end of an era last night.  The entire vibe in the arena felt less like a Finals game and more like an opportunity to just savor the final moments of LeBron James wearing a Cavaliers uniform.  He could, of course, come back, but it is my personal belief that he will not.  Reading in between the lines about his comments, not just during the Finals but all season long, tells me so.  James will never flat out say it, but he has dropped subtle hints all year long about his displeasure.  He clearly loves playing here.  I can't see him hitting a game winner anywhere else and embracing the fans the way he did against Toronto in the playoffs.  Or writing, "330," on his sneakers before games.  Winning titles in Miami, he flashed his smile and hugged his teammates.  In Cleveland, he collapsed to the ground in tears, overcome.  But here he is also overmatched, going against a juggernaut.  

It is easy to blame his teammates, especially right now.  Looking at you, JR.  But history will take care of these wounds.  We will not remember James for leaving.  We will remember him for coming back.  We will remember Kyrie for the hitting one of the clutchest shots in NBA history.  Kevin Love for his lockdown defense on Steph Curry with a championship on the line and a 3 point lead to be guarded against the best 3 point shooter in history.  I could go on.  JR, for crying at the podium thanking his parents.  Saving the Cavs' ass after a slow start to the 3rd quarter (sound familiar?) with two clutch 3 pointers.  Tristan Thompson for yelling, "Cleveland? YUPPP," at the parade.  Iman Shumpert for his 4 point play.  Richard Jefferson for bringing the entire team together and giving the city a personal view of the team via Snapchat.  Delly for... well being Delly.  The team dancing on the bar at the Hofbrauhaus downtown, toasting with fans days after the championship and doing rounds of shots.  

I have thought a lot about how we will likely never see LeBron James in a Cleveland uniform again and it hurts much worse than losing a title.  As a fan that burned his jersey years ago, regretfully looking back, if he leaves, I hope he flourishes and takes down the Warriors.  I won't be angry, just thankful.  Knowing that that fan got to go down and burn his book downtown is enough for me.  You can only burn a book once anyways.