"Calm down, It's just a game"
To the rest of the country, allow me to explain. You have to be from Cleveland to truly understand how this title transcends far beyond the game of basketball. Anybody from here understands that regardless of race, sexuality, gender, age, religion or political beliefs; the one thing we all share in common is our undying love and loyalty for our sport teams. Even the horrible ones. Winning this championship has brought an entirely new layer to the existing bond that we all currently shared. So many of us have patiently waited 5 decades to witness something that we truly believed may never happen. But we kept our faith, and supported anyways.
Now I've been blessed enough to say that I've traveled to almost every major city in the country. One thing I've always noticed is, whenever two Clevelanders see each other in a different state or airport, there's an instant bond, shout out, handshake, smirk or smile simply because there's a brotherhood type of chemistry that connects us beyond our geographic location. You don't see that when two people from say, South Carolina meet each other in Ohio. That's what makes Cleveland, Ohio so special. The connection and the love we share for our city.
It's because of everything we've been through as a community. Big fires, school shootings, kidnappings, major companies leaving, LTV steel, a major sports franchise skipping town, real estate markets crashing, murder rates rising and businesses folding. Until now, we've only bonded through tragedy. We've taken blow after blow after blow in every area across the board. You name it, we failed at it. It got very scary here from 2008-2012. But In the midst of all of these shortcomings, we rose up and grew from it. This championship, exactly how it happened, showed the entire world that our city CAN, and WILL prevail against all odds, literally. No other city has ever collectively felt the immense amount of love and joy that we did last night, and still do today.
It's really a Cleveland thing. We don't expect you to understand.
I can't believe we won! And most of all, I can't believe how this city handled the win. EVERYONE ran into the streets shouting, hugging, screaming and celebrating and not one negative incident...not one! People were giving the police high fives and hugging, crying and sharing the most magical thing that has happened to Cleveland in 52 years! I'll share some amazing photos of the parade...
1.5 million Clevelanders waiting for the parade |
In front of St. John's Cathedral
A couple pics of the parade...
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The parade |
The parade |
4 of Cleveland's finest |
Now this is a very cool story, this young man wanted to see Kyrie so bad but was obviously too low to the ground for that to happen, so people lifted him up so he could see! How cool is that??
This Nike commercial released right after the game, captures the anticipation leading up to the final buzzer...
So, I think I've rambled on enough about CLEVELAND WINNING THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP! I did not go to the parade, partly because I had to work (but if anyone had asked me, I would have gone).
Now I'm getting ready for a garage sale tomorrow. I've some other things I want to share, possibly this weekend.
As always....