This might be the most difficult article I've ever written. It is very difficult to put into words the emotions I experienced as I watched the Cleveland Cavaliers win the NBA Title for the first time in franchise history. The championship drought in Northeast Ohio is now over, and even after having a night of sleep to try and process what that truly means to me, it still does not feel completely real.
Before I go any further, despite the fact that for the longest time I have despised the Golden State Warriors, I need to give credit where credit is due. That is one hell of a team, and for the Cavaliers to come back from down 3-1 and beat the greatest regular season team of all-time is no joke. For as much as I hate his play on the court, Draymond Green played a phenomenal game and did everything he could to give his team a chance to win it all.
Steph Curry clearly did not have the best series, and I have to respect both his and Draymond's post-game press conferences, as well as being the only two players I saw from the Warriors that stayed after the buzzer to congratulate the Cavaliers on the win. They owned the loss, took it like men, and gave nothing but good words to the winning team. That is what makes a great player and a champion, and those two are certainly class acts off the court. I'm certain this won't be the last time we see that team on this stage.
Now, to get back to the victorious team, the emotions that LeBron displayed as the buzzer sounded are along the same lines as what I experienced. I'm sure my roommates will never forget seeing me freak out, yell some things that I can't repeat in this article, run outside to the porch to scream about my joy, and just overall let my raw emotion loose. This is something that I and many other Cleveland fans have been waiting on for a long time, and for it to have finally arrived is honestly a dream come true.
I can still remember the night that Ohio State won the College Football Playoff (January 12, 2015 to be exact), and that was an amazing night and moment for me as a crazed Buckeyes fan. But this championship, this title that I and the city of Cleveland have only dreamed of, is something that is on a whole different level. I remember running out to The Oval and celebrating with my fellow students when Ohio State won it all, and I certainly remember the euphoria that came over me. But watching the Cavaliers win was something entirely different.
When Ohio State won it all, I didn't immediately jump up and scream and let everything out. When I watched LeBron and company begin to celebrate, I couldn't hold it in. The anxiety that had been building inside me all game was finally released, and it was the greatest feeling I've ever experienced, just as I'm sure every other Cavaliers fan experienced.
Seeing the raw emotion that LeBron James, Tyronn Lue, Kyrie Irving, and all the other Cavaliers players displayed is something that I will never forget. With all those tears, it was clear that the mission that James had set out to accomplish was finally completed. A championship was brought to the city that he has called home for his entire life, and I can't think of another city that deserved it as much as we did.
Some may say that it's just a game (I was told that multiple times by multiple people throughout the course of Game 7), but clearly you can now see that it's more than just a game to many people, myself included. This championship means everything to the city of Cleveland and to me. Sports are my life, and these "games" have given me the greatest moments of my life, and they just gave me the greatest night of my life.
That's right: a sports team winning a championship is the single greatest moment of my entire life so far, and I don't expect that to change until the day I get married. Until the day I die, I will forever remember June 19, 2016. I will one day get to tell stories of the event to those who were not alive to witness history, and it's something I will continue to cherish day in and day out.
On this night, we were all witnesses to true greatness. Thank you LeBron James, from the hearts of every true Cleveland fan.
The Cleveland Cavaliers: 2016 NBA Champions.
