The hurt of losing
People here tend to be forgiving souls, except when it comes to their sports teams. Politicians and ministers can resurrect a sullied image; it happens here. Try losing a big game under a national spotlight and you will find no forgiveness in a Clevelander’s heart.

It has had to endure too much hurt to forgive — or to forget.

Clevelanders carry the hurt with them; they tuck it somewhere to pull out and reflect on it. Talk then starts about how cursed Cleveland teams are and about how another disappointment awaits, says Rick Balazs, an accountant in downtown Cleveland.

“That’s why I kinda hope the Cavaliers can do it,” says Balazs, who was 12 when the Indians lost the ’97 World Series. “If they don’t, it’s gonna be more of the same reaction: ‘You know, Cleveland can’t do it; they can’t win the big one.’

“To me, that’s rubbish.”

Madden doesn’t worry about how the city will react if the Cavs don’t win the title. He says Cleveland fans shake off disappointment better than people anywhere else.

“And, unfortunately,” he says, “it’s because we’ve had a lot of practice.”

He tries to see James and the Cavs, the team with the best record in the NBA, in a different light. They tempted Madden and other Clevelanders into believing in 2007 before falling to the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.

Nobody expected the Cavaliers to beat the Spurs. San Antonio was too experienced in the ways of NBA championships. But the Spurs were preparation, seasoning the Cavs for success later.

Promises, promises, promises
Now, later is here. The Cavs are the marquee team in the NBA, the team that many people expect to win the title.

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All of that sounds good. The prideful talk has Clevelanders giddy and confident. They gobble up tickets to Quicken Loans Arena. They are pouring their emotions into James and the Cavs, something people have not done since the wonderful 1990s at Jacobs Field.

Those teams at The Jake promised fans championships, too. None came. Now, the promise there has given way to mediocre. The love affair fans had with the Indians and The Jake has moved across the plaza to The Q.

Promise thrives there. It has led to grand dreams: parades, championship banners and MVP chatter.

Past dreams and promises haven’t amounted to much here — not since ’64. The years since have taught Clevelanders a hard lesson: not to invest too much emotion in either.

Not even on LeBron and the Cavs.

“We’ve been disappointed too many times,” Madden says. “I think until the trophy is hoisted, we really won’t believe it and celebrate it until it happens.”

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