This is, in many ways, 1995 all over again in Cleveland sports.
You no doubt recall that time exactly 30 years ago, when the Browns kept making all kinds of negative news, especially when it came to getting a new stadium, eventually leading to their decision to relocate to Baltimore for the assurance of the construction of such.
Conversely, the then Indians were the talk of the town — and in Major League Baseball overall — from a positive basis, bludgeoning teams night after night en route to finishing a staggering 100-44, clinching the American League Central with still three weeks to play and advancing all the way to the World Series for the first time in 41 years.
Fast forward 30 years — goodness, has it really been that long? — to the present, and the news about the Browns is all negative again. They are coming off a disastrous and totally unexpected 3-14 season, they don’t have a starting quarterback and their best player, future Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Myles Garrett, wants out because he knows the team is in a rebuilding stage and he doesn’t want to be part of that even though the Browns’ top people, their heads in the sand, insist they are in it to win it.
And oh, did we also mention that the Browns plan on moving again from Cleveland in the interest of getting a new stadium, but not immediately, and not to the East Coast or anywhere else out of the 216 area code. Rather, they want to go just a short distance down I-71 to Brook Park, out by Hopkins Airport, where they intend to build a domed facility. As is usually the case with Cuyahoga County politics, where nothing is easy, simple or civil, they are being met with spirited resistance on a variety of fronts.
Whew! That’s a lot.
While all this is going on, the news is a whole heckuva lot brighter, happier and cheerier with the two other local pro sports teams. The now Guardians are getting ready to defend their Central Division title and make it back at least to the American League Championship Series, where their postseason journey ended a year ago.
And then there are the Cavaliers. Oh, yes, indeed, the Cavaliers! They are having a season just like the Indians did three decades ago, blowing through their competition at a dizzying rate. They are an NBA-best 50-10 and recently earned a road victory over the defending league champion Boston Celtics in which they erased a 25-3 first-quarter deficit, causing Celtics guard Jayson Tatum to regret the fact he motioned at that point for the Cavs to get outta town and go back home.
The Cavs aren’t going anywhere. And, thankfully, in a broad sense, neither are the Browns.
But just like 1995, when the wow factor of the Indians took the Cleveland sports fans’ minds off the struggles of the Browns (the football team announced its move to Baltimore six days after the baseball club bowed out of the World Series), the Cavs — and shortly, the Guardians as well — are doing the same thing now.
By the way, we need to mention that the Cavs have a great, young quarterback in Darius Garland. Also, the Cavs’ best player, Donovan Mitchell, made the decision last offseason to stay with the team, just as Jose Ramirez, the Guardians’ best player, did with his club several years ago.
They did so because they like the sre and also the fact they are with teams that really are in it to win it.
Imagine that?!
Steve King
