Cleveland, Ohio. We've all heard the jokes. We all know its reputation. We're all aware of the sports curse. To outsiders, it's just another city. But to those of us who are die-hard Cleveland fans, it's much more than skyscrapers and construction.
Being a Cleveland sports fan means that we love our teams, win or lose. It's been 52 years since the city of Cleveland has won a championship, but the fans have never given up. We had to watch LeBron make his decision on national television to walk out on us and live through a few rough seasons before he finally returned, but we never walked out on the Cavaliers through it all.
And about that LeBron thing, so many people called out us on welcoming LeBron back after we were so angry about his betrayal. But I'd like to see how any other fan base would have handled the situation had it happened to them. The guys a hometown hero, and who didn't tear up reading his letter about coming home?
We've heard the stories from our parents about all of the heartbreakers (The Shot, The Fumble, 1997 World Series) and we've seen those clips over and over and over again and yet we still love these teams with all we have. We've had to watch countless players come and go, promising championships and delivering the opposite (ehem, Money Manziel). But has any of that ever turned us away? No. We're still here.
Sure, we've been criticized for being tasteless (you've heard about the ten cent beer incident, right?) but it all stems for our intense love of the game. Few other cities can pride themselves on their passionate fans. I'm sure it's hard to understand the bond we have as fans from the outside. Cleveland sports bring people in Ohio together, through the good and the bad times.
Each year we say 'this is our year' and we never give up hope. Even when it turns out not to be our year, we still show up the following year with that same flicker in our eyes. We never give up, ever. That's what it means to be a true Cleveland fan. We've stuck with our teams when they've lost it all and we'll stick with them when they win it all.
I love the Dawg Pound. I love the Wine And Gold. I love Chief Wahoo. I was raised in a household that loved Cleveland and I will teach my children to love Cleveland. That's just the way it goes. I'm honored to be a Cleveland fan.
So, say what you want to about this city and its sports teams. I don't care if we have the best teams or the worst teams in the league, I will always be a Cleveland sports fan. Cleveland rocks.
