Whole cities and communities can be brought together by the presence of a quality sports team. These organizations represent the spirit and vivacity of the cities from which they originate. In Cleveland, Ohio, we are no longer relevant in the sports world; our current teams are now shells of their former selves. Long gone are the 20th century football greats, such as Bernie Kosar and Jim Brown, who proudly wore their Cleveland Brown jerseys and carried the franchise on their shoulders. Mark Price and Brad Daugherty, the stalwart team contributors of the 1980s and 1990s Cleveland Cavaliers, are no longer here to help the team make another playoff push.
Cleveland sports fans have little to be proud of today. Our Cleveland Browns football team has not played a postseason game in over a decade. The organization is marred by inconsistent play and questionable head coach decision making. In the basketball world, the morale of our city’s Cleveland Cavaliers has been tarnished by the infamous defection of LeBron James. While young players such as Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters have attempted to breathe some life back into the franchise, they have yet to reinstill the winning mentality that has been missing in that team for so long. Our city’s fan base is sick of being at the bottom of conference standings and at the top of draft boards every year. We want to be proud. We want our teams to be successful. We also want change now, but no one is going anywhere soon. Cleveland will continue to wait for its return to prominence.