How did you became a Cavs fan? For those who are not from Cleveland.

[jrcross13]

I was born in Parma, Ohio and grew up in a Browns family. The Cavs and the Indians were an afterthought. Heck, we even followed the Force / Crunch more closely than the Cavs. I remember my Mom crying after "the Fumble" but shrugging and giving a "Meh" after "the Shot". Once the Browns went on their 3 year hiatus, I, like most Clevelanders gravitated slightly to the Indians but still never got into basketball. Even after the Browns came back, it wasn't the same. Sports, for me, were not really important anymore. I went to college and had other things like beer and girls on my mind.

In 2002, I ran out of money for college so I joined the Army and was part the initial invasion of Iraq. It wasn't until this deployment that I craved anything and everything from home. I learned how much Cleveland was a part of me. Again, it was the Browns where my passions lied. We didn't have TV or internet for the longest time at first so I lived vicariously through letters from home. My mom would tell me about Cleveland sports and it was a sense of connection. Eventually, we got Armed Forces Network for about 4 hours a day during football season. I stayed up all night to catch a glimpse of the Browns highlights. I was again hooked on them.

Through the Army, I moved to many different places and always sought out the local Browns Backers Bar. When there wasn't one, I helped build one (your welcome Frederick, Maryland). I was so passionate about them. Still, I followed the Cavs and Indians casually, but no where near the level of the Browns. The only problem with my passion for the Browns was that, well...they suck. They suck something awful and have for a while. So instead of focusing on winning and losing I became far more interested in player development. I loved watching draft picks because they were always full of potential. Every offseason brought renewed hope that we would definately turn it around this year.

I remember having the Cavs / Celtics series of 2010 on in the background at Fort Bliss while I was unpacking after a deployment. We lost and I had the same "Meh" feeling as my mom all those years before. And then came "The Decision". Even though I didn't really follow the Cavs, here was this guy who just crapped all over Cleveland who made me extremely angry. I had left for war on numerous occasions and would have given anything to be in NE Ohio and this guy, can't wait to leave and gives us the finger on national TV on his way out. Next comes not 1, not 2, not 3.... FUCK YOU! I ate up Dan Gilberts letter. Now, I think it was a bad move, but at the time, I felt like he was talking directly to me and was all in for the Cavs. I realized that it was going to be a rebuilding process and, like my hobby in football, I could watch new players grow together. We were going to build a team! Kyrie, Tristan, Dion, Tyler, Andy, Gee, were going to return Cleveland back to it's dominance. Basketball has much smaller rosters than football, so a rebuild should be a lot shorter process, boy was I wrong. When I would come home, I would catch a game or 2 at the Q and loved the atmosphere. There is nothing like a live sporting event.

Now I am hooked on the Cavs just as much, if not more than the Browns. It is wierd though, that I am almost sad that we are forming a super team. LeBron came back and I accept his apology. His comparison of going to Miami was like going to college resonated with me so I will welcome him back. He, like me, seems to really want to be back home. I was excited to see him with Wiggins and Bennett. It would have been the ultimate blend of old and new. The player that developed into the greatest in the league and the young guns who could develop into greats themselves. But alas, we are forming a super team and I will root for them as fervently as I have these past 3 years.

I have 9 more years until I retire and then I will be moving back. Until then, NBA league Pass and NFL Sunday ticket will get me through these years. For me, Cleveland has a powerful pull that I love and miss. Especially now with the Casino and life back in downtown, I cannot wait until I can say, I'm Coming Home!

 

[cavsfanclanman]

Joe Tait!

I moved to the area a year before LeBron and had a 40 minute drive to work. I randomly put the radio on and came across Joe. I was hooked. He was the Cavs for me.

Hooked ever since.

 

[cjbradham]

I'm 27 years old, was born and raised in Columbus. Was a huge MJ fan as a kid and went to the Bulls/Cavs game when I was about 10 years old during the Cavs dark period. Well, the Cavs actually won! Had such a great time and started watching more Cavs games here and there. Went to about 2 or 3 games a year every year after that for the next 6 years or so and then someone named LeBron James got drafted.

 

[Meticode]

I was born and grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio until I was 19 and moved to Wisconsin. Even though Indiana and the Pacers are a short drive away, I wanted to keep my roots in Ohio as far as sports teams are involved. I'm a avid Reds fan, a average Bengals fan, and a very involved Cavaliers fan. I started watching the NBA during the 1996 season, then thoroughly followed the Cavaliers starting in 1997 when I was 14 years old.

 

[CosmoKramer]

I've been a diehard Cavs fan for more than a decade now, but I thought I'd share how I first came to obsessively root for them.

I grew up an hour outside Cleveland but wasn't raised as a Cleveland fan. My Dad and his three brothers are from Chicago, to this day they still talk about the Illini, Bears, and 'Hawks when we get together. For some strange reason they weren't Bulls fans, it'd be generous to call their interest even tepid. They were mostly baseball nuts though, they turned me into a Cubs fan for as long as I can remember. Mark Pryor and Kerry Wood were my childhood idols, and I vaguely remember doing an independent study project in the 6th grade about Anthony Thomas and David Terrell ushering in a new era of Bears football. Watching Steve Bartman ruin the collective psyche of me and every other Cubs fan later that year really set the stage for my upcoming Cleveland fandom.

I started with organized basketball the following year, which also happened to be LeBron's rookie year. Playing the sport everyday, hearing the squeaks on the hardwood, the back-and-forth pace; there was a lot of little things that made me love playing basketball. But watching a generational talent in LeBron James was what hooked me on the NBA. By the sheer luck of proximity we had all stumbled upon watching a special player develop and hone his craft into an art. Like Boston/LA fans in the early 80's and Chicago/Detroit fans later in the decade we witnessed an all-time great turn our franchise around and go from hyped early draft pick to perennial All-Star.

So in short, LeBron turned a baseball/football fan into the basketball nut I am today. I've grown to like the Browns and Indians as well, but the Cavs and Ohio State are the teams I live and die with now.

 

[Houston RZ34]

It's just an internet tough-guy routine that should be ignored.

I wouldn't go that far lol - I didn't say I would kick his ass, rape his mom or shoot his puppy. I'd call it more "shooting from the hip with no filter"

 

[Mott the Hoople]

I am an old timer that has been born, raised, lived in Cleveland my whole life.
I was a Cavs fan long before the Cavs even existed. Let me explain.

I became an NBA fan during the 69-70 season. I loved to watch the Knicks. They were the ultimate team of that era. Clyde Frazier is still my personal favorite pg. Future Cavs John Warren was on that team - at the end of the bench.

The Cavs started in the 70-71 season. I followed every shred of information on the birth of the new franchise that I could. Imagine trying to find out information on the players available and taken in the expansion draft. Our first 2 players picked were centers Walt Wesley and Luther Rackley. I remember Bill Fitch said at the time, "At least we have 2 players that can look Kareem Jabbar straight in the eyes".
In the college draft we had the 7th pick. Imagine having an expansion team and not picking high in the draft. We took a so-so player in John Johnson. Imagine how history might be different in we had the first pick in Bob Lanier. Or took a little guard like Calvin Murphy. Anyway, I actually attended a team scrimmage that preseason at BW. It was a thrill.
Anyway the team stunk for a few years. But they moved to the Coliseum, the " Miracle " happened. The town was hooked.

Lots of ups and downs since then. I can honestly say their history has been fascinating. But finally now - it looks like the best is yet to come.

 

[Simmy]

I am an old timer that has been born, raised, lived in Cleveland my whole life.
I was a Cavs fan long before the Cavs even existed. Let me explain.

I became an NBA fan during the 69-70 season. I loved to watch the Knicks. They were the ultimate team of that era. Clyde Frazier is still my personal favorite pg. Future Cavs John Warren was on that team - at the end of the bench.

The Cavs started in the 70-71 season. I followed every shred of information on the birth of the new franchise that I could. Imagine trying to find out information on the players available and taken in the expansion draft. Our first 2 players picked were centers Walt Wesley and Luther Rackley. I remember Bill Fitch said at the time, "At least we have 2 players that can look Kareem Jabbar straight in the eyes".
In the college draft we had the 7th pick. Imagine having an expansion team and not picking high in the draft. We took a so-so player in John Johnson. Imagine how history might be different in we had the first pick in Bob Lanier. Or took a little guard like Calvin Murphy. Anyway, I actually attended a team scrimmage that preseason at BW. It was a thrill.
Anyway the team stunk for a few years. But they moved to the Coliseum, the " Miracle " happened. The town was hooked.

Lots of ups and downs since then. I can honestly say their history has been fascinating. But finally now - it looks like the best is yet to come.

So freaking awesome that you remember that far back to the beginning of the franchise. Some incredible, life-long memories there and for those of us (international Cleveland sports fans) who have only been privy to watching and learning about Cleveland sports thanks to the advancements in Internet technology and high definition streaming, a great insight into the early days. Thanks for sharing!

 

[falcon2294]

Born in Medina which is like 45 minutes from Cleveland. My parents raised me to be a a die hard Cleveland fan, which was a curse til about now I really didnt become that big of a cavs fan until lebron left, but I still followed them when he was here.
I've been to two games since he left 1) the end of the 26 game loosing streak ( if I do remember, we won because Blake got called for goaltending, which wasnt a great call :chuckles the other game was when Kyrie got his first triple double (shout out to AanandM7 for giving me his tickets).
I love my cavs and browns (I support the Indians, but not a fan of baseball)

 

[brownindian]

Not from Ohio and was not a Cavaliers fan and I did not like all the hype that LeBron and the Cavs were getting esp in a world where Kobe was supreme (Yup - A Lakers fan!!!!) and MJ was god (I hated him but he was good) and the CEltics just formed a super team that was powerful and the the good old Spurs always there to contend. And then the Decision happened. In all my years I have never seen a man hold a franchise hostage till the last day and then bolt to a different city leaving the franchise in a state where nothing could be salvaged.

I have never seen something like this in sports and I was outraged. It was then that i started following the Cavs and I thought it was fun to start following a team that pretty much has to start from ground zero and move up and challenge and compete and try and rise to the top. Most of the other teams as I saw were already built and were often stuck in the neutral with them being happy where they are - as fodder, as challengers or as winners. Never have I seen a team that was being built from scratch to try to compete and I wanted to see where we would be- fodder/challenger or a winner.

To add - What ticked me about the decision the most was how the players had colluded and decided on the team, the payment and how all they want to recruit taking away the GM factor from the game.

 

[rabman_gold]

Well technically, I'm not from Cleveland, I'm from the suburbs (Beachwood and Solon). That hasn't stopped anyone else here who's brave enough to share their fan hood from Cleveland, right?

1995, I was fully aware of Cleveland sports (first game was Indians vs. Tigers - Nagy had apparently been a little late to the show). I saw a Yankees game with my late grandpa. I watched the Seattle Mariners ALC series (watching Randy give us hell was sure fun!). I suffered through the Braves series. Learned about basketball (had previously researched MJ, not understanding the harsh "past" we had with him) and the Utah Jazz game around the same time (Stockton's buzzer beater was a pain to deal with).

1996, somewhat lackadaisical in Cavs knowledge, but started to become way more conscious of basketball (my favorite sport to this point onward).

1997, first game I watched the All-Star game (took a glance to see Terrel on the court along with a Gund Arena logo, finally understanding we were hosting it). I finally took the effort to follow the Cavs after learning on some random school bus trip that the Bulls were the champs. First game I finally watched the Cavaliers play on TV (Houston Rockets in October). Continued to see games, mixed in live games.

1998, satisfied with following the whole season (and playoffs), waiting patiently for the next season... shit... a lockout...?

1999, my basketball fix had become a craving. Indians and the possible revived Browns were no longer enough, I was a diehard Cav fan. I saw the Spurs game we won. I saw us get Andre. Not realized the path we were about to go down, I patiently waited.

2000-2003, OMG... they were going from mediocre to worse to embarrassing. But I religiously followed them. I picked up every bit of Cavs knowledge I could muster. I don't care how bad they were, I was attached to the Cavs, maybe one in 300 at this point? I continued picking up nasty comments from private conversations, I listened desperately on the radio to see if Davis would get a triple double, he attempted what?! I didn't like this, I liked stats, but I liked winning too, if not WAY more. The day before the lottery, I boasted the new logo at Solon High School, I was ridiculed. Next day, after seeing Gund smiling, not crazy like the Bulls representative in 1999, and speechless, I took it all in, whooped, jumped as high as I could... and smashed my knuckles onto the (somewhat) pointy ceiling. Next day, walked around proudly, overcame my hurt fingers (not really, they just hurt a few minutes after I jump), waiting with a drooling mouth for what was to come.

I won't go into anything else, you guys (or most of you) know most of my story after 2008. I was a fan of Cleveland sports, but mostly a Cavalier fan, as you now know. 2003-2008 was in a sense, a complete breath of fresh air, and not only revived me, but changed me towards my motivation as a fan. No more stats. Just win. Yes, I was spoiled by LeBron, but 2007 was the real spoiler, I'll let you guys extrapolate on the rest.

 

[Edska]

I'm from Lithuania, living in China for the last 5 years and a Cavs fan since 1998, when Big Z joined the team, used to wake up at night to see games with my brother on TV from then on and especially wait for matches against Portland Trail Blazers because they had another big Lithuanian fellow playing for them by the name of Arvydas Sabonis. Man it was fun to watch two of the most skillful NBA big men going against each other and both being Lithuanian. Even though Blazers were way better team, Cavs had some great young talent and an athletic Z who could pull off a revers dunk! Anyway, later really liked Ricky Davis, even though he was a selfish, but exciting bastard to watch.. loved Darius Miles and his dunks.. even though the team was at the bottom of the standings, I knew we're gonna make some noise after a few years.

My sister moved to Cleveland in 2002 and I was so happy she moved to a place where my favorite team was. Then I thought maybe I'll have a chance to actually fulfill my dream of seeing my Cavs play live at the Q one day.

Then in 2003 this guy Lebron comes over and I was as pumped up as ever cause I saw lots of footage of him playing in HS the year before and was assured he'd be next big thing. Since then, so many sleepless nights watching games, especially after a couple of years when we made playoffs. Lots of excitement. I finally realized my dream in 2008 when I visited my sister in Cleveland and stayed here and travelled for almsot a year. It was really hard to get tickets, but we got them for a playoff game against the Hawks and it was amazing feeling to finally see my Cavs play at the Q. Amazing fans, atmosphere and shivers just ran through my spine. I actually really liked Cleveland, I thought and still think it's a great place, people are real, they love their place love their sports teams, the city is pleasant and alive not too noisy, not annoying. I guess it depends where you come from.. I travelled to other East Coast US cities and really don't understand why other Americans (non-ohioans) say bad things about it. I'm definitely coming back after a year or so and of course im coming to the Q!

Anyway, I was really frustrated when he left but I cared about the team even more in that kind of situation and looked forward to rebuild with young talent and prove we can still win and improve year after year, which we actually did, just not as fast. I actually still loved watching Cavs play after Lebron left because those guys like Alonzo, Kyrie, Antawn, Boobie, Dion, Tristan, Matthew, Tyler and many more played hard and had something to prove. Man did I love Kyrie crossing Kobe and launching threes on him. You gotta love guy like Dion. He may take questionable shots, but you don't deny his drive, his willingness and that's exactly what this team needed/needs. You can't deny his passion and his healthy swag, the dude is real and there won't be any smiles for the opponent when they kill us by 20 or so because I believe he is one of the few that actually cares. He's real. Happy he's not traded, we need him.

And now for the team to get back to contention in a blink of the eye is something magical, it all happened so fast. Seeing Lebron being back more mature and understanding his mistakes and seems like truly caring about Cavs and the city. Then all of a sudden Kevin Love, Mike Miller, James Jones and Shawn Marion coming over. It's crazy. I can't be more happy, really wish season started right now and it all materializes. I may do smth crazy if we win the Championship )

 

[s1ced]

I was in the 6th grade year was 2002 or 2003 and I accidentally turned to a cavs game and been a fan ever since.

 

[shukle]

Born and raised in Belgium, small european country sandwiched between France, Netherlands and Germany.

I was born in a basketball family : my dad played, my older brother played. So when I was six, I started playing too. Since the NBA is the best basketball show on earth, I quicklky knew all the players, all the teams. That was back when Jordan was the face of the NBA and I obviously loved him.

Then my sister got to live in Dallas for a year and I went to see her when I was 12. We went to see the Mavericks playing the Hawks. The Mavs had Nash, Michael Finley and the crazy tall guy, Shawn Bradley. I got hooked, the Mavs became my team and Nash my favorite player (I was a PG as well).

Then the years went by, I quit playing bball, didn't follow the NBA, nor did I have a favorite player or team.

And in 07, it was my turn to spend a year in the US. I went to Dover, Ohio. An hour south of cleveland. The Cavs had LeBron and I started following basketball again and got hooked. That year was amazing for Cleveland Sports! The Browns almost went to the playoffs (I got to see them beat cinci like 51-45, I was like second row, amazing game!) The Indians were kicking the Red Sox ass (which I got to see), before crumbling apart and not going to world series.

But basketball was always my sport so I followed the Cavs more than anything, hoping they'd win the chip when I was in the US! Obviously, it didn't happen. But when I came back to Belgium the year after, I was still following the Cavs everyday, found out about this site and got even more hooked with all the knowledge of rcf fans.

Ive been following the Cavs ever since. I still somewhat follow the Browns and the Indians, but Cavs are my team and have been for 8 years now. I fell in love with this Kyrie!

 

[Joppin14]

Born in and raised in Columbus, OH. 21 years old atm so when I first started watching and caring about basketball it made sense. LBJ was the don and when he left i felt the same way pretty much everyone did. He made amends though.