Taiter
25 footer... Bingo!
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2005
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Just a comment on the Miracle year. I only heard about it retrospect because it was really a year or two after that that I became a fan (the year the Knicks knocked the Cavs out in a best 2 of 3!). As you old fogies know, Pete Franklin used to run that Miracle record on WWWE, probably when he wanted the rest of the night off, and that's what hooked me.
Anyway, I've seen the thing where Bill Simmons (condescendingly) goes, "what's the big deal, it was a conference semi-final," blah blah blah. But the Miracle was a unique series because the Cavs had been a doormat since their inception. There's a special kind of intensity that comes with an underdog done good (remember Golden State - Dallas?). The only thing I've experienced like it, and probably the most enjoyable single sporting event I've ever attended, was Game 4 of the Blue Jackets-Penguins series last year. Like those 1975-76 Cavs, the CBJ have been an NHL doormat whose long-suffering fans have been tormented by the Penguins and their frontrunner fans every year. The intensity at that game was high and when Blue Jackets scored (down 2 games to 1) with about 30 seconds left in the game to tie it, people went berserk. During the intermission before OT, people were doing spontaneous, loud CBJ chants in the concession areas. Then the CBJ scored in OT and the crowd didn't want to leave. I remember leaving Nationwide Arena and turning around about 100 feet outside the doors and there was this weird hum, an electric buzz, just flowing out of the building. You could look at it dispassionately and say it was just the first round and the CBJ lost in 6 games, big deal, but it was an unforgettable experience and a taste of success.
It was the crowds at those Miracle games and the intensity of Tait's calls that have made that series legendary. I read somewhere that Nate Thurmond had someone tape the crowds at those games and for years he'd listen to a cassette of it.
Hoping the finals create memories like that and the end result is a title!
Anyway, I've seen the thing where Bill Simmons (condescendingly) goes, "what's the big deal, it was a conference semi-final," blah blah blah. But the Miracle was a unique series because the Cavs had been a doormat since their inception. There's a special kind of intensity that comes with an underdog done good (remember Golden State - Dallas?). The only thing I've experienced like it, and probably the most enjoyable single sporting event I've ever attended, was Game 4 of the Blue Jackets-Penguins series last year. Like those 1975-76 Cavs, the CBJ have been an NHL doormat whose long-suffering fans have been tormented by the Penguins and their frontrunner fans every year. The intensity at that game was high and when Blue Jackets scored (down 2 games to 1) with about 30 seconds left in the game to tie it, people went berserk. During the intermission before OT, people were doing spontaneous, loud CBJ chants in the concession areas. Then the CBJ scored in OT and the crowd didn't want to leave. I remember leaving Nationwide Arena and turning around about 100 feet outside the doors and there was this weird hum, an electric buzz, just flowing out of the building. You could look at it dispassionately and say it was just the first round and the CBJ lost in 6 games, big deal, but it was an unforgettable experience and a taste of success.
It was the crowds at those Miracle games and the intensity of Tait's calls that have made that series legendary. I read somewhere that Nate Thurmond had someone tape the crowds at those games and for years he'd listen to a cassette of it.
Hoping the finals create memories like that and the end result is a title!
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