Make Me a Witness

This isn't supposed to be happening. No not to us. Cleveland sports fans are made with thick skin to survive the cold winters of discontent. Those years when the Browns finish at 7-9, the Cavs steeped in mediocrity of Mike Fratello teams that can't decide if they want to make the playoffs or the draft lottery, and all those years of Indians perpetually losing.We've endured the worst kinds of defeats that have defined HOF careers (The Drive, The Shot, The Catch); we've endured losing in the most spectacular of ways (The Fumble, 1997 World Series); and we've had one of the the most storied NFL franchises taken away from us. We're a tough bunch. More accustomed to losing then any Boston [hey, you had the Celtics and Pats (coached by whom?) to cheer for] or Chicago (those Bulls won a couple of rings, didn't they?) fan. These events have made us resilient to defeat. It has even made some of us (me) so cynical that even in the event of a major sports championship, we won't accept that something catastrophically bad hasn't fallen on the team.

But maybe things are changing. Three years ago the Cavs limped (with their awful uniforms) to the NBA draft lottery and somehow (SOMEHOW!) scored that magic ping-pong ball to secure #23 himself, LeBron James. Good things are not supposed to happen to Cleveland sports teams. Two seasons (and two coaches) falling just short of the playoffs ensue. Add to that new ownership who got off to quick a rocky start, and things aren't looking up. Then year three comes and the Cavs, playoff rookies for all intents and purposes, are picked to struggle with a "playoff experienced" Washington team. In six games, LBJ and Gilbert Arenas put on a magic offensive show. The young, upstart Cavs take the series 4-2.

Here we are in the 2nd round of the NBA playoffs against the Detroit Pistons. The same Detroit Pistons who have gone to the past two NBA finals, winning in 2004. The same Detroit Pistons who's success had been defined by no superstar player but an emphasis on fundamentals and teamwork. Those same Detroit Pistons who were picked to beat the Cavs in 4 or 5 games. But what happened to those Detroit Pistons? Somewhere in game 2, the Cavs started beating the Pistons at their own game -- team work and defense. Yes, these games have been ugly and we're now lucky to see a game go into the 90s. But the Cavs have turned it up and are now in control of the series. Their bench has totally outplayed the Pistons bench (which consists of who else besides Antonio McDyess and Lindsay Hunter?) and players such has Anderson Varejao have given the team a spark. I was happy to have won one or two games -- a good 'ol moral victory but not anymore. This team, LeBron and company, can take this series. The pressure is all on Detroit now. Gund Arena is going to be INSANE friday night. Louder then any of us can imagine.

Comparison have been made to LBJ and MJ. Early in his career MJ had the foil in the Detroit Piston Bad Boys. We see the same thing with LeBron. But the difference? LeBron has a chance to beat Detroit the first time around. Yes we are all witnesses. We're not witnesses to the next Magic or the next Jordan. No, we're witnesses to the one and the only LeBron James.

I've added another Cleveland sports blog: Mistake by the Lake Sporting Times. Be sure to check it out as they've deciphered the Witness commercials and ID'd all the locations. They also go stat-crazy with their analyses.

Tomorrow is Game 6 in Cleveland. I'm thinking it is going to be a classic and hope everyone watches it. As I'm located in the heart of the mitten state, I've proudly been wearing my blue #32 Larry Hughes jersey. Now the question begs -- do I wear it out to the bar friday night and enter directly into enemy territory?