An Open Letter to Cleveland, Ohio
Dear Cleveland,
In an era not so long ago the words “Cleveland, Ohio” were associated with things including, but not limited to “sadness”, “disappointment”, “depression”, “worst city in America”, and my personal favorite “the mistake on the lake”.
These misfortunes began to change for all of you when an inspiring new superstar entered the Cleveland sports landscape. Enter LeBron James. This young man was considered by many to be the greatest thing to come out of Akron since the first running of the All-American Soap Box Derby in 1934.
Not only was he a native son of northeast Ohio but he also happened to be pretty handy with a basketball as well. With his skills, James single-handedly turned the city’s basketball team into a force to be reckoned with in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. This eventually culminated in an NBA Finals appearance in 2007 against the incredibly talented San Antonio Spurs. However, at least in this series, the team from Cleveland was put out of their misery early via a 4–0 sweep.
A few short months later, the Cleveland Indians seemed to be prepped for a deep championship run of their own led by eventual American League Cy Young Award winner C.C. Sabathia and rookie outfield sensation Grady Sizemore. The Indians most notably beat the New York Yankees in the ALDS in a series that wound up being more famous for the little bugs called midges than the games themselves. In the ALCS, Cleveland jumped out to a 3 games to 1 lead over Boston before dropping the last three games of the series to the eventual world champion Red Sox. (A Red Sox team that was assembled by Theo Epstein and managed by Terry Francona.)
After that exciting year, things began to regress to the norm in Cleveland. The Cavaliers got close year in and year out but could never reach that exclusive plateau of the Finals again and the Indians became decimated by injuries and their shallow pockets which led to the loss of Sabathia and a young ace by the name of Cliff Lee. Unfortunately for the city, it was also greatly impacted by the economic recession of 2007–2009 leaving many out of jobs, out of money, and most significantly, out of hope.
Times were dark once again in the Sixth City.
As most economists will tell you, there is always a bottom out before conditions begin to improve. For northeast Ohio, this came in 2010 when, after a series loss to the Boston Celtics in the NBA playoffs, the prodigal son of the rust belt sat on ESPN and declared to the world that he was going to “take his talents to South Beach”.
Cleveland fans scorned the decision. Jerseys were burned, curses were thrown, and the Cavaliers owner even wrote a letter to his fans (in Comic Sans no less) about how disappointed he was in LeBron’s decision to leave town.
Over the next three years, Cleveland fans were forced to sit and watch as James won multiple NBA championships with a team that was not their own and had to watch as their beloved Indians fell deeper into the pit of baseball mediocrity.
However, as the old saying goes, the night is darkest just before the dawn, and that dawn was certainly on its way.
In 2013, the Indians hired former Red Sox manager Terry Francona to steer the ship for a new type of team that management was attempting to build. A team built on fundamentals, pitching, and incredible defense. Although things started out slow, the Indians eventually turned into perennial threats in the American League led by pitchers Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, and Trevor Bauer.
Things began to really look up again in Cleveland in the summer of the next year. Following another championship with the Miami Heat, a more mature and battle tested LeBron James decided to embark on a new challenge, more difficult than any he had faced before: bringing a title to Cleveland, Ohio.
Thanks to the stellar play of fellow Cavs Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, and the uncontrollable kicking leg of Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, LeBron and company were able to do just that in June of 2016.
During this time, the Indians were also solidifying themselves as a top contender in the American League. Despite key injuries down the stretch, Francona’s boys were able to outlast the defending World Champion Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers to win the teams first division title since that 2007 season so many years before.
In the blink of an eye, the Indians, depleted pitching staff and all, were able to breeze past the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS, blow by the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS, and once again punched their ticket to the Fall Classic to take on the Chicago Cubs. A Cubs team assembled by, you guessed it, Theo Epstein.
After going up 3 games to 1 yet again, the Indians seemed primed to win their first World Series in over fifty years. Unfortunately fate had another idea as the Cubs were able to overcome this deficit and take the series in an absolutely thrilling seven game affair.
Although this may seem like an extreme negative, there is still plenty to cheer about for Cleveland. This team was able to come within one run of winning the title against one of the best teams in baseball history. They also did it on the backs of outstanding pitching from Kluber, ALCS MVP Andrew Miller, and with two of the best young players in the game Francisco Lindor and Jason Kipnis.
This one may sting for now, but the Indians and the Cavaliers appear to be in line to compete for championships for a long time to come. And the people of Cleveland wouldn’t want it any other way.
(P.S. I am aware of the fact that the Cleveland Browns exist. However, they are the epitome of flaming garbage so I am not afraid to admit the fact that I left them out of this blog on purpose)
