The Lost City of Cleveland

CLEVELAND— Cleveland, a city known for some of the most iconic debacles in sports history. The shot…The drive… The fumble... Mesa. But in 2016 narrative was starting to shift and a new one was beginning to take its place: Sports mecca.

June 19th, 2016, it was a warm summer night, there was nervous energy not just in Cleveland, but all-over Northeast Ohio.

The two greatest and most nerve-racking words in sports echoed through Cleveland’s sports fans heads throughout the day “game 7.” Could the Cavs really come back from a 3-1 deficit to beat a
73-win juggernaut?

Fans of all different backgrounds gathered as the Cavaliers took them on an emotional roller coaster. The back and forth blows proved that this was going to come down to one or two key possessions. One-shot, and one-stop. 

As Andre Iguodala goes up for a fast break, one thought maps through every Cavs fan mind-“not again.” Fans are held breathless as Iguodala goes up. In a blur comes Lebron James, an Akron native and hometown hero to come and pin Iguodala and resuscitate fans.

A new and somewhat frightening thought encompasses Cleveland fans- “could this be the one?” With the game tied the Cavs needed a bucket to end a long scoring drought- enter Kyrie Irving.

Kyrie, dubbed Mr. 4th quarter, rises over unanimous MVP Steph Curry and drains a three and in an instant, fans all around Ohio felt all the 52-year pain start to dissipate and a new feeling of
euphoria and relief started to settle in.

Tears of joy engulf the fan base and players as they finally dismissed a 52-year drought that
seemingly crippled the city.

Fans all alike celebrate in unity and are in disbelief-For the first time they are on top, for once they are champions. But one thing was clear, it was not going to stop there. 

The Cleveland Indians were in the midst of their season as the Cavs celebrated their championship parade, and they took notice of the attention the Cavs got for ending the drought

“You see the whole city getting together, actually, the whole state,” said young star-studded Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor “I had a chance to see it driving in and it gave me chills just to see how great it can be once you win.” 

The Indians were already making a strong bid for a playoff berth, but after the Cavaliers win it was clear that Lindor and the rest of his teammates were chasing the chills that he felt while
witnessing the parade. 

That year Lindor led his Indians to the world series defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in just 5 games, and while they were not able to achieve winning a world series after leading the Cubs 3-1, the Indians made their print as a studded super team that had many years ahead of them. But it did not stop at the Indians.

In 2015 Ohio State, behind a loaded squad consisting of 1 st round Pro Bowlers RB Ezekiel Elliot, DE Joey Bosa, CB Marshon Latimore, and WR Michael Thomas, was able to go on a storybook
run and capture a National Championship, which was the first of the playoff era.

The Blue Jackets had also made a splash in 2017, making the NHL playoffs for the first time since 2013. Since 2001, the Blue Jackets had only appeared in the playoffs twice before this run: 2008-09 and 2013-2014.

The Blue Jackets minor league affiliate Lake Erie Monsters were also making their imprint on the Ohio sports scene, winning their very first Calder Cup in a clean sweep of the Hershey Bears
in the same year as the Cavaliers.

Another hometown kid, not named Lebron James, was making headlines as well. In 2016 Stipe Miocic, a native of Euclid Ohio, and 2020 Cleveland athlete of the year, captured the first UFC
heavyweight title of his career.

Ohio was quickly turning into an epicenter for the sports world, filled with some of the best talents in the country. It was an oddly exciting time to be a sports fan in Ohio, something that
many were not used to. 

The Cavaliers went on to appear in 4 straight finals, and the next year the Indians reloaded with even more talent and even compiled an MLB record 23 game win streak. The Browns were in
the midst of a rebuild but they were beginning to turn the corner and felt as if they were a QB away from making the playoffs.

The city

The 2016 finals showed just how important the local sports teams were to the city of Cleveland. Their passion was on display on the biggest stage possible and that transparency had an impact
on the growth of Cleveland as a whole. 

In 2016 Dan Gilbert announced that The Q would begin a rebuild. The rebuild would end up costing upwards of $140 million and would make it competitive by making it more modern and create more room for dining and event rooms.

“The Cavs and taxpayers would split the cost, without any increase in taxes.” According to Cleveland.com “Existing taxes on hotel rooms and Q tickets would pay most of the public share.” A small price to pay for a new state-of-the-art arena.

The boost in the international spotlight also did a lot for the economy of Cleveland. Being in the Finals in consecutive years, and having them in the same year as the world series put all the national media in Cleveland Ohio. 

“Each 2018 NBA Finals game in Cleveland generates $3.7 million for the local economy.” According to DowntownCleveland.com “The entire Cavs 2018 NBA Playoff run is projected to
generate an estimated total of $31 million in economic impact.”

The amount of admissions tax (8% of every ticket sold to every event at The Q) generated: $3.6 million: Projected total generated from Cavs games during the 2018 NBA Playoffs. $12.5 million: Generated total from all events at The Q in 2017. $10 million: Generated total from all events at The Q in 2018 through April.

This created new building projects (like the Q) and Cleveland was booming and seemingly on its way to becoming a sports dynasty. Suddenly Cleveland’s passion was on full display, and
with the economic rise, Cleveland was turning into a town that people wanted to be in. 

The Republican National Convention was housed in Cleveland in the summer of 2016, proving that the rise of recognition was going far beyond the sports platform.

“The host city Cleveland has also gone through a recent revitalization” Politico states while persuading audiences to tune in. “Not even including its recent and long-awaited NBA
championship.”

In a break down of the numbers, Politico states that there were 50,000 expected total visitors in Cleveland during the convention, according to convention organizers, increasing the population
of Cleveland (389,521 as of spring 2014) temporarily by 13 percent.

In 2017 Cleveland was awarded the 2019 MLB All-Star game, and in 2018 they were also awarded the 2022 NBA All-Star game. Hosting these events were perfect examples of how
Cleveland’s stock was rising rapidly, and perhaps too quickly. 

The collapse
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In 2018 Lebron James left Cleveland in free agency, and in 2019 the Indians fell short of the playoffs. With the Window closing on a new contract for Lindor, it seems as if the Indians may
be ready to rebuild here soon.

Cleveland was as close as it could get to being sports royalty, there was just one variable missing, the Browns. 

The Browns were a year away from putting their pieces together to make a legitimate contender. In 2018 they drafted what they saw to be their franchise QB in Baker Mayfield (Heisman
Winner), and brought in other important pieces such as Jarvis Landry (5x Pro Bowler), Denzel Ward (Jim Thorpe award nominee), and Nick Chubb (First team All-SEC).

In 2019 The Browns also made a move to get Superstar receiver Odell Beckham Jr (3x pro bowler and 2x second-team all-pro) from the Giants. 

It seemed as if the Browns were coming into the fold just as the Indians and Cavs were heading towards tearing it down from the studs.

One year away from being a highly coveted free agent destination, a city that for so long were recognized for the biggest sports debacles in history was a year away from being a city immersed
in a winning culture. 

What if

There are fans who reflect on this time in Cleveland sports with joy and triumph. After being the lovable loser for so long they finally got to experience the joy of being at the center of winning.

They were happy that they were able to be recognized for their passion, heart, and undying loyalty- even through heartbreak. But some cannot shake the feeling of what could have been.

Joe McMullan, a Cleveland native and die-hard Cavs fan sits and watches a Cavs team that gets blown out at home from the Clippers by a score of 133-92, a franchise-worst 41-point loss.

Joe flips the channel to MLB tonight where they are talking about Lindor being traded, and the Indians coming off a year where they missed the playoffs, tearing it down to ensure the unlikely
possibility of October baseball in Cleveland.

Joe decides to tune into the NFL combine because the Browns have ended up with yet another top 10 draft picks coming off a 6-10 year and their head coach being fired.

A familiar and unsettling feeling surrounds Joe, a feeling of pain of being so close to being a city that is recognized for greatness instead of failure, one that people embrace instead of dismissing,
and one that is known to leave nothing unfinished.

As Joe lays awake at night, he cannot help but think about what could have been: What if the Indians won in 2016? What if Lebron stayed? What would the Browns have done if they were submerged in a winning city? What if the Browns never left Cleveland? What if Kyrie and Kevin
Love never got hurt in 2015? What if Elway never completed that drive? What if Earnest Byner never fumbled? What if Mesa closed the door on the Marlins? What if…