Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Waking up from an 8-year nap

I got a little emotional tonight, yes I can admit it.

It is so difficult to believe the Cavs are going back to the playoffs. Three years ago this was a dead franchise. A 17-65 record, five years removed from their last playoff appearance. Imagine if we had not landed that fateful ping pong ball.

Professional sports hasn't been kind to us Clevelanders lately. Well, actually ever, at least in my lifetime. But there is something different about LeBron James. I'm not saying it is going to happen this year, next year, or even ever. But for the first time, I can actually envision a Cleveland team winning it all.

I know the Indians had a couple nice runs in the 90's and the Browns came close in the late 80's. But it always seemed like a fantasy to actually WIN IT ALL. Even when the Indians were excruciatingly close in '97. I still felt like I had to see it to believe it.

I realize I'm contradicting a previous post comparing LeBron to Dwyane Wade. I still think Wade is the real deal. But I have to keep reminding myself LeBron is ONLY 21 years old. Expectations have been elevated to levels never before seen for a Cleveland athlete. He is averaging over 30 points a game and is directly responsible for the Cavs increasing their win total from 17 to 42 (and counting) in just three seasons.

Plus, his performance against the 54-win Mavericks tonight was truly something special. He has really shown something these last two weeks.

With LeBron, I can just envision him standing on the scores table, arms raised triumphantly as Kool and the Gang's "Celebration" blares from the Quicken Loans Arena PA system. I can see him hoisting the championship trophy over his head as the crowd roars.

You probably have to go back to Jim Brown to find that last time a Cleveland team had the greatest player in the league. I'm not saying LeBron is the best right now, but he's damn close. And we all know how the Jim Brown thing turned out.

BRING ON THE PLAYOFFS!

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home

Free Web Counter
Free Hit Counter