Monday, June 20, 2005

It really never stops

I've known for most of my life that to be a Cleveland fan is to know heartbreak. Our disasters are well known. The Drive. The Fumble. Jose Mesa.

But it's worse than that. I can't even turn on a game or think about Cleveland teams without having to think about all of this the second something bad happens. Case in point, just moments ago, it occurred to me that the Indians, winners of nine in a row, would probably be on TV right now, because they're playing the Red Sox. Sure enough, I put on the Deuce, and we were live from the Jake. Cleveland up 1-0 in the fourth.

Of course, before I could even get up and fetch a beverage Manny Ramirez hit a three-run homer. Yes, the same Manny Ramirez who was signed by the Indians and who made a career for himself mashing in the same lineup as Jim Thome, Los Hermanos Alomar and others. A few minutes later, as I began typing, ESPN shows a much younger Manny homering at the Jake in a Tribe uniform. Of course they did.

I'm sure there are sports fans from other cities who could handle watching a rough moment or two from one of their sports teams without thinking about all this, but I promise, none of them support Cleveland teams.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

ahem. the lions.

Anonymous said...

Please, no other sports fan can go toe to toe on misery with a Cleveland fan.

The Lions? Please. Are you saying that Cleveland shares their misery with all other cities that haven't been to the super bowl? Teams that have never played in a Super Bowl: Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals, and the Seattle Seahawks. I don't think New Orleans shares the same misery as Clevelanders. I mean at least the weather's better and they have mardi gras. In fact let's just sum up cleveland football with one word "elway".

Detroit at least has other teams to ease the pain. Didn't a certain basketball team from the same city just win some sort of sports title (and are currently attempting to win the same title again)?

And speaking of baseball, really, was 1984 all that long ago. Let's swap the last 2 numbers (1948) and that's the last time the Indians won (in 5 appearances) the world series. The Tigers also won in 1968, 1945, and 1935. That makes 4 titles to Cleveland's 1. And if a cubs fan wants to chime in, the cubs won in 1907 and 1908 (and have made 10 appearances) that's twice as many as Cleveland on both counts. I mean, we can't even just get to the dance.

I could go on and on...