Remember 2007?
Perhaps you do. But maybe you don’t.
Whatever the case, that was a long time ago — nine years, to be exact.
If you do recall it, then it’s probably because you know it was a significant year for Cleveland sports fans. It was the last time that all three of the city’s major pro sports teams were good all together.
Behind the passing of Derek Anderson, who came out of nowhere to be their first Pro Bowl quarterback in 20 years, the running of former nemesis Jamal Lewis and the pass catching of Braylon Edwards, Kellen Winslow II and hometown product Joe Jurevicius, the Browns finished 10-6.
With some outstanding starting pitching, the Indians had 90-plus victories for the second time in three years, going 96-66 and winning their first American League Central title in six seasons, which was the last time they made the playoffs.
And the Cavaliers, in the 2006-07 season, used young phenom LeBron James and a bunch of no-names to post a 50-32 record for the second consecutive time and make the playoffs again as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
But to varying degrees, none of the teams finished like they had hoped.
Despite recording their most wins since 1994, the Browns came within a whisker of getting into the postseason. They tied Pittsburgh for first place in the AFC North but lost the division title to the Steelers on tie-breakers. They also tied Tennessee for the conference’s final wild-card berth, but, again on tie-breakers, they lost out to the Titans.
The Indians beat the New York Yankees 3-1 in the Division Series and had a 3-1 lead over the Boston Red Sox in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series. But they couldn’t close it out against manager Terry Francona’s club and fell just short of making it to the World Series.
The Cavs advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time but were overmatched against the San Antonio Spurs in losing in four straight.
Collectively, this wasn’t the start of a great run by the Cleveland teams. Rather, it was a fleeting moment, like a shooting star.
The Browns slumped to 4-12 in 2008 and haven’t had a winning season since. The string of losing records is at eight.
The Indians went into oblivion, too, finishing .500 in 2008 and having only 65 wins by ’09. They’ve made the playoffs just once since.
The Cavs remained as a contender – for a while at least. They made the playoffs the next three seasons, then LeBron left and so did the winning.
The Browns are at rock-bottom now, but they have hopes that new head coach Hue Jackson will get them back on track.
The Indians are in second place in the division and hope that their starting pitching, perhaps the best in the game, and sensational young shortstop Francisco Lindor can push them over the top and back into the playoffs.
The Cavs, with LeBron in his second stint with them, are headed back to the Eastern Conference Finals. They are built to win now, and may just do it enough to capture a league title.
That, in itself, would make 2016 a lot better than ’07, which, as we all know now, was good but not great.
Now the Indians and Browns have to follow suit. Keep your fingers crossed.
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One of the Browns’ first great defensive players was born 92 years ago today. It was May 10, 1924 that George Young came into the world in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Young started his college career at Baldwin-Wallace in Berea and then finished up at Georgia. He played on the first eight Browns teams from 1946-53, serving as the starter at left end for all but that final season. During that time, the Browns played in eight straight league championship games in the NFL and All-America Football Conference, winning five titles. He died in 1969 at the way-too-young age of 45.
