Our teams don’t suck! While We’re Waiting…

Happy Tuesday, WFNY!

A 3-2 Tuesday feels pretty good, wouldn’t you say?

I’ve been to a lot of Browns games over the years. A…LOT. More than I can count off the top of my head. And for all those games attended, I had only seen the Browns win in the new stadium twice. One was the Monday Night Football game against the Giants a few years back. The other was the 2006 win over the Jets when Chad Pennington threw what looked like it was going to be a game-winning TD to Chris Baker on fourth down, but the Browns pushed Baker out of bounds before he landed and the Browns held on.

In some ways it makes sense that I’ve never seen a win. In my younger days, my friends and I would pick a handful of games every year to go to. We always went for the prime matchups. Tom Brady and the Patriots (loss). Michael Vick and the Eagles (loss). Peyton Manning and the Colts (loss…in a strange 9-6 game). Drew Brees and the Saints (loss).

And, of course, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Over and over and over and over again. Loss. Loss. Loss. Loss. Loss. It takes a toll on you over time. But I’m stubborn. “Someday I’ll see the Browns beat the Steelers,” I told myself. But it just never happened.

These days, I typically only go to one game a year. One of my friends here in Columbus is a season ticket holder, and he takes me to one game every season. I typically have my pick of games. Last year I picked the Steelers game. It was the ugliest, most depressing Browns game I’ve ever been to. The crowd was downtrodden and the environment inside Cleveland Browns Stadium was suddenly toxic and uninviting. I was heartbroken.

So this year, I told my friend I didn’t care which game I went to. I told him he could pick for me. Of course, he chose the Steelers. So Sunday morning I put on my Sunday best (my Joe Haden jersey, which I was fearful someone was going to dump beer all over after the inevitable third Antonio Brown TD of the day on Haden) and picked up some Taco Bell breakfast for the group¹ as we set out for Cleveland for what I was certain would be another heartbreaking day.

Turns out, this would be the second best Browns experience of my life². First of all, FirstEnergy Stadium looks awesome. This was my first time seeing the upgraded scoreboards. They did an awesome job of transforming the feel inside the stadium. Furthermore, the environment inside the stadium was so great. Fans were laughing, joking, high-fiving, sharing pretzels with strangers. And yes, the Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers and I was there to see it happen.

It felt great to be there and just in general it feels good to be a Browns fan. For now. We know how quick these things can and do change. When we started this site in late 2007/early 2008, the Indians were coming off an ALCS appearance, the Cavaliers had just been to the NBA Finals, and the Browns went 10-6. I called it the glory era of the modern Cleveland sports fan existence. It last one year.

Right now, the Indians are coming off their second straight winning season³, the Browns are 3-2 with three very winnable games coming up, and the Cavaliers are set for the most anticipated season in team history. But these things are fickle, and they can turn on a dime. A couple Browns letdowns and a Cavs injury or two and suddenly things look very different. I don’t say this to be depressing or to say we shouldn’t be happy right now. I’m saying the exact opposite. Let’s soak this in and make this a great week. Because for right now, in this moment, life as a Cleveland sports fan feels pretty damn great!

*****

Remember John Rocker?

He played for the Indians once. Of course you remember Rocker. EVERYONE remembers John Rocker. Which is really unfortunate if you’re John Rocker.

The former major league relief pitcher who infamously spouted a bunch of ignorant bigotry to Jeff Pearlman of Sports Illustrated was recently on TV again. This time, as a contestant on the current season of Survivor (I believe this is the 845th season, if I am remembering correctly). Not surprisingly, people on the show recognized him and remembered his comments. Not surprisingly, Rocker ran his mouth a lot and said some things I would best describe as “uncomfortable”. Not surprisingly, he was one of the first ones voted off the show.

Anyway, I was trying to remember what Rocker’s exact quote about diversity on the New York subway system was, and in doing so, I stumbled on this awesome piece from Jeff Pearlman about how the Rocker story impacted his life as well.

It’s a very long read, but it provides phenomenal insight into how that story came about, how Pearlman went about handling the story and it’s impact/fallout, and even details about what it was like hanging out with Rocker in those days. Above all else, though, you feel what Pearlman feels, in a sense:

As a result, I started being sort of, ahem, stupid. On April 8, 2005, Rocker signed with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League—and I broached the idea with my wife of going out to a game to try to make the peace.

“He doesn’t want to hear from you,” she said. “Trust me.” Two years later, Jake Rocker died in an automobile accident, and—despite theGeorge magazine awfulness—I wrote John a sympathy letter. “You didwhat?” the wife asked. “His father died. Really, he doesn’t want to hear from you.” In 2011, a writer for Atlanta Magazine called me for a lengthy profile he was writing on Rocker. “Could you give me his email address?” I asked.

He did, and I wrote a quick note. The writer called me a few days later, asking that I not reach out again. “John,” he said, “didn’t like hearing from you.”

I wish I could explain this sort of behavior, this need for resolution. My guess is it stems from the unease that comes with benefiting from another’s misery. At the same time John Rocker’s career (thanks in large part to the article) was going down the toilet, mine (thanks in large part to the article) was soaring.

Anyway, I don’t know John Rocker. He was young back then. Perhaps he has grown up and evolved as a person. The things he said on the show were uncomfortable, but they certainly were not hateful, small-minded, or bigoted comments like his SI quotes were. I can’t imagine what it’s like to walk through life being John Rocker, and I’m certainly glad I don’t have to.

*****

More NBA previews

A few weeks back we posted our Cavaliers season preview. Now, here are more links to other sites doing previews of their teams. All of these are good, solid reads and an entertaining way to prepare for the upcoming season.

First up, we have the Central and Northwest divisions:

Central Division

Chicago Bulls:?Blog a Bull
Cleveland Cavaliers:?Fear the Sword |?Waiting For Next Year
Detroit Pistons:?Detroit Bad Boys
Indiana Pacers:?Indy Cornrows
Milwaukee Bucks:?Brew Hoop

Northwest Division

Denver Nuggets:?Denver Stiffs
Minnesota Timberwolves:?Canis Hoopus
Oklahoma City Thunder:?Welcome to Loud City
Portland Trail Blazers:?Blazer’s Edge
Utah Jazz:?SLC Dunk

Index of?all SBNation Previews

Additional?Preview Features from Sonics Rising.

Then we have the Southeast and Southwest divisions:

Southeast Division

Atlanta Hawks:?Peachtree Hoops
Charlotte Hornets:?At The Hive
Miami Heat:?Hot Hot Hoops
Orlando Magic:?Orlando Pinstriped Post |?Orlando Magic Daily
Washington Wizards:?Bullets Forever

Southwest Division

Dallas Mavericks:?Mavs Moneyball
Houston Rockets:?The Dream Shake
Memphis Grizzlies:?Grizzly Bear Blues
New Orleans Pelicans:?The Bird Writes
San Antonio Spurs:?Pounding the Rock

Index of all?SBNation Previews

Additional?Preview Features from Sonics Rising

Please take a moment and read some of these links and support all the hard work these guys put into previewing their teams for us.

*****

That’s all for me this week. I hope you guys all have a phenomenal week and remember what I said. Enjoy this time. Right now, our sports teams don’t suck. It’s such a nice feeling.

1. Seriously, the bacon AM Crunchwrap is amazing. Far superior to anything on McDonald’s breakfast menu. I’m sure Taco Bell is going to give up breakfast soon because there’s never anyone in line for it, but that’s because of an image problem, not quality of food. Their breakfast is legit good. [↩]
2. My favorite was still seeing the Browns beat John Eway and his Broncos at Municipal Stadium in 1995 to snap a 15-year losing streak to Denver [↩]
3. Yeah, my bar for them is pretty low, I guess [↩]