On June 19, 2016, the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off what seemed to be improbable odds. The Cleveland Cavaliers came back from being down 3-1 in the NBA Finals to bring the city of Cleveland its first championship by any major league sports team in 52 years, also bringing the the Cavaliers franchise its first ever championship. A city known for being a laughing stock of a city, no matter what professional sport, was now considered a city of champions. Not only did winning the title mean so much for the team and for our unsung hero Lebron James, but this meant so much more to the entire city of Cleveland and all of its fans. They had been on a 52 year drought of heartbreaks, disappointment, and agony. The Cavaliers have another shot at a title this year, but can they win it all again?
For so long did the city come so close to a championship in the past 52 years to end up coming up short of winning it all. The Cleveland Indians managed to make the playoffs quite often during those 52 years, managing to make the world series in 1995, 1997, and 2016. Unfortunately each of those world series ended in misery, especially a heart breaker in 2016 when the Indians blew a 3-1 lead to the Chicago Cubs. The Cleveland Browns playoff history is a story all in its own, having struggled year after year to barley make the playoffs in recent years, or being able to keep their team intact. However, much like the Indians, the Cavaliers have had much success making it to the playoffs since their establishment as a professional basketball team in 1970.
For only being a 20 year old, I’ve grown up to very few playoff experiences, let alone been to many. Fortunately for me, two years ago I was blessed for a birthday gift to go to the first game of the series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Chicago Bulls. Pictured above is a photo I took while attending the game with my father. Over my life I have been to many Cavaliers games, but this one stood out from all of the others. The feeling while attending a playoff game is one of a kind. The energy and passion from fans rises too another level during the postseason. Even though this game ended in a loss to the Chicago Bulls, this game stands at the top of my favorite experiences from any game ever. The Cavaliers managed to push it all the way the Finals that year, but they ended up falling to the Golden State Warriors in six games.
Then the 2015-2016 NBA season came along and the playoffs began in mid-April 2016. The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors were once again favorites to see each other in a Finals rematch. The Golden State were considered favorites to win after pulling off the best regular season record in NBA history of 73-9 as well as the first even unanimous MVP in Steph Curry. The Warriors pulled out to an early 2-0 lead, winning both of their home games. The Cavaliers managed to secure one victory at home but failed to secure the second, falling to 3-1. With the Warriors needing only one more win to secure their second title in a row, all hope looked lost for the Cavaliers. To make matters worst, they would have to play two of their three elimination games at Golden State. Through all the doubt of critics everywhere, the Cavaliers managed to win three straight games to bring back their first ever championship for the Cavaliers. With their victory, they also wrote their names down in history as not only securing their first ever championship, but also being the first team ever in NBA history to comeback from being down 3-1 in the NBA Finals. This also gave birth to my favorite meme of all time, pictured above.
Now with the weight of bringing home a championship to Cleveland, Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are now on their way to another NBA playoffs, but can they do what they did last year and bring home another NBA championship to the city of Cleveland?
