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

[Cavsengland]

True story.

I wasn't interested in basketball 3 years ago. It was only football (soccer).

There's was a football player named lionel messi, who in 2010-11 was destroying other teams, and leading his team to wins and championships. He had a way of playing that had me drooling. I support Manchester United and there was (and still isn't) no one like him. I hoped that our youth academy could produce a player like messi but it wasn't happening. I was so desperate to witness a player similar to messi. A player who was incredibly entertaining to watch, Who was loved by his fans, Someone who was hated by rival fans because he was so good, and A player who absolutely loved the team he was playing for like messi did. I wanted this so bad That I decided to turn to basketball. (I've always thought basketball was similar to football)

I think I went on nba.com to search for a young talented player and saw kyrie irving. He was top of the rookie ladder. And from there I started watching highlights, and started following his rookie year with the cavs. I researched his and the cavs history. And gradually started to learn about them and the rules of basketball. I started to fall in love with him because he was doing one of the things I wanted to witness in a young talented player not named messi. And that was entertain me.

I watched a live basketball game twice in his rookie year and the first one was the all star rookie game (where he hit 8 3s in a row). This got me even more intrigued and attached to kyrie. I literally knew about only him and the cavs when it came to basketball. I remember going on YouTube and typing in cavs fans just to see what you lot where like. And I saw this https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tTgNlIEY_fw I remember watching it and thinking 1. Who's this guy called lebron james (seriously I didn't know who that was) and 2. These fans are amazing. They're so passionate about their team. I researched lebron, I found out who he was, And why he made cavs fans react this way. And for some reason after doing this it made me fall in love with the cavs.

The second basketball game I watched live in kyries rookie season was the nba finals. Dallas vs heat. By then I became so attached to the cavs and learned so much about the cavs and lebron. That I was rooting for dallas and was so happy when they one. I learned so much about the cavs, kyrie and basketball in general, in such a short space of time.

Kyrie was even better in year two. The cavs not so much. I still grew closer to the cavs. Which amazed me considering they where losing a lot.

By year three I knew almost everything about basketball knew every basketball team, knew almost every basketball player, absolutely loved the cavs and kyrie and found out I could watch every cavs game online by finding a stream. (Which was great) I was excited about the season and expected a lot. Overall it was a huge letdown. But it was fun to see the team get better as the season went on, kyrie win the all star MVP, dion perform great in the rookie all star game and see the spurs destroy the heat.

Now after threes years of watching the cavs lose, searching for a stream for hours, I get to watch them win and get to watch them do this on my tv every game. happy days.

 

[MattyJames]

Basketball Junkie.

No connection to Cleveland/Ohio.

Bron fan since my senior year in high school (2002).

Player fan. Don't see anything wrong with it.

Dont understand blind loyalty in sports.

Many reasons why I feel strongly about Bron as a player/person.

Been out to Cleveland to see him live several times. Enjoyed my time there.

Got to know and love some things about the organization while watching Bron.

After the Decision, rooted for the Heat, due to Bron.

Back since Bron is back, I'm back.

Will turn 40 next February

Been a Cleveland sports fan since I was able to walk/talk

After LeBron jumped ship I tore all of his posters down and took all of my gear to the goodwill.

Still cheered on my team night in and night out

Forgivness. I believe and accept his apology, because I understand and sympathize with him being a young man

Will never respect "Player Fans"

I respect the game

The game is bigger than 1 man

It's about taking pride in your city and where you come from. LeBron understands this.

not understanding "Blind Loyalty" in sports makes about as much sense to me as not understanding "blind loyalty" in family

We are family

 

[CavsFaninNJ]

I grew up in New Jersey (live there now), and I became a Sonics fan in the playoffs in 1996 when I was nine years old. That was one of the trendy teams (Bulls, Magic, Sonics, Grant Hill)- but the underdog of the trendy teams. Really, though, the first pro game that I watched in full was a Sonics game at my Aunt's house. I saw them either beat or lose to the Jazz in a playoff game (probably win) on the way to the finals. I suppose if someone had brought me to a Knicks or Nets game before then things would have turned out differently.

One year later, Kemp came to Cleveland, and I jumped ship with him. Never jumped ship again. I won't go too much into my fandom through the years (involves watching all of sportcenter to see 5 seconds of Cavs footage pre-internet, and listening to Joe Tait nightly, somehow through terrestrial radio so that I'm tired at middle school the next day), but I wrote a post about it last month on my local, New Jersey blog in the context of Lebron's homecoming.

It’s been a stressful week for me. The stress has nothing to do with working, or blogging, or filming, or anything else that would be expected.

I never write about professional sports, but everyone who knows me away from the blog understands that, despite coming from New Jersey with few ties to Northeast Ohio, I’ve been a Cleveland Cavaliers fan since I was ten years old. It’s the only professional team that I follow.

In the days before online streaming services, I could only see a handful of games per year on television, resorting to listening to them late into the night on AM radio that mysteriously jumped here all the way from Ohio come nightfall. Back then, my Dad would treat me and a friend of my choice to yearly trips to the Meadowlands to see Cleveland play the Nets when they came to town.

In those nearly 17 years, being a Cavs fan hasn’t been easy. Countless coaches, general managers, and draft picks that never panned out. I stayed loyal nonetheless, and inherited a lot of sentiments from championship starved Northeastern Ohio fans – Cleveland has no title since 1964.

For the Cavaliers, luck changed in 2003, when Cleveland drafted Lebron James, a once in a generation sort of talent who just happened to grow up a half an hour from the city. James’ hype reached such heights that his high school games were broadcast on ESPN. Before he was old enough to vote, experts had him pegged as, potentially, one of the best of all time, and from his first game, he only exceeded expectations. His seven years in Cleveland, which included several phenomenal regular seasons and a trip to the finals, were like none before in Cavaliers history. James may have been the biggest hero there in half a century.

This made it that much harder in 2010, when a frustrated James opted to “take his talents to South Beach,” leaving the fans on the shores of Lake Erie with a broken franchise. As he made his way to the Miami Heat, fans burned jerseys, broke down in tears, and made statements I can’t repeat about the man referred to as the “Chosen One”. Cleveland Cavaliers billionaire owner Dan Gilbert’s angry letter about James departure is still what he is most known for – that likely won’t change.

People in large markets, such as our mega New York metropolis, don’t always understand the importance of sports and civic pride in smaller, rust belt markets like Cleveland which lead to such deep feelings of betrayal when James left. These markets are forgotten, laughed at, the but of jokes – not to mention somewhat deeper economic struggle. The smaller scales of the cities and their media allow fans to perceive a more personal relationship with the sports stars. For example, everyone knows where Lebron James lives – and they aren’t shy to visit.

The fours years after James departure were painful to say the least. The lone real bright spot of this period was Cleveland winning the #1 pick in the NBA draft lottery an unprecedented three of those four years. Even with an infusion of young talent, the Cavaliers made poor management decisions. Players didn’t always get along, and the locker room environment devolving into what one local reporter described as “toxic”.

During the past couple of weeks there was a new form of hope that goes well beyond the good cast of young players they’ve recently put together. Former hometown hero turned native villain Lebron James appeared to have narrowed his destinations down to Cleveland and Miami, the latter with whom he won two championships in the four years between 2010 and 2014. It was almost time to make a decision. and it appeared that the best basketball player in the world might be coming back. What Cavs fan wouldn’t be excited? For almost a week, it was all about James decision.

As of Saturday, all fans were at the edge of their seats just waiting for an announcement to happen. It got wild. We, the fans, collectively tracked Cavs owner Dan Gilbert’s private plane as it criss-crossed the country, speculating about its trip to Miami. We updated our Twitter feeds and message boards constantly. People analyzed photos of exotic cars being loaded onto trucks in front of James’ Miami home. During this past week I listened to a lot more sports radio than I care to admit. Blog? I didn’t even read blogs, let alone write a post.


Fans watched Owner Dan Gilbert’s plane make its way to Miami. While he denied being aboard it, he later confirmed that he indeed was traveling to Miami to meet with James and apologize for his angry letter.

Then there were the local “insiders” who claimed knowledge that Lebron was 100% coming back to Cleveland. They ranged from a couple of legitimate reporters, to personal trainers, to a Cleveland cupcake store owner, and even a man who drives a bus that once had Lebron James’ mother’s sister in his car. Nothing was too outlandish for us. There were negative rumors of a return to Miami, too. We hung onto every word and read into everything, no matter how far fetched it seemed. Most signs seemed to point to a return to Cleveland, but how legitimate were they?

All week, it always appeared that the decision was just one day away. Each evening since Sunday July 6, die-hard Cavs fans told themselves to wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow never came, until it did, on Friday.

Let me say one thing – sports is not very important. Let’s be clear. Lebron James return is not going to, say, return the long departed manufacturing jobs to Cleveland or any other American city. While athletes have the potential to effect change with their celebrity, like Muhammad Ali, for example, sports themselves are not going to radically change society or solve the many threats that we face on this planet. Nothing serves as a substitute for making demands to those in power.

On the other hand, sports does inspire cities, gives people hope and a sense of pride. Sports allots people an occasional, competitive getaway from their increasingly difficult daily lives. Sports are the ultimate competition, and as all of human history suggests, a part of our human DNA. Just look at today’s World Cup Final and its billion viewer audience.

One advantage that competitions like the World Cup have over professional sports is that players play for where they are from – their teams are not arbitrary. It’s why high school sports fans are amongst the most passionate and dedicated that you will find.
That’s what made Lebron James’ Friday decision to return to Cleveland so special. Through Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated, the nation learned that he is returning home to wear the banner of Cleveland and all of Northeast Ohio. His must-read letter to the region of his birth brought people to tears and is likely to appear on a plaque somewhere in C-Town, someday down the road.

As he shed his villain status in a way no one has before, James explained in his letter how important home is. He explained how you don’t appreciate where you are from until you are gone, and how he’d like to impact the next generation of young people in his hometown. “My relationship with Northeast Ohio is bigger than basketball,” he declared, also stating that eventually returning to Cleveland to finish his career was a question of when, not if.

The most suspicious observers – of which I am one – will point out that James’ decision to return home enhances his growing brand and popularity. It doesn’t come with economic sacrifice – quite the contrary. In fact, most observers agree that his only choices, in terms of his brand and public perception, were an aging Miami team lacking in assets and a return to up and coming Cleveland. And yes, he is also joining a strong, young team that is perhaps the most promising long term option in the entire league – whether or not they play in James’ home.

Regardless of the less altruistic reasons that may have played a part in his return, it’s still a great pleasure to fans around the country to see the most talented athlete in the world go to their roots, especially in this world of media and entertainment syndication, the removal of anything truly local. James has stated the desire to send his kids to the same high school he attended, to be around family. Not in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles mega-markets, but in little Cleveland, on a quest to bring them their first championship in 50 years.

Everyone likes an underdog, and it’s nice to see the little guy win sometimes.

Especially when it’s your favorite team.

 

[Green Lantern]

I like Q-Tip listened to the Cavs on the radio when they first became a team in the 70's.
In Columbus it wasn't easy to get it on the radio but I did.
My first game I saw in person my friends and I drove up the Richfield Col, to see them play the Hawks and we had to beat a snow/ice storm to get back home..

 

[davoor]

I became a Cavs fan in 2007, at the age of 13, after the Finals apperance... I mean I followed the NBA before that but just casually and my favorite team were the Lakers (now my most hated team in sports along with Real Madrid). Then in the summer of 2007 I saw a clip of LBJ's amazing performance at the Palace I was just captivated by it, cause it was just amazing. The next season I started following the NBA as it also became "interesting" cause of the Boston "Big 3", but I still stuck with the Cavaliers and of course it was because of LeBron. In 2009 I found this forum and that's when I really started following the NBA regularly. Also I gotta say that I feel much more educated about the NBA because of this forum and I understand much more about how everything works in the league.

I rooted for the Cavs and I always told myself that this has gotta be the year the Cavs would at least go to the Finals again but that didn't happen and well I always just felt heartbroken. After LeBron left I didn't really know if I was a Cleveland fan or a LeBron fan but after educating myself about Cleveland's past misfortune in sports I just somehow felt connected to the city... probably cause there were/are a lot of disappointing/heartbreaking moments in Slovenia's sports history. I've grown to love Cleveland more and more and I often feel offended when the city is bashed on sites like ESPN, just like I imagine the people that are form Cleveland feel. I'm just so glad I found this forum 5 years ago so that I was able to educate myself about the NBA and probably basketball in general. Another factor could be that Cleveland is the city where there are a lot of Slovenian people, so it's even easier to connect with it even though I don't have any family or know anyone in Cleveland personally. I also agree with practically the whole post from the OP.

I always felt LeBron would come home but well like most people on here know, it always felt too good to be true that something like that would happen to Cleveland (I sometimes feel similarly about good thing not happening to Slovenia), and that he did return it just feels so good that I stuck with the team and that we are about to have a great team in Cleveland. If/When the Cavs win the championship I will be as proud of being a Cavs fan that stuck through the rough patch as any non native Cleveland fan can be

I am now 20 and don't really have a lot of money or not nearly enough, but sometime in the next 3 years I plan on saving enough to make a trip to Cleveland and watch at least one game live at the Q. Now that we will have a great team I feel the trip would be worth it and I just can't wait until that day will finally come. I really hope it comes soon, cause I really wanna watch Kyrie, LeBron and Love dominate on the court and see that in persons instead of watching on a shitty stream.
And again props to this awesome forum... I wouldn't be the Cavs fan I am today without it and without you people! :headbang:

 

[HoustonCav]

not understanding "Blind Loyalty" in sports makes about as much sense to me as not understanding "blind loyalty" in family

We are family

Who care's if you're 40.

I am not asking, nor care about your respect.

Sports =/= Family

Not even close.

Get some damn perspective.

Saying stuff like that leads to those dumb fan brawls (i.e Dodgers/Giants) where you fighting over something that means absolutely nothing to you in REAL life.

Why hate someone because they rep a different team that neither of you own.

I understand the sense of community and all that bull but damn, you as a man shouldn't define yourself by a sports team.

Where the hell is the loyalty in sports if you have a shitty owner?

According to you, keep following BLINDLY due to proximity no matter if the product is trash and you are getting price gouged.

 

[CavsFaninNJ]

Who care's if you're 40.

I am not asking, nor care about your respect.

Sports =/= Family

Not even close.

Get some damn perspective.

Saying stuff like that leads to those dumb fan brawls (i.e Dodgers/Giants) where you fighting over something that means absolutely nothing to you in REAL life.

Why hate someone because they rep a different team that neither of you own.

I understand the sense of community and all that bull but damn, you as a man shouldn't define yourself by a sports team.

Where the hell is the loyalty in sports if you have a shitty owner?

According to you, keep following BLINDLY due to proximity no matter if the product is trash and you are getting price gouged.

I can't explain blind loyalty to you, I really can't.

I don't know if I'd have developed into such a big Cavs fan as an adult (I was ten). If it were an adulthood loyalty, I don't know if I'd get legitimately nervous at the end of a game played hundreds of miles away in a different market. Maybe it's because it happened when I was a kid.

Or maybe it's something built into us as humans that we just can't understand - the excitement you feel with other fans rooting for your team, even though all the players from 5 years ago may have switched, and regardless of who the owner is. F just about all those billionaires is my view lol - so "good owners" are rare. It's not about that.

So I have no answer for you.

 

[Kizzle]

Like football before basketball, picked the Bengals because it's closest team.........Same with basketball. Picked Cavs because it's the closest team. Gotta rep your state. I see now joy in ever rooting for another team unless it's one of those cases where that team winning gets us a bye in the playoffs or something. I never understood bandwagon fans. I only have the energy to follow 2 teams really in depth. I couldn't imagine changing teams every year.

 

[PedroPTCavs]

Being from Portugal i wasn't born in a country that's crazy about basketball, but one thing i started doing early in life was following american sports and its culture in general. It was always something that captivated me, so it was only natural that i started hearing about a young phenom from Akron when i was 13 or 14 years old. Started following his high school career, and obviously started following his career in Cleveland.

Pretty soon it was more about the Cavaliers than LeBron, don't get me wrong, LeBron was THE reason i was watching games for the first few weeks, but then the team started growing on me.

Religiously i stayed up until 2 and 3am watching games on a shitty stream, getting mad and excited as if i was a Cav since birth.
11 years later, here i am, still a Cav, LeBron or no LeBron, i will always be a Cav and if i may say it, an "adopted" Cleveland citizen, at least mentally. It's something that will follow me always, this team, the fans, even the state, i'll always have a place for it all.

Few years back i even got my cousin to start following the NBA and obviously the Cavs, i only know about 2 or 3 other Cavs fans here in Portugal, i'm sure there are a few more, but i can assure you we're passionate about the team and plan on watching a game live at least once in my life.

I'm from Portugal too and my story is pretty much the same as yours and Rager's, it's unbelievable. Yeah, I started following due to LeBron but it quickly became about the team and it will always be about the team... I've watched virtually every game until 3 or 4 am for years and when I can't watch them live I always try to download and watch the day after. Through the years I became a Browns fan as well.. when I stop to think about it I can't believe how much I connected to a city where I've never been before. I have so many memories... I hope one day I'll be able to go there and watch a few games live.

 

[mhi]

Because I touched down in the greatest city on earth....

Cincinnati.

And CLE was the nearest pro ball team.

 

[davedugan43]

I am from NEO but have an interesting path.

I was born in Indianapolis on June 3, 1993.
Both of my parents are from the Northside of Pittsburgh. Went to Steelers games when I was in diapers.
Moved to Detroit with my parents shortly after birth, where I lived for a few years after.
In 1996, I moved to western Maryland and lived there until my dad and mom were contemplating a move to Akron, Ohio (my dad is in tire sales).
They still weren't ready to move quite yet, so we received what some might call "divine intervention".
The strongest tornado in Maryland history, a technical F4 monstrosity struck my neighborhood on June 2nd, 1998; one day before my fifth birthday. The tornado was so powerful that it destroyed the very foundation of my home, making it nearly impossible to rebuild. Several clothing items and light objects were thrown into nearby states. I was interviewed for the USA Today the next day.
Seeing as we'd either be house-hunting either way, my parents decided moving to Akron was the correct move. On June 10, 1999, we moved to Stow, where I grew up.
Went to Catholic School growing up (Holy Family in Stow for grade school, Walsh for HS) until 2011, when I became a Bobcat of Ohio University.

Anyway, Cavs...

I really only watched NFL (Steelers) football with my dad on Sundays and Mondays until I was 10 (LeBron's draft). My dad said to me one June afternoon, "This kid from Akron is supposed to go #1 to the Cavs soon."
I looked it up on my Windows 2000 desktop, and started feeling the hype around LeBron James.
My dad sat me down for a game about 6 months later and LeBron went off in that game. I remember he had an improbable falling-out-of-bounds three late in that game.
My dad, who had no ties to Cleveland or Northeast Ohio, was trying to get me hooked on Cavaliers basketball.
At first, it was casual watching, but then the Cavs made the playoffs the next season, where they faced the Gilbert Arenas-led Wizards in the first round. My mom said she almost won tickets on a radio contest, and brought home pizza and drinks so we could watch it together instead since my dad was in Tokyo at the time.
LeBron won the game with an under-the-hoop layup with seconds left. The went on the take that series, and my dad came back two weeks later with tickets.
Game 3 in Cleveland, Detroit Pistons at Cavs. Great game.
I was hooked ever since.

I get a lot of shit for being a Steelers and Cavs fan. Pittsburgh and Cleveland are rivals in football (at least from the Cleveland perspective), but both cities make up my childhood and who I am, so you won't see me talking shit about either. I've been with the Cavs passionately since that game, including the low points of the Decision, the Lakers blowout loss, LeBron's two MIA titles, and Mike Brown part deaux. But I've been there through it all, and I'm proud to be a Cavs fan.

 

[Zeus69]

Born in Jersey, raised in Maryland/Virginia, live in Illinois.

My folks came to the US as teenagers from Greece to attend college. They didn't know each other at the time but both had relatives in Cleveland. My dad went to Case Tech as an engineer. My mom went to Western Reserve as an architect. They met cuz the Greek kids hung out with their cultural mates.

My dad didn't speak a lick of English when he came to the states in mid 50s. He was an avid soccer fan in the home country. So he turned to the one universal interest (other than math lol) that bonded him with his dorm buddies: Professional sports, football in particular. He became enamored with Jim Brown. He loved attending games at municipal stadium.

Career and marriage took the family out east, where my brother and I were born. Needless to say, support of any other city's pro sports franchise wasn't permitted :chuckles:. Only east coast team I would root for over corresponding Cleveland team is the Orioles.

It's been all Cleveland sports, all day during my upbringing.

I've coped with red right 88, the drive, the fumble, the move, the shot, the Mesa and, of course, the decision...

Funny part in all this is that I've only been to Cleveland twice in my life (to visit relatives). Hope to make it to The Q and/or First Energy some day. I'm definitely a diehard.

 

[Simon]

Grew up close to Cleveland. Born a Cleveland fan. Been raised as a Cleveland fan, by my dad. My mom isn't really a sports fan, only a fan of the Indians. Will be a Cleveland fan until I die.

 

[HighRoller74]

My First post here on RCF, and what better topic to start on.

Born and Raised in Ohio my whole life, to parents who really didn't follow sports that much, so I kinda had to gain my allegiances on my own.

Like most kids who grew up in the 90's, without allegiance, was a big bulls fan, until much like my skill, my interest in basketball declined. Focusing more on other sports, mainly Football.

For most of my teenage years, I was the dredded "player fan/bandwaggoner". Leaned towards the Patriots in Football, and Yankees in basketball.

That changed more or less my senior year in 2002, when LBJ stormed on the national scene, and I became interested in following a "local" kid. Also, around the same time, a guy from my High School, was starting to come on the NBA radar in College(Kevin Martin). So I began mostly following, the draft boards, and the league in general, but still wasn't must interest in the NBA Product.

In 2003, LeBron played my school, and I was in attendance to watch the beat down that ensued, and from that moment I was hooked into following LeBron into the NBA.

LeBron gets drafted by Cleveland, and so my allegiance went there, and slowly but surely, I began to follow the City's teams for all sports.

We come to deceision , and I like a similar poster above, was devastated with the Decision, and I decided to remain a Fan of the Cleveland area teams.

And after 4 years, here we are.

 

[glockcoma]

Basketball Junkie.

No connection to Cleveland/Ohio.

Bron fan since my senior year in high school (2002).

Player fan. Don't see anything wrong with it.

Dont understand blind loyalty in sports.

Many reasons why I feel strongly about Bron as a player/person.

Been out to Cleveland to see him live several times. Enjoyed my time there.

Got to know and love some things about the organization while watching Bron.

After the Decision, rooted for the Heat, due to Bron.

Back since Bron is back, I'm back.

I'll never understand this. Being a fan of a team, to me, provides way more excitement. The trials and tribulations of roster building, front office changes, coaching changes, off season acquisitions, draft strategies, etc. is way more compelling and entertaining to me and provides year round entertainment, as opposed to picking the best player in the league and watch him compete for a championship year in and year out. To each their own I guess.

Anyways, my Cavs fandom is inherited from my father. I was born and raised in the C-Bus area. My pops was born and raised in Mantua and always told me stories about his days of going to Cleveland Municipal Stadium for Browns/Indians games. Always watched games with him on TV and occasionally would make a trip up to CLE and scalp tix at the Jake or the Gund. In HS we went to the 76ers game in CLE where AI set the Q scoring record with 53 (I think it was?), sat like 5 rows up from the court. Absolutely incredible game to watch. Those are some of the best childhood memories I have.