Sitting in the good seats: The Plight of a Cleveland Sports Fan
My dad took me to my first baseball game. I was 6 or 7, the Cleveland team was the worst in the league. Tickets were cheap, especially in the upper decks. We went to more than one game at Cleveland’s old Municipal Stadium that summer. At one of the games, one of us had to use the bathroom. The stadium was empty. When my dad went to take us back to our seats, we didn’t go to the upper decks. Nope, he headed right down to the good seats behind the first base line. My reaction was to say very loudly, ‘Daddy these aren’t our seats!’. I was promptly ‘shushed’. Nobody seemed to care, the stadium was a ghost town. I don’t remember who won, I doubt it was Cleveland.
For a few years, Cleveland had some good sports teams. We even won an NBA championship! Thanks, Lebron. I was at the watch party at the Q aka Quicken Loans Arena for that. Those weren’t bad seats either. Being there was the most important part. The energy in the city that night was electric. Everyone was elated. Cleveland sports fans for once in their lives were happy.
When I was in high school, the baseball team was in the World Series. They choked of course but they were there. How do you choke to the Florida Marlins? I don’t know but Cleveland did. They made it again a few years ago in 2016. This time losing to the Chicago Cubs. That one can be forgiven…
