Monday, May 28, 2007

Being a Clevelander

Last night was a good night for Cleveland sports fans. My mom and I went to a local family-friendly restaurant/sports bar to see Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals as well as Game 3 of the Indians series at Detroit. The Indians managed to pull off a 3 game sweep of the Tigers and the Cavs restored a bit of hope by winning to make the series 2-1 in favor of Detroit. If they had lost things would have looked really bleak.

What's funny is to see the effects of Cleveland on both my mom and me. My mom doesn't really have the mentality to handle watching NBA Basketball. The lead changes kill her. Missed shots late in the fourth quarter send her blood pressure skyrocketing. I have the same problem with the Indians. They won 5-3, but they also managed to let the Tigers get men on the corners in the 8th before getting out of the inning. It was a bit nerve-wracking, but fun overall.

The point is that Clevelanders are self-defeating. The city hasn't seen a major sports championship since 1964 (otherwise known as 9 years pre-me). The Browns got close to the Super Bowl in 1986 and 1987, but didn't quite make it. I'm pretty sure the Cavs have never been to the Eastern Conference Finals before. The Indians were one out away from winning the World Series in 1997, but ended up losing. This is what we've grown to expect.

In other words, even if the Indians do keep playing well enough to get into the playoffs I'll be a bit incredulous. I'll be incredulous until they squeeze the last out of winning the World Series. Even then I might have dreams that the ball was dropped and that the game kept going. The city so badly wants a major sports championship, but it hasn't happened in my generation. This could be the year.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good to see you taking some of your "Modules". ;)

Sounds like a great place to eat as well!