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The fact that people are excited that a pro basketball player *MIGHT* make a try at getting signed to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers again pretty much sums up how small town and provincial Cleveland really is. Sorry guys, but he's an overpaid arrogant athlete playing a game that in the big picture matters ZERO! And you think this somehow elevates Cleveland to another level because .... ?!?!?
The nation certainly doesn't think it's nothing. This story was covered on the front page of all the major news outlets. ESPN has a reporter that does nothing other than follow Lebron James, and he's on the front page of ESPN every single day. It's not everything, no, but getting the best basketball player in the world to come play for his hometown team in Cleveland is a great story that everyone can appreciate. Breaking a 50 year championship drought would be an even better one.
As a "west coastie", I only know about Cleveland through their sports teams.
I do remember the "Dawg Pound", with Bernie Kosar and Earnest Byner just to name a few. Very tough, and no frills. Those teams were always one step away from greatness, but unfortunately always fell short. And the old Municipal Stadium was a run down relic, let's face it.
And the Browns uniforms are identical to what they were back when Jim Brown was their star. Very Plain Jane, they don't even have a logo on the helmet!
I always got the idea that Cleveland was very traditional working class/blue collar.
Nothing glittery or glitzy about the city, although it's got as much working class character as any city in America.
There are reasons the dateline in a news story might say "Cleveland" or "Pittsburgh" or "St. Louis," as opposed to "Fresno, Calif.," "Omaha, Neb.," or "Jackson, Miss."
As a "west coastie", I only know about Cleveland through their sports teams.
I do remember the "Dawg Pound", with Bernie Kosar and Earnest Byner just to name a few. Very tough, and no frills. Those teams were always one step away from greatness, but unfortunately always fell short. And the old Municipal Stadium was a run down relic, let's face it.
And the Browns uniforms are identical to what they were back when Jim Brown was their star. Very Plain Jane, they don't even have a logo on the helmet!
I always got the idea that Cleveland was very traditional working class/blue collar.
Nothing glittery or glitzy about the city, although it's got as much working class character as any city in America.
Like everything else, cities change. What Cleveland was in the 80s is not what Cleveland is today, same goes for Seattle, or whatever city you come from. Our city still has a lot of blue collar, but its economy has significantly diversified, and many factories have left, just as they have throughout the US, to move overseas. Now, our main industries are healthcare, insurance, banks, and social services. The manufacturing that we do have has mostly switched over into high-tech, with a lot fewer workers with a lot higher education levels. Many of the uneducated blue collar workers from the 1980s and prior have packed up and moved to sun belt cities like Charlotte, Phoenix, and Tampa. The city has shrunk considerably since then. Those who are left, and those who are moving here are more educated than prior generations. The result is that the region may be losing population, but it's gaining brain power. And as those who dislike our winters, our politics, our sports teams, or anything else about our city have packed up and moved to "greener pastures" where they can bring fresh complaints, the ones who are left are mostly people who really care about the city, and really want to see it succeed. Throughout our city, people are making that happen.
People who know nothing about our city like to deride us. We were the butt of jokes on late night talk shows for many years. Our sports teams failed, our river caught on fire, our mayor's hair caught on fire. Fairly or not, we were a laughing stock. But, as I said earlier, things change. We are not the same Cleveland of 20 or 30 years ago. We have a clean great lake, a national park, excellent public transportation, vibrant urban neighborhoods, a rebuilt (and repurposed) downtown, a fantastic, world class, and one of a kind museum and education district, a top 4 US hospital. We are a gritty, affordable, artsy, liberal, diverse, cosmopolitan urban center in the state of Ohio, and I for one would not choose to live anywhere else.
I've been to Cleveland twice. Went to a indians game both time. Downtown had a decent amount of bars and stuff like that going on before the game but seemed dead after it. Seemed like it'd be pretty boring. Pittsburgh is 100 times better to me
Well Cleveland is about to become ESPN's new favorite city..
Can't stand all the LeBron hype. In my opinion he's a conceited, arrogant tool. I'm sure the people of Cleveland are nice though, I've never been.
Have to disagree with you there. He is one of the greatest basketball players who has ever lived. Not someone I would call a fool. And the essay he wrote announcing his return to Cleveland shows he's not conceited or arrogant either. The media likes to overthink and overhype things. That's not LBJ's fault.
Have to disagree with you there. He is one of the greatest basketball players who has ever lived. Not someone I would call a fool. And the essay he wrote announcing his return to Cleveland shows he's not conceited or arrogant either. The media likes to overthink and overhype things. That's not LBJ's fault.
You're right: LBJ (Lyndon Baines Johnson) was the 36th President of the United States and it's hardly his fault that the media likes to "overthink and overhype things."
As for the inconsequential professional athlete LeBron James, he absolutely is responsible for the media hype that surrounds his persona. He milks it, manipulates it and has gotten filthy rich off of it. Don't fool yourself.
It's also rather disingenuous of you to call him "one of the greatest basketball players who's ever lived" and then blast the media hype surrounding him. As someone who abhors the hero worship our society gives to entertainers and athletes, I find your hypocrisy rather humorous.
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