What a let down. I feel like someone quickly let the air out of my sails and I am drifting in the middle of Lake Erie, paddle-less.
The hype so much more exciting than the main event, on so many levels.
Yes, this WAS the biggest NBA game this season. And the heavy hitting announcers, media, celebrities, et all, were out in force.
Our news & our sports departments have been anticipating this day for months. When they announced the NBA schedule, the first thing I as an assignment editor did was enter the information into our futures file.
As the time got closer, we all submitted story ideas as to how we should and could cover this history-making game, on the news end. The best sports department in town had their plan and implemented it flawlessly. Really, how can you go wrong with Jim Donovan and the gang!
There were countless angles which began taking shape at the beginning of the week leading to tip-off time.
We were live inside Q Arena with our portable gear, and our LIVE U as well as live outside the Q.
It was a circus, as they say. But we all knew this was coming.
Interesting information came out in the days preceding such as how LeBron felt, how he claims he had the utmost respect for the fans (yet he could never quite get the word 'Cleveland' out of his mouth. He kept saying that city, that city, those fans).
Announcers coddling the King asking how he would handle coming back to C-Town? Would the fans bother him if they still felt slighted? Would he be able to control his emotions?
Come on. LeBron has no emotions. He up and left in the worst possible way. These are not my words folks. All the big guys including "the" Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley have said he totally mishandled the situation.
Even if he did have a heart, as a sports professional, LeBron should be able to put feelings and emotions aside once he steps on the court for 48 minutes.
He showed the world that he came to play, taunt, psych those players who gave their allegiance to him for 7 years (and apparently still can not tear themselves away from him). He even dissed his former fellow players at the very end of the game, which had the TNT announcers saying he may have dug the whole even deeper. Just as he did not care about the fans when he made his 'Decision,' they certainly did not bother him Thursday evening.
Yes, I raise my caps to the Cleveland fans, and so did everyone else in the media world. Cleveland fans showed the enthusiam they have for their sports' teams. They kept themselves in line. It's the players on the court who made fools of themselves by playing hard for the first 5 to 10 minutes and then imploding, ultimately giving Cleveland yet another small black eye. We did not have mass rioting in the streets, or really hardly any problems. Kudos Cleveland! Bravo Cleveland Cavalier fans!
I applaud the local celebs who showed up in force to cheer on their fellow team: Bernie Kosar, Shaun Rogers, Travis Hafner, Josh Cribbs, Drew Carey....I hope the Cavs see the support they do still have sans LeBron and rev it up a few notches.
wkyc rocked with coverage from beginning to end. The best sports director in the world live at Q Arena with pregame sound, a wonderful package leading up to game time, and then postgame sound from both the Cavs and the Heat. Well, LeBron was the Heat sound. He did not let Bosh speak and allowed Wade one comment and then he got his posse and left the podium.
The fanfare leading up to the 'big event' was euphoric, exciting, as Jim Donovan put it, like the 7th game of the NBA Finals and the series was tied 3-3. If you were watching TNT just before the game, the TNT announcers stole Jimmy's line!
Then the air quickly exited the Macy's Day balloon and the game was bor-ing, frustrating, exasperating. The most exciting parts were the different chants each quarter, spotting the celebs in the stands, hearing Charles Barkley go off at halftime, and toward the end of the game the beer wet t-shirt contests causing a few scuffles in the stands.
I can see why James would be rattled at times. The scrutiny ridiculous from other media doing a whole story on whether or not he'd toss the talc up into the air to what the fans would chant.
At the end of the day, it's a game. No one dies, like other news stories we cover on a regular basis. You have a winner and a loser. Unfortunately, we all hoped the outcome would have been a bit different. But it's one game with a whole season ahead of us. And yes, the Cleveland Cavaliers play the Miami Heat 3 more times, including coming back to Cleveland in March. Realistically, at the end of our season series, Cleveland could be up 3-1.
All in all, the Cleveland fans came through yet again showing their team, the city, and the world what they are made of... Yes, Cleveland, Ohio has the best fans anywhere, bar none, hands down!
The players were the let down.
This experience, as many others in the past, will only make the best location in the nation stronger, better, and primed for one day in the near future when either the Browns, the Cavs, or 'my' Indians bring it all home!
Thank you Cleveland fans for showing your class yet again.
