May 18, 2013

Now This Is More Like It

July 28, 2008 by 16 Comments

In a day in sports age where it is commonplace to make fun of any mid-to-small market town simply because it is not New York/Boston/Los Angeles/Chicago, WFNY reader MoBot passes along something that should make your day.

Most of you may know that Peter King was in living color last week for the first day of Browns camp.  The official site caught him for an interview, so head there if you’re intrigued.  But what is even better are the things that King had to say in his most recent column.

The other night I dined with Cleveland GM Phil Savage on the outdoor patio of the Moosehead Café, a pleasant tavern with Moosehead Beer (God, how long has it been since I had a Moosehead?). The cafe is on the border of Westlake and Bay Village on the west side of Cleveland, and we were at the table on a cool, breezy, clear night for a couple of hours. [...]

The bill came: $36.08.

I thought: Isn’t traveling wonderful? When you live in a megalopolis, you get used to paying double that for less. [...]

I hadn’t seen the Lake communities on the west side of Cleveland since my post-college days, when the family considered moving to northeast Ohio. Beautiful. The parks, the homes on the lake, the green space … Anyone who rips Cleveland has never been to the west side of town.

Wow.  Thanks, Peter.  Like him or not, at least King visited the area before speaking his opinion.  Charles Barkley was here for last year’s NBA Finals.  And while he didn’t have the best of things to say about downtown, at least he was here when he said them.  Others have either never been here at all, or simply sat in Hopkins Airport for a few hours, but still feel the need to speak poorly of this town and our teams.

Cold weather.  The river catching on fire.  Homeless.  No championships.  Tim Couch.  Art Modell.  Ricky Davis, own backboard.  The Shot.  Maurice Clarrett.  John Elway.  LeBron travels.  Brady Quinn wears pink shirts.  No lucrative, large television deal.  Dolans.  Lerners.  Carl Monday.  Luckeyes.  Earnest Byner.  Joe Carter’s MVP with the Blue Jays.  Baltimore Ravens win the Super Bowl…

Did I miss anything?  Perhaps we should have Peter King reach out to Michael Silver as someone who has actually been in this city.  “You know, Cleveland.”

MMQB [SI.com]

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  • Nicko

    That is my neck of the woods. Always liked Peter King. Always says nice things about Cleveland.

  • greg

    The west side huh? You do realize that there is an east side as well. Lots of fun things to do there. If you like crack and gunshot wounds. Ever been downtown? It’s like Mecca for homeless people. Every bum has to take that pilgrimage at least once. Highest crime rate per capita. Highest poverty rate per capita. You all have a lot to be proud of. As far as cities go, Cleveland is like the fugly chick that makes the ugly chick look good (see Detroit and Youngstown). By the way, what’s the difference between a wannabe and a dynasty? About 120 miles east of Cleveland.

  • Chris

    I’m not much of a fan of King, but at least he reserved his judgement after having been here. Also, ’87 Indians, Red Right 88, Warfield and Colavito trades, etc.

  • Tom

    I don’t usually get involved with these civic arguments because I actually like most of these cities, but if #3 thinks Pittsburgh (or was that Buffalo?) is safer he should actually check statistics. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_cities_by_crime_rate

    Cleveland ranks lower in almost every crime category than does Pittsburgh. And Buffalo.

    Man, this is a terrible first comment. But it is a great site.

  • http://www.dbuu.com buu

    yes greg, hated and proud.

  • Adam

    Peter King has actually spent some time in Ohio. He graduated from Ohio University in Athens. He recently came back to speak at their commencement.

  • http://mvn.com/nba-cavaliers Amar Panchmatia

    Great find, and great read. I love how you won’t let that clown Silver live that down. And although I used to hate King when he predicted us to go 2-14 in 2005, I’m glad that he’s fully aboard on our bandwagon now with such a close alliance with Phil Savage.

    I wonder what would happen if Savage ran for mayor of Cleveland.

  • patrick eaton

    better than being the armpit of america greg…didn’t realize pittspuke was considered a “dynasty” now…you know my co-ed softball team won a championship a couple years ago…yep, mentor winghouse, a dynasty…

  • CJG

    Glad to see someone does their homework before they write. I’ve liked Peter King for a while, but he clearly bought his Magazine and his blog a more avid reader with that post. Thanks for posting this.

  • daniel

    Where is this Moosehead Café place? I’m in Cleveland this August, and if its that cheap, I’m coming too.

  • Swig

    I’m changing my name since another Adam decided to show up

    ~Poster formally known as Adam

  • MacNip

    Moosehead is in westlake, about 5 minutes off of I-90 (20 miles or so west of Cleveland). Place gets pretty crowded on the weekends (mainly due to the fact that it just isn’t that big). Good food though.

  • mendy

    being a lifelong clevelander i don’t think i’ve ever heard anyone praise the westside of cleveland as the place to be, haha. i mean besides the big homes right on the lake, not much going on there until you hit the city limits (ohio city, tremont, etc.). and lakewood has its moments if you’re into the whole “get drunk, get in a fight, then get drunk with the people you just fought scene.” if anything, its usually the eastern ‘burbs that get all the praise.

    either way, nice to see some love from si

  • http://www.icanlevitate.com Jeremy

    Really? There’s more homeless people in Cleveland than in DC, NY or San Fran? Really? The only people that could possibly make that claim are people that have never been to any of the cities I just mentioned.

  • joe

    take a walk through downtown atlanta sometime if you want to see what “alot” of homeless people means. downtown cleveland has nothing on the amount of homeless in downtown atlanta. i have heard the same about downtown phoenix, although i have never been there.

  • MacNip

    @mendy

    That is such a typical east sider comment. West side is where it’s at. Westlake has some really nice places to shop, eat, drink, etc. Lakewood ia a younger crowd. East side has all the pricey, snooty joints. :)