LeBron James (right) is gearing up for Cleveland Cavaliers' NBA Finals match-up vs Golden State Warriors
For the
success-starved sports fans of Cleveland an epic, almost biblical, 51-year wait
for a championship can come to an end thanks to a modern day tale of the
Prodigal Son.
They call
it 'the curse' - 156 combined seasons have passed since either one of the NFL's
hapless Browns, baseball's luckless Indians and the NBA's never-quite-there
Cavaliers lifted some silverware for these loyal, long-suffering hordes.
Since the
Browns lifted the (pre-Super Bowl) championship in 1964 there has been no
ticker tape parades in the city some half-jokingly refer to as the Mistake on
the Lake.
The Cavaliers play Game 1 at Golden State on Thursday night in their best-of-seven series
James will be hoping to end Cleveland's 51-year wait for a championship across America's major sports
To fans
of forever League Two sides, that may not seem so bad but this is the land of
capitalism - where the sports are fiercely communist.
On the
levellest of salary-capped, draft-picking playing fields, a run like that is
not meant to happen - and certainly not in a sports mad city the size of
Cleveland.
That it
has is a down to a combination of mismanagement and belief-defying (not to
mention cruel) bad luck that would require a separate story all of its own.
Over the
next three weeks, however, all that could change. Cleveland, all of a sudden,
is Believeland. On the banks of Lake Erie something spooky is going on.
The
Cavaliers are in the NBA Finals and the Cleveland Curse can be ended by their
very own Prodigal Son.
Step
forward LeBron Raymone James. In 1984, down the road in nearby Akron, one of
the most gifted basketball players to ever lace sneakers was born to a
16-year-old mother.
James (centre) is regarded as the world's best player and has lived up to his promise from a young age
Out of
abject poverty came a rough diamond. At High School they marvelled at his
mesmerising skills. So good was this boy that arenas were booked to replace
gyms and promptly sold out to give eager punters across Ohio a view of this
phenomenon at small forward.
In 2003
he joined his local team - from prep to pro - and grabbed 25 points in his
first game for the Cavs. Finally, Cleveland could dream again.
It never
happened, however, and in 2010 came what many believed was the ultimate
betrayal.
LeBron
not only jumped town for Miami, but he kept everyone waiting and made his
decision public on a TV show called The Decision.
It was
crass, without class and felt like a very public smack in the face to thousands
of watching Clevelanders. His actual words were that he was taking his talents
to South Beach seriously.
James receives a hug from his mother, Gloria after being selected as the No 1 pick in the 2003 draft
James' departure to the Miami Heat in 2010 was deemed as the ultimate betrayal by the Cleveland faithful
James won back-to-back NBA Championships with the Heat in 2012 and 2013 (pictured celebrating the latter)
James' sponsor Nike released a stunning advert ahead of his return to Cleveland at the start of this season
If you are struggling to get excited by the Cavaliers or their favoured opponents, the Golden State Warriors, you should watch it.
There
have been ups and downs but generally speaking the homecoming of the Prodigal
Son has gone as planned (although there is a get-out clause in his two-year
contract).
The
breaking of the curse is within reach of the Akron boy's giant tattooed hands.
On the
windswept, rugged streets of Cleveland it may finally be time to wheel out the
fatted calf.
James has led the Cavs to post-season series wins over Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks
A series victory over Golden State would secure the 30-year-old his third NBA championship in four years
No comments:
Post a Comment