CLEVELAND — It wasn’t the expected reaction.
Sure, wine-and-gold clad fans swarmed the nearest local TV camera outside Quicken Loans Arena after the Cleveland Cavaliers swept the Atlanta Hawks with a 118-88 win on Tuesday. Fans mugged for selfies and exchanged high fives, but the full-go celebration inside didn’t spill outside. The somewhat-tame reaction on the corner of Huron Road and East Sixth Street defied that perception.
That perception we’ll hear all about until the NBA Finals start June 4. Cleveland, the weather-beaten city that hasn’t won a pro sports championship since 1964. Cleveland, the place where parents tell their sons and daughters the most sadistic bed-time stories possible, a series of near-misses referenced by two- and three-word phrases. Cleveland, the curse of cursed sports cities where if the jerseys aren’t burning, then the closest lake or river is.
You know what? It’s not like that, at least right now. It wasn’t the expected reaction. It was better. There’s no need for an all-out disturbance, not for a city still dealing with the aftermath of the death of Tamir Rice.
No matter how many times the narrative is repeated, this fan-base isn’t a bunch of perpetual Debbie Downers staring at the pavement waiting for the next heartache. Does Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones, a Cleveland native who dogged Joakim Noah through the Bulls series, strike you as that type of guy? Of course not.
To take Cleveland’s pulse it’s best to start with one of its most-recognizable voices. Newsradio WTAM AM 1100 host Mike Trivisonno, a Cleveland native, has waited out that 51-year drought like everybody else.
“I think most people — and I’m speaking for myself — are cautiously optimistic,” Trivisonno told Sporting News. “There’s a little caution in Cleveland. When something goes wrong in sports, it usually does. But most people here are thrilled to death the Cavs are playing for a NBA championship. We really think we have the best team.”
"Triv" isn’t the only one who thinks Cleveland can break this drought against Golden State. It’s a kid like 16-year-old Ryan Hite, who leaned forward in his seat for most of the night with his father, Matt, in the upper deck of "The Q” on Tuesday. LeBron James sailed in for a near foul-line dunk in the first quarter. Hite stood up and declared: “He’s the greatest that’s ever lived. Simple as that.”
It’s never that simple in Cleveland — as Cavaliers coach David Blatt put it afterward, “Nothing is easy here.”
Maybe Hite’s youthful defiance is what Cleveland fans need. Maybe it’s better to take the cautious approach. Maybe none of this matters because the Cavaliers have a shot no matter what with James heading to his fifth consecutive NBA Finals. Maybe it doesn’t have to make sense. That’s all part of the deal.
There are things explained and things unexplained. In between there's always Cleveland.
“The funny part of it is Kyrie Irving isn’t healthy and Kevin Love isn’t there, and they are playing their best basketball right now,” Trivisonno says before that laugh almost every Cleveland commuter has heard on the drive home. “That should be impossible. That’s part of the Cleveland mystique I’m trying to tell you about.”
That goes straight to the next misconception. Trivisonno embraces those near misses as part of Cleveland’s history. If you don’t know how to lose you’ll never deserve to win.
No three-sports deserves this many “How did that feel?” type questions after losing. How do you ask Trivisonno or any other Cleveland diehard about the same events that have haunted Cleveland for so long? You can still feel him do the mental playback of the Browns’ 1987-88 AFC Championship against Denver before the words tumble out.
“'The Fumble’ I’ll never forget,” Trivisonno says before trailing off. “I really thought (Earnest) Byner was going in there.”
So maybe the Cavs score this time. It doesn’t have to make sense. Look no further than Matthew Dellavedova, the perceived dirty player du jour. Dellavedova entered Game 4 to a round of applause and promptly swished a 3-pointer. Chants of “Delly! Delly!” erupted. He's the fan favorite here.
That, right there. That explains the unexplained in Cleveland right now.
“At times he stunk this year,” Trivisonno says. “Now comes the playoffs, Kyrie gets hurt and he looks like Jerry West out there. I shouldn’t say it like I know all the time, but he’s a perfect guy for Cleveland to get attached to. He’s a hard-working guy with minimal talent that gets it done.”
Now, will Cleveland get it done and reverse the curse once and for all? Will the intersection between Triv’s frustration and a Mentor Lake Catholic high school kid's optimism end in another round of confetti in the NBA Finals? Trivisonno believes the Cavaliers win this one. He thinks Cleveland has the best team and is picking them to beat the Warriors. If all goes wrong, hey, it’s another five-seconds of material for the next montage. LeBron is going to be around for a while this time.
If Cleveland wins? Trivisonno offers a guess that rolls all the hyperbole, truth, irony and cautious optimism for a city that’s been waiting 51 years to do this thing into one simple thought. That reaction won’t disappoint.
“If this teams win a championship,” he says before that laugh returns. “Cleveland could crumble.”
