There’s Something Strange Happening with Cleveland Sports Teams

 

By Larry Durstin

Something unusual is going on in Cleveland. No, it’s not the revitalization of downtown or the development occurring in a few high-profile neighborhoods or a new approach to solving the problems of Cleveland schools or the perennial efforts to improve the performance and accountability of safety forces. These are all happening right now and all embody enormous problems and promise.

But we’ve been down these paths innumerable times before with varying degrees of success, failure and everything in between. In many ways, Cleveland is both always in the process of re-inventing itself and always mired in political, cultural and economic inertia. Perhaps it’s the curse of the Rust Belt that keeps our region on a perpetual quality-of-life seesaw, but whatever it is it’s been going on for half a century and has, most definitely, taken up permanent residence in our collective psyches.

And speaking of  a half century, that’s how long it’s been since a Cleveland sports team last won a championship. Certainly, during those five decades there have been glimpses of excitement and some piecemeal successes – the Kardiacs Kids and “Bernie, Bernie,” the Tribe powerhouses of the ‘90s and the Lebron-era Cavaliers. But overall, Cleveland’s major sports squads have been treading a 50-year trail of tears strewn with horrible teams and terrible owners; players who did not want to come here and were eager to leave; and heartbreak after heartbreak for a fan base so punch drunk that it practically babbles incoherently when speaking of the fortunes of its beloved but doomed Browns, Cavs and Indians.

Well, with all the caveats that a half-century of woefulness demands, I am proclaiming that a new day may have dawned for the perpetually embattled Cleveland sports franchises and their tortured followers.

The Indians have just completed a startling 92-win season and a trip to the playoffs for the first time since 2007. After losing over 90 games in three of the previous four years, the Tribe hired two-time World Series winning manager Terry Francona, whose main reason for taking the job was that he loved Cleveland and wanted to come back to the place where his father, Tito, played and where young Terry came to the old Stadium to watch his dad perform.

With Francona and his impeccable managerial reputation on board, the Indians were able to sign ex-Yankee Nick Swisher to a multi-year contract and lure other free agents Michael Bourn, Ryan Raburn and Scott Kazmir to ink pacts with the team. From his first minute in town, Swisher, an Ohio State grad, loudly proclaimed his love for Cleveland in a manner not seen in many fan’s lifetimes. Though bothered by a shoulder injury most of the season, Swisher was instrumental in the Tribe going 21-6 down the stretch, winning the last 10 games in a row to qualify for the post-season by the margin of one game.

The Cavaliers were left for dead in the wake of LeBron James’ heinous departure in 2010 and in the subsequent three seasons the team has been one of the two or three worst squads in the NBA. But because of their poor record, the Cavs have drafted a number of excellent players – led by budding superstar Kyrie Irving – capable of leading the team out of the wilderness.

And to coach this promising team, owner Dan Gilbert re-hired the most successful coach in the franchise’s history, Mike Brown, who was ecstatic to return to Cleveland to lead the team, and had actually planned to relocate his family from Los Angeles to our fair city even before he got the Cavs job. Brown’s earnestness, character and reputation enabled the team to convince free agents Andrew Bynum, Earl Clark and Jarrett Jack to sign on as free agents and join the young talent already assembled – a group which will be considerably enhanced by numerous draft picks General Manager Chris Grant has stockpiled over the next few years.

As for the Browns, well, suffice to say that they have won three of the last four and are currently tied with the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens, just one game behind the Cincinnati Bengals. Their coach is Toledo-born Rob Chudzinski, who grew up worshipping the Browns and considers his current position his dream job. The team is young with an exciting defense and a new regime which has accumulated 10 draft picks, including two first rounder, for next year, And though the new owner belongs in the pokey, at least the abominable Lerner Era is over. That’s why hopes are, if not exactly sky-high, at least are not below sea level.

Who could have guessed that an integral part of Cleveland’s latest downtown revival would be the improvement of the town’s three beleaguered sports teams – each consisting of managers, coaches and more than a few talented players who were eager to come here, happy to be here and are ready to roll?

Strange days, indeed.

 

 

Larry Durstin is an independent journalist who has covered politics and sports for a variety of publications and websites over the past 20 years. He was the founding editor of the Cleveland Tab and an associate editor at the Cleveland Free Times. Durstin has won 12 Ohio Excellence in Journalism awards, including six first places in six different writing categories. LarryDurstinATyahoo.com

 

 

 

Post categories:

• News
• Civic Affairs
• Commentary
• History
• Sport
• Larry Durstin