The local analogy that could help explain how the city of Cleveland has had to endure waiting for a professional sports championship could be the way Barangay Ginebra fans are hoping for the next serious title run.
It could also be the way Tanduay fans waited for a PBA championship, a plateau that its predecessor Yco had reached many times before. Or in college basketball, it’s like the University of the Philippines pining for a UAAP crown since 1986.
In this year’s NBA Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers came exceedingly close, even leading the series, 2-1, after losing the series opener. Sports programs and platforms began recalling all the excruciating years of waiting for Cleveland residents.
The last pro football championship of the Browns was in 1964 while the baseball Indians, once the subject of joyful parody in the Major League movies, had not won since 1948.
The early series lead was even enough to forget the pain of the Cavaliers being swept by the San Antonio Spurs in 2007, when hometown hero LeBron James tried to lead them to their first title.
Prodigal son James, who returned to the Cavs this season, did everything humanly possible to finally win an NBA crown for the city. And yet even his best efforts could not match the hunger and desire of their opponents who were also tired of waiting.
The Golden State Warriors, a perennial victim of bad basketball management, finally had a team that had talent, tenacity and the teamwork to end a 40-year drought.
James, often criticized by detractors because of his public statements but equally idolized by those in awe of his basketball skills, just didn’t have enough cast support to finally deliver a title to the city. The absence of the injured Kevin Love and later on Kyrie Irving was too heavy a burden to replace, even with James’ superb skills.
An emergency crew of JR Smith, Matthew Dellavedova, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Maslov valiantly tried to support James. But in the final three games of the series, the “small” roster aligned by Golden State rookie coach Steve Kerr was just too energetic, fast and sharp from long distance.
The Dubs (short for the Ws or the first letter of the Warriors tag) also hit paydirt when their season MVP Stephen Curry began to nail the target after Game 3. Curry is simply one of the best shooters off the dribble across generations and his connecting from rainbow territory was vital for the Warriors.
Then there was series MVP Andre Iguodala. Many believe that James should have still been the series best player given his stats. This was hopefully similar to the way Jerry West won the award in 1969 in spite of being on a losing Los Angeles Lakers team that fell to Bill Russell’s Boston Celtics in seven games.
But here’s an argument worth tossing around on barstools or in coffee shops as this year’s NBA Finals will be dissected: James was expected to deliver his big numbers while Iguodala wasn’t even a starter in the early games and had an impact on the outcome of the series as he hit big shots and also defended James.
One can’t help but feel for Cleveland again. But that’s the thrill and agony of sports: Hoping for that moment when the waiting finally ends. California and the Bay Area have momentarily ended theirs while it goes on for the Cavaliers and Cleveland.