LeBron and Cleveland

Yesterday I was sitting in a McDonald's about 15 miles outside of Cleveland. They had CNN on their TV screen. They came in with breaking news that LeBron James had just announced he was coming back to play with Cleveland. It captivated the crowd. It was big news.

I got back in the car and listened to the Cleveland sports radio station I was listening to before we pulled into McDonald's (at which time they were discussing the possibility LeBron might come back). Anyway I turned it on and was able to listen to it for the next two or three hours. I have never heard such unbridled joy in my life. The hosts talked some, but mostly they were taking calls from the listeners. Several callers were crying, I repeat, crying as they talked about how happy they were. The main host many times used the phrase, "He's coming home". There must have been hundreds of callers all happy as can be. One of the hosts played "Happy". He said he didn't even like the song until then. It just summed up everything.

Earlier in the day I was driving through Cleveland, and, no offense, thinking how bad it was there. I'm sure there are nice parts, but where we drove (at least 10 miles worth of driving) was bad. There were decrepit buildings and torn up roads. There roads at times seemed like cobblestone streets from the colonial era. I also thought about how bad their sports teams always are. Until the last few years Boston Red Sox fans would whine about how they were cursed and couldn't win the World Series. You had nothing to complain about. Your area had the Boston Bruins, New England Patriots, Boston Celtics who have won plenty.

Cleveland - nothing. Cleveland sports fans don't whine. They just suck it up and deal with it. Baseball, Football, Basketball - Cleveland has had nary a sniff of anyone being in contention for anything since the 1950's. So I guess I kind of understand the emotion of the city. I'm guessing they still probably won't win, but I'm happy they've got this joy now.

They replayed the moment the moment they first got the news. The host that read it broke down crying at one point. And then everyone in the studio all started screaming. Anytime I'm sad from now on, I'm just going to remember those hours of pure joy that Cleveland experienced
that day.