Ad Infinitum

Cleveland is the place I grew up and lived much of my adult life, so it will always be a part of my soul.

--Mark Edwards

Tonight we lost. We didn't play to our potential, that's clear to anyone who watched 87 games prior to this series. But we are who we are. This is the place our forebears made their home and for those of us who lack a clear, coherent ethnic identity, a geographic identity is all that's available to us. There is no mother country in my past, Cleveland is the only home I'll ever know. My grandfather was a mailman in these suburbs, my other (deadbeat) grandfather a trucker based out of Cleveland, my father was born in the city proper. I don't know any further back than the already-vague men who came before my father's generation but I know this is the city that drew their parents. The city that led to me.

Tonight we lost. And if I may kill the suspense, the Indians and Browns will lose this year. And the Cavs will likely lose next year. But they'll keep playing. They'll keep playing and we'll keep watching because that's what we do. Mike Brown just said "our guys fought to the end." And whether or not that's true for Cavs not named Shaq or Mo, that statement reminds us that we understand better than any the meaning of futility and the meaning of loyalty. In my favorite of Dr. King's speeches, delivered 19 years to the day before I was born and the last speech he ever delivered, he said "But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars."

And that's the story of our lives, of our city, of our history. We see and feel more acutely because we live in the dark. We may yet see the mythical mountaintop but we may not and, if so, that's our role. Some will see only the stars, never the sunrise.

But to quote myself from some time ago:

So why not pick new teams out of a hat? Why not become a “fan” of more successful franchises? Because, put simply, sports are not mere entertainment. Granted, we all enjoy good athletes and good teams putting on a good show. That’s why I watch championship games after my teams have been knocked out of contention. But Cleveland teams—particularly the Browns, as Cleveland is primarily, I believe, a football town—are a reflection of the city. In the first half of the twentieth century, Cleveland was an industrial powerhouse, a progressive hotbed, and one of the five largest cities in the country. It had even produced a U. S. president. During this time, its sports teams were feared in a manner becoming of a respected metropolis. The Browns won several championships and even the Indians had two World Series wins under their belts.

No Cleveland team has won anything since 1964. That decade also marked the city’s slide in prestige as racial unrest, deindustrialization, and environmental embarrassments began to take their toll. The story of its sport franchises since 1964 has been the story of the city itself: uncertain stumbling between periods of hope and despair, promise and regress. As each new season dawns and Cleveland teams begin anew the quixotic quest to bring a title to Cleveland they are merely reflecting the city’s larger search for redemption, its bid to earn again the respect that’s been lost, and its hopes of finally finding an escape from “The Mistake on the Lake.” So I would vigorously disagree that a national team represents a country better than a local team represents a city.

Never run from who you are or where you're from. Especially if they are one and the same.