It fucking sucks to be a CLE. sports fan!!!!!

[pan6467]

I've lived through a lot in my 37 years and have seen CLE in the basement, rise and fall hard and it sucks because no other city goes through this shit. People just laugh and say it is CLE. yet, I would trade my 37 years of sports history with just about any other.

Thank God, OHIO has CINCY and the BUCKEYES.

1970's all the teams pretty much are basement dwellers. The Indians have traded away key prospects for losers. Graig Nettles, Lou Pinella, Dennis Eckersly, and others all were Indians traded for noones.

1980's the BROWNS decade and rise of the CAVS. The Browns started the decade by making the playoffs. The Kardiac Kids led by Brian Sipe made games interesting as they staged last minute come from behind wins.... They lose in the playoffs first round, with an interception to Houston.

They work and get a great hometown college QB (KOSAR) to come and play for what could be the greatest non-winning team of the 80's, as the "Drive" and the "Fumble" destroy the team and rip their heart out. They never again make it that deep into the playoffs. They had a great team of players, Newsome, Minnifield, Matthews, Micheal Dean Perry, Byner, Mack, etc...

The Cavs develop a great team also but watch their 2 major #1 picks Danny Ferry and Hot Rod Williams develop problems. Ferry not being able to start at NBA level and Hot Rod having pled guilty to points shaving in college.

That said the Cavs, led by Price, Nance, Dougherty, Ehlo, and a truly great GM in Wayne Embry, make the playoffs for a nice string of years but always lose to Jordan, who would set his highest points scored records on them.

the 1990's...... see Modell rip the Browns away, the Cavs return to the basement. The total re-emergence of a great downtown atmosphere, a new Indians stadium and playoffs for the TRIBE. With players like Albert Belle, Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel, Manny Ramirez, GM John Hart and owner Dick Jacobs take us to the WS twice. But both times the lack of pitching catches up to us. CLE sets the all time consecutive sellout record in MLB, becomes the #1 selling memorabilia team in all sports and proves the fans in CLE WILL support a team that the owner tries to contend with. We had years between 1994-2001 that were down BUT we were there and supported them and showed we love the TRIBE.

But the bubble burst in the 1999 playoffs as Boston totally destroys CLE and the team is sold to "No Dough" Dolan in 2001 and all hope is systematically destroyed.

2000's..... The Browns come back only to never progress and in this last season play like high schoolers.... everything is blamed such as "not enough time to truly develop a team", "not the coach we truly wanted", "injuries".... they do not look to be contenders in the rest of the decade.

The Tibe being sold to the poorer Dolan brother, has been torn apart, dismantled, shown in their pursuits of F/A as being cheap and having turned from a proud team rich in history to beggars again, that once these prospects start to produce and want money will be traded away.... rememberances of the 70's and 80's dance in my head. Sad thing is Dolan will never get what he paid for the TRIBE back if he sells.... UNLESS he sells to someone planning to move the team, Las Vegas for example.

2003 The CAVS on the verge of going bankrupt and moving to KC draft hot hometown kid LEBRON JAMES, who takes pride in being a CAV and wants to play in CLE. (other teams use him to try to sign F/A to come play). The kid plays up to the hype.

2004 THE MEDIA BEGIN BELIEVING IN LEBRON, HE WINS PLAYER OF THE WEEK AND MONTH.... THE KID AT AGE 19 CAN DO NO WRONG.... UNTIL.....

DEC 28TH 2004, LEBRON'S 20TH BIRTHDAY HE DIVES INTO MUTUMBO'S ELBOW AND GOES DOWN LIKE A BAG OF WET CEMENT.

Last season, I was so worried that the kid would blow out his knee and never show anything, but he sold me. no player in CLE has brought his magic and excellence in a long time.

ALTHOUGH IT IS EARLY AND ACCORDING TO REPORTS LEBRON WILL BE FINE..... HERE IN CLE. WE AREN'T HOLDING OUR BREATH.... IN FACT WE HAVE BEEN TAUGHT FROM EXPERIENCE TO EXPECT THE WORST. PERHAPS, LEBRON WOULD COMEBACK AND LIVE UP TO HIS GREATNESS AND BECOME THE GREATEST EVER.... BUT THIS IS CLEVELAND, WHERE WE ARE DESTINED TIME AND TIME AGAIN TO SEE GREATNESS AND HAVE IT RIPPED AWAY BY FATE.

[djtestudo]

I'm not sure whether to respond with sympathy or by laughing my ass off.

I'll go the former route: sorry.

[powerclown]

At least you know where you stand.

We here in Detroit have to deal with the illness of sports schizophrenia. 2 of the best teams in the Pistons and Red Wings, and 2 of the worse franchises EVER in the Tigers and Lions. As long as you're not a baseball or football fan here, you're fine.

[dylanmarsh]

Focus on what you have: Drew Carey and the Rock and Roll HOF.

[pan6467]

Drew Carey lives in LA and Vegas...... and the R&R HOF is about bankrupt because of poor management, low attendance and the fact that although it has a cool building and is a great idea they truly don't know how to sell it.

[pan6467]

Originally Posted by powerclown

At least you know where you stand.

We here in Detroit have to deal with the illness of sports schizophrenia. 2 of the best teams in the Pistons and Red Wings, and 2 of the worse franchises EVER in the Tigers and Lions. As long as you're not a baseball or football fan here, you're fine.

At least you have won championships. None of your teams get close then fall apart because of poor ownership and freaks of fate.

CLE is cursed. It at one time was one of the richest most productive and proud cities in the world. Today, it is a shadow of it's former glory. The main reason is you have very old money in the town that refuses tomodernize the town. Jacobs tried by building Gateway and the Flats up in the late 80's and it flourished. Hell, other cities looked at CLE at the time and remodeled their downtowns the way CLE had. Until, the old money started buying up downtown again and raising rents and allowing crime to retake the city.

NO PLACE I have ever been to rocked like the Flats in the mid 90's. You had the TRIBE jamming, you had an economic boom in the city, parties and the best bars and then it fell apart again.

There is talk of bringing gambling to CLE. and in all honesty, I could see CLE becoming Vegas East and then something happen and CLE falls hard and fast again.

No other city I know of suffers from the disturbing curse CLE seems to be under. Even Pittsburgh and Detroit have gone through their disasterous period, but have come back stronger than ever.

[bond007]

let me see if I can help...


without 1st learning what NOT to do in Cleveland, Belichick would never have won a Super Bowl... or two (albeit with the Patriots).

without Belichick being Cleveland's coach... Bernie Kosar would never have won a Super Bowl (albeit with the Cowboys).

without the lack of success during Belichick's tenure... Modell wouldn't have been able to move the team to Baltimore, and therefore would never have won a Super Bowl (albeit as the Ravens).


... feel better now???

[pan6467]

Originally Posted by bond007

let me see if I can help...


without 1st learning what NOT to do in Cleveland, Belichick would never have won a Super Bowl... or two (albeit with the Patriots).

without Belichick being Cleveland's coach... Bernie Kosar would never have won a Super Bowl (albeit with the Cowboys).

without the lack of success during Belichick's tenure... Modell wouldn't have been able to move the team to Baltimore, and therefore would never have won a Super Bowl (albeit as the Ravens).


... feel better now???

Lol.... bite me dough boy.

That's just it CLE is great training ground. Without CLE, Nettles and Pinella would never have played in NY for the Yankees. Without CLE, Gabe Paul would never have known which prospects to trade nobodies to CLE for to build the great Yankees dynasty of the late '70's. (Gabe Paul was CLE's GM then went to NY when Clevelander George Steinbrenner bought the Yankees.)

Eckersley would have been nothing more than a drunk who never lived up to talent had CLE not traded him.

I could go on.

Kosar was on a winning team, but as a backup to Troy Aikman.

Belichik ran the Browns down to a place they have not recovered from.

Such is the curse of CLE.

[Chupes]

Hahah, I choose Pittsburgh over Cleveland

[heccubusiv]

You have the football hall of fame, and i guess this supports our beliefs that minus Lebron that cle is the worst sports city

[byesman]

I've been a Browns & Tribe fan for 40 years. Just got back to the Cav's. Thanks to Lebron. I understand completely. It just ain't fair.

[lyxo]

LeBron will revive this town. He has class, he ain't goin' anywhere.

[dylanmarsh]

Originally Posted by lyxo

LeBron will revive this town. He has class, he ain't goin' anywhere.

You're assuming that George Steinbrenner won't try to turn him into a second baseman and sign him to a $100M contract.

[wwcd101]

The definition of piling on?

That loser Modell winning a Super Bowl in Baltimore. That loser Belichick winning two Super Bowls (and likely 3) in New England.

The only thing that keeps me going is knowing that their souls will rot in hell.

I'm not bitter though...

Thanks for listening.

[pan6467]

Originally Posted by lyxo

LeBron will revive this town. He has class, he ain't goin' anywhere.

Not necessarily, LeBron wants to win and if Cavs ownership, is like any other sports ownership in CLE. than they will be cheap and not get LeBron the players needed to win, thus allowing LeBron to leave.

Also, thank God this injury wasn't PHYSICALLY harmful, but who knows the psyche. This is the first time LeBron has been injured like this and he may be reluctant to go in hard like he used to... he may have the flutters in situations he didn't thereby hurting his overall game. (Let's hope not but seriously, we in CLE have seen it. Lofton sliding into first and damaging his shoulder, he's never been that "A" caliber player he was before.)

One thing truly pissing me off was listening to Silas on one of the tv sports news (thinking WKYC) saying the Cavs "are truly not a GOOD team without LeBron."

WTF was that??????? Maybe the Cavs aren't a GREAT team without KIng James, but Z is one of the best Centers in the NBA, Jeff McInnis is a great team leader, Gooden is coming around, the Cavs are a pretty decent team in every position, LeBron just ups them into that higher plane. But to give him so much credit that the team is "truly not a GOOD team without" him is ludicrous coming from the COACH, who is supposed to believe in his TEAM not just a player. We have our Pippen and Kerr , in Z and McInnis..... maybe we need to get rid of trash and bring in our Jackson instead of a biased coach, that believes the team wins or loses based on 1 player.

Sorry for the rant, but that is what CLE sports is like. We get a great player, a team player with a very above average team around him and even the coach is believing we are losers without him.

Same thing happened with the TRIBE and Belle.... we had a great team without him but everyone believed HE WAS the team, including Hargrove and Hart.

[Shpoop]

thats rediculous coming from a coach

[lyxo]

It will be a tough decision for LeBron to screw over the city closest to his hometown.

But any smart will take LeBron's well-being in to account with their business decisions. We are getting a new owner, rich and successful businessman in Gilbert, who will most likely throw down the Benjamins for a championship team. That's in his goal. We just have to hope he brings in the right players.

#1 Priority this season is re-signing Z.
#2 Priority is choosing between Snow and McInnis. We can't afford both if we're looking to be big contenders for a perimeter player in the offseason. If we want McI, then we trade Snow away for expiring contracts and/or draft picks. If we want Snow, we let McInnis walk this season. Either has its ups and downs.
#3 Priority is signing the 5th starter. Michael Redd is the prime target. Other options include Joe Johnson (restricted) and Ray Allen (may be too expensive).

I dont really like Silas though. He seems that he might have the same affect on the Cavs as Butch Davis did on the Browns.

You're assuming that George Steinbrenner won't try to turn him into a second baseman and sign him to a $100M contract.

That doesn't really make any sense. But LeBron will get paid that kind of money.