May 24, 2013

Of Olympic Execution and Failed Expectation: The Cleveland Indians Versus the World

August 6, 2012 by 6 Comments

I cheered as Andy Murray took down his arch nemesis in front of a several thousand of his closest friends 1 . I watched, in awe, as the 6-foot-5-inch Usain Bolt started slow yet silenced all doubters in 9.63 seconds. I witnessed Jennifer Kessey and April Ross win two very hard-fought contests against the Czech Republic’s Marketa Slukova and Kristyna Kolocova, with Kessey relegated to wrapping her freezing feet in various warming elements merely to keep blood circulating in the freezing sand. I even watched as the oft-injured Sanya Richards-Ross finally turned her 400-meter endeavor into a dream-come-true, winning the ever-coveted gold medal for the United States of America.

Perfection at nearly every turn, victory typically ending in exhaustion and jubilation and adulation all wrapped into a gold-laced package for an entire world to see. Celebratory vignettes, anthems of nations, sweat, and tears 2 .

Meanwhile, just six hours west, for the viewing pleasure of those with only the sturdiest of stomachs, the Cleveland Indians dropped their ninth-straight contest, the last of a nine-game road trip against three different conference rivals; the worst such streak in the team’s 112-year existence.  [Read more...]

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  1. Murray, after all, is so Cleveland [back]
  2. And in Richards-Ross’ case, two Chanel earrings the size of silver dollars [back]

Filed Under: Indians Tagged With: , , ,

Andy Murray is so Cleveland

July 9, 2012 by 10 Comments

As a Clevelander, nestled in an overstuffed couch with a cup of coffee, fighting off that morning after feeling that follows a wedding reception on what would serve to be the hottest day (and night) of the entire summer, I found it very easy to openly root for Andy Murray. This, within an event to which I am completely indifferent. Wimbledon to me is about the spectacle; the shear beauty of the world’s best playing on the world’s biggest. But on this day, it was all Murray, all the time.

I’ve always been a big fan of the underdog and the under-discussed. I was the kid with the Cal Ripken affliction when everyone else was going crazy over Canseco and McGwire; more Magic than Michael; more Ultimate Warrior rope-shaking and face paint than Hulk Hogan air guitars, leg drops and hand-to-the-ear. With Murray, however, this wasn’t a case of a Cinderella making a run in one of the greatest sporting events in the world — the George Washingtons and Virginia Commonwealths don’t hold a match-lit candle to the just-turned 25-year-old Murray. With Murray, it was the feeling of understanding and the relation that I instantly felt to the large faction of people to whom this individual meant so much. Heroic and encased in celebrity, Murray made an entire nation embrace one another as one of their own was on the cusp of achieving a sport-related triumph that had not happened in almost 80 years. Swap any Cleveland-based team in for Murray, replace the Wimbledon Championship Trophy with any of the big three domestic versions 1 and I would assume similar emotion and narrative.  [Read more...]

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  1. Commissioners, Larry O’Brien, Vince Lombardi…take your pick [back]

Filed Under: General, Tennis Tagged With: , ,