On Being a Clevelander
by Turkmenbashi on May 12, 2010 9:00 AM CDT
Email
PrintEvery year, I tell myself I'm not going to get as emotionally invested in sports as I was the last year. I'm superstitious as hell. I'm loathe to predict outcomes of games, and only in the last few years have I allowed myself to make statements about who I think is going o win. I believe. I wear things I perceive as "lucky." I play mind games with myself (if I can beat my best 5K time, the Cavs will surely win tonight!). I am 100% invested, year in and year out, no matter how hard I try not to be. Because I'm a Clevelander.
I know we can win this series. I believe that we will. That didn't stop me from waking up this morning, after a night of restless sleep, feeling debilitated. Feeling like I'd just been through a bad breakup. Trying with all my will to stay positive, to keep the dark thoughts from creeping into my mind. I take this so absolutely personally, and I've started to question my sanity. But no, I'm just a Clevelander.
However, I do question what it is that makes me take Cavs, Indians and even Browns losses so personally. It's just sport, right? But it's not to me. I've realized my love of sports is born out of the purest passion for seeing my hometown strive and succeed. Too long has our city been maligned, mocked and looked down upon. A championship can bring this city something so uplifting, simultaneously tangible and symbolic. As Clevelanders, we pride ourselves on our balance between chip-on-our-shoulders inferiority complex and hopeless optimism. We need something to swing the balance towards the latter if we hope to see our city excel and rise up to the great heights it once occupied.
Maybe this is all in my head. Maybe I'm crazy. But I want this. I want this very badly. I want it for the city of Cleveland. And I know we can do this. Because no matter where I am and what I'll become, I am always, first and foremost, a Clevelander.
Who's with me?
This is a Fan-Created Comment on FearTheSword.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff at FearTheSword
22 comments
|
3 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I'm with you guys.
I want to see the Cavs win this series. I kind of feel like you did after watching last nights game and I’m not even a huge cavs fan. The thing that bothered me most about last night is that no one showed any heart on the floor. It was like after the got down they didn’t want to fight to get back in it.
Wreck 'em Tech! Go Rockets!
I am
damn man, i feel the same EXACT way,with the exception of the indians after what happened with sabathia, lee, etc.., but i feel the same way about everything else.. dont worry man.. one day, it will all be worth it.. one day
Same here.
Especially this:
However, I do question what it is that makes me take Cavs, Indians and even Browns losses so personally. It’s just sport, right? But it’s not to me. I’ve realized my love of sports is born out of the purest passion for seeing my hometown strive and succeed. Too long has our city been maligned, mocked and looked down upon. A championship can bring this city something so uplifting, simultaneously tangible and symbolic.
It's not just the people of Cleveland though.
All of Northeast Ohio and many people beyond are with us! As an Akron native I have lived and died with Clevelanders. Now I live 170 miles south of Cleveland but there are tons of “Clevelanders” down here.
Yes, we all may need the a little “therapy” once in a while. But we are no different than dedicated fans in other areas of the country. I lived in Colorado when the Broncos lost to the Jags in the playoffs and their fans were every bit as bumed out as Clevelanders after “The Drive”. The whole city of Denver should have been placed on suicide watch.
When fans “invest” themselves in a team…a team the whole community supports rabidly, it’s only natural to take it personally. I am “hoping for a miricle” just like all the fans of the Cavs that come here. But if it don’t happen, I won’t let it define me for very long. There is aways next year…..and year after that LOL.
I'm Polish...what's your excuse?
I dunno Turk, I like the sentiment, but… I think you could replace a few words in this and make it about Buffalo. Or Detroit. Or Oakland. Heck, you could make it about Boston.
Well, it’s not. It’s about me, and Cleveland. And whoever else has that relationship.
"You are an LGT success story" -- Jay
by Turkmenbashi on May 12, 2010 9:32 PM CDT up reply actions
How could it be about Detroit or Oakland or Boston?
Those cities have world championships in several different sports … Pistons, Tigers, A’s, Raiders, Sox, Celtics … all champs at one point or another … not sure I get your point.
I needed a team so I wouldn’t turn into one of the eighty million pink hat-wearing Bud Light-drinking mulleted idiots at Fenway.
Buffalo – Yes. Detroit, Boston, Oakland – No.
And let’s face it, is there any other city in America that has been so consistently dumped on by the media like Cleveland has over the last 40 years? How many times have you, personally, heard Cleveland referred to as the “Mistake on the Lake?” If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard it I could quit my job.
Is there any other city for which it is essentially mandatory for the sports media to trot out reruns of their sports misfortunes at the drop of a hat? Is there any other city where the sports misfortunes actually have nicknames (well, besides “Wide Right”)? The situations are just not similar at all. The only similar city is Buffalo, and you just don’t hear the widespread disdain in the media for Buffalo that you do for Cleveland.
Marte = Victory
by woodsmeister on May 14, 2010 9:40 AM CDT up reply actions
Turk’s post boils down to this:
- I’m superstitious and 100% invested because I’m a Clevelander.
- I know we can win but I still feel horrible after a loss and take it really personally because I’m a Clevelander.
- This matters so much more to me because I want to see Cleveland succeed.
Which is all well and good, but I’m saying that they’re superstitious in Detroit, too. They feel horrible after losses in Oakland, too. They take these games personally in Boston, too.
Turk’s thesis is that being from Cleveland is what made him care so much about professional sports teams. While I don’t claim to know Turk, I bet if he had grown up 170 miles to the Northwest, he would be just as passionate about the Pistons.
Perhaps I would be. But I’m a Clevelander.
"You are an LGT success story" -- Jay
by Turkmenbashi on May 19, 2010 11:24 AM CDT up reply actions
Spot on….but like Chemo it could probably apply to other cities….I think we are unique though in the amount of suffering we have endured
Disappointed Fans Outnumber Jubilant Fans Every Year
I agree with you, Turkmenbashi. And although it is true that every city has some share of disappointment, the pain is particularly excruciating for Clevelanders. New York has had championships in every sport. Los Angeles has done well in baseball and basketball, but the hockey fans have known no championship, and the football team is currently non-existent. Chicago has had modern era championships in everything except National League Baseball, so it is perhaps only the Chicago Cubs fans who can truly understand the exasperation of Cleveland sports fans.
The classic measurement of “sports pain” consists of two factors: 1) Being so far out of it that there is absolutely no chance of winning a championship and 2) Coming so very, very close, but falling short of the ultimate victory. Cleveland has known more than its share of both types of sports pain.
But especially when you look at the current Celtics-Cavaliers series, it is clear that each and every game is totally different. The Celtics have a slim lead, but the Yogi Berra fact is that “It ain’t over till it’s over.”
The Celtics lost games 6 and 7 last year, and they can lose games 6 and 7 this year.
GO CAVALIERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
by BrownsCavaliersIndiansForev on May 12, 2010 9:53 PM CDT reply actions
Good point bcif
it ain’t over!!! Always hear the cubs called the lovable losers, why? Great heights? idk Otto Graham is as tangible as Moses to most Clevelanders. I feel your pain! 3 sports- no modern championships
I’m no socioeconomic expert, but in 1950 Cleveland was a bustling city full of pride and success. I think a lot of the loser mentality that has allowed Cleveland to stagnate and contract can be tied to the failures of the sports teams.
Rationally, I’d like to disagree. But in my gut, I agree completely. The city’s never gonna lift itself up if we all act like our sports fans.
"You are an LGT success story" -- Jay
by Turkmenbashi on May 13, 2010 10:35 PM CDT up reply actions
Lets not forget
that there are tons of cities with no championships, their are tons of cities with not even one professional team to even cheer for. The city of Cleveland has come so far to turn back now, Cleveland has some of the nations most hardcore fans.
Lots to be proud about, never let your chin touch your chest, keep ya heads up.
"minds sharpens minds, like steel sharpens steel"
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
NBA Playoffs Content Module
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
Socialize With FearTheSword
In Association With
Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sport
- Jrue Holiday attacked, attacked, attacked, and the Sixers won Game 6 (VIDEO)
- Could the ‘Shaquille O’Neal-as-Orlando GM’ story have come from … Shaq?
- Behind the Box Score, where the Philadelphia 76ers refuse to go quietly. If at all
- Allen Iverson presented the game ball for Sixers’ Game 6, talked about his future (VIDEO)
- Can the Lakers improve with Kobe Bryant making $30 million?
