How I Became A Cavaliers Fan

As I referenced in my previous post, I am irrevocably in love with LeBron James as a Basketball player. I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about LeBron, his teammates, the Cavaliers, the Association, the US Olympic Basketball team, basically anything connected to LeBron's game. But how did this come to be?

I grew up in Maine, where those who care about basketball root for the Celtics. My family is transplanted from New York/New Jersey, so I was raised a Knicks fan (and a NY Giants fan, and a Yankees fan). As a youngster, I loved any and all sports - loved playing them, loved watching them, loved seeing the emotions of my father during games, hoping one day I would feel that invested in a team. I naturally gravitated toward the Yankees as my favorite of all, for two main reasons: first, they were awesome in my childhood (the first full season I remember was 1996, when rookie Derek Jeter and the Yankees won the World Series). And second, I loved playing baseball more than any other sport. I wasn't any better at baseball than basketball or soccer, but it consumed me and I became obsessed with the history of the game and all the fun stuff that came along. When the Yankees won three World Series in a row I was the happiest kid alive. During Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS I was too nervous to watch the middle innings, but when Aaron F---in' Boone homered off Tim Wakefield I couldn't stop smiling for weeks (well that's not true, because the Yankees lost to the Marlins in the World Series). And the collapse in 2004 was the biggest devastation that had befallen me to that time (and even now, it's one of the top five worst times of my life). When I lived in New York, the Yankees didn't win a single playoff series, suffering three consecutive first round exits, then missing the Playoffs altogether in 2008. When I moved away, they found their winning ways, almost as if they were waiting for me to leave to get back on top. The 2009 World Series will always mean the most to me, because it is the first time the Yankees won when I actually knew what was going on (not that 13 year old me in 2000 didn't know what was up, but come on, I was 13). Anyways, all this is to say that the Yankees have always and will always be my favorite team in sports, even though I now consider Basketball to be my favorite sport.

In the late 90s I was a pretty big Knicks fan - I remember sending a letter to the Knicks asking for Patrick Ewing's autograph, but instead they sent back a Hubert Davis autograph. My father liked basketball well enough, but had never cared for the Knicks as strongly as he did for the Yankees. My earliest basketball memory is the Rockets' demolishing of the Knicks in the 1994 Finals. I was 7, so I don't really remember it. Next is Michael Jordan's first comeback - I even had a little framed picture of him that said "I'm back," even though my father strongly disliked the Bulls, for obvious reasons. I don't actually remember the Bulls second three-peat. I guess I was rooting for the Knicks in those days, but I can't be sure. When they miraculously made the Finals in 1999 as an 8-seed, I furiously jumped on that bandwagon. Tim Duncan and the Spurs quickly made me jump back off.

What followed was a black hole in my NBA fandom. I'm sure I still followed the league (these were the days when I would watch Sportscenter for hours a day - something I still do when I have access to a TV). To be perfectly honest, I don't know if I watched a single minute of any of the Lakers' Finals games from 2000-2002. I do remember Mark Madsen's atrocious dancing at the parade. That is rather indicative of my level of interest in the NBA - I don't remember the best guard-center combo since Magic and Kareem, but I do remember the goofy white guy dancing afterward.

This period (1999-2003) probably marked the height of my interest in College Basketball. A Syracuse fan since their title game run in 1996 (I was quite the little bandwagon jumper when I was little - but I've remained a Syracuse devotee ever since, even though I know study at basketball crazy Indiana University, I root exclusively for the Orange), I believed the myth that the college game was more fundamentally sound and played "better" than the pro game during this time. I loved Jim Boeheim's 2-3 zone (and still do). Everything peaked, obviously, in 2003 when freshman Carmelo Anthony led the Orangemen (as they were still known) to the NCAA title (an example of my perhaps misguided devotion - the NCAA tournament coincided with the first invasions of Iraq in 2003, and whenever CBS would cut into a game to give an update on the fledgling war, I would get annoyed).

Leading up to the 2003 draft, it was impossible to avoid all the hype surrounding high school phenom LeBron James. I took an interest in LeBron, though I'm not entirely sure why. I was rooting for the Cavaliers to get the top pick, if only for the hometown angle. I had no interest whatsoever in the Cavaliers before - they were just another NBA franchise to me.

I never watched any of LeBron's high school games, so the talk of his skill was all hearsay to me. But I wanted to like Basketball again. I think subconsciously I wanted LeBron (and to a lesser extent, Carmelo) to be my own personal Basketball savior, while simultaneously saving Basketball in Ohio. Sure enough, the Cavs got the top pick and took LeBron. I got legitimately excited that I would be able to watch a young star come into the league and develop. I could sense something special was happening with him.

LeBron's first NBA game was against the Sacramento Kings, the second half of a double-header on ESPN. The first game was between the Orlando Magic and the Knicks. I watched the first game only because I didn't want to miss the moment of LeBron's debut. Now, as I remember it, the Magic-Knicks game went into double-OT and I missed the beginning of the Cavaliers game. I was beyond disappointed (and this also points to how far my interest in the Knicks had fallen). I don't remember who won that double-OT game (I just checked Basketball Reference, and the Magic won 85-83 in single OT; 85-83 in overtime! No wonder I didn't watch the NBA), but I do remember when they finally cut to the Kings-Cavaliers. Somehow, this young 18 year old was better than I had expected. His size, speed, strength, and athleticism all amazed me, not to mention his Basketball acumen. I was hooked right then.

I began watching all of LeBron's games on national television. I developed my biggest sports-based man crush since Derek Jeter. I can't remember when I got my first LeBron jersey (the home white), but I still wear it to this day. At some point that season, my father, God bless him, offered to get NBA League Pass so I dould watch all of LeBron's games. I immediately said yes, and the love affair truly began. The Cavaliers were horrible that year (Dajuan Wagner, anybody?), but that didn't matter to me...yet.

Starting in LeBron's second season (2004-05) I began to care more about the Cavaliers as a team. Maybe it was that scumbag Carlos Boozer lying to a blind guy and leaving town, maybe it was Big Z and the way he connected with the fans. Something made me adopt the Cavaliers as my new favorite NBA team. Watching an amazing talent like LeBron will do that to an impressionable mind.

Of course during that time I would still inwardly rejoice when LeBron had a good game, but the Cavs lost. But then something changed the first time I saw LeBron in person. I wish I could remember the exact date, but I know it was in either 2005 or 2006. I could check my livejournal to see, because I knew I was counting down to the date. I'd rather not, though (Broke down and checked - April 5, 2006: NY 96, CLE 94). Point being, I went with my brother to MSG to see the Cavaliers play the Knicks. We had nosebleed seats, but I was happy as a pig in shit. My boy, LeBron James, in the flesh.

The game itself wasn't that good (Qyntel Woods (!) started for the Knicks), and LeBron passed up a shot at the buzzer that could have tied/won the game. I was angry as all hell; not because LeBron messed up (that was part of it), but because the Cavs had lost a winnable game. It was then I knew it was Cavaliers first, LeBron second. The Cavaliers made their first Playoffs that season and won a series (over the Wizards). I was in.

I've watched as many of LeBron's games as possible. The results affect me a little too much (as my college friends can attest - sometimes I would break plans and not go out if the Cavaliers had lost earlier in the night). I've seen LeBron in person three or four more times, including the famous 52 point, 11 assist, 9 rebound game at MSG.

I was unable to watch LeBron's "48 Special" against the Pistons in 2007 - I was living with my aunt at the time, and she didn't have cable or satellite. I listened to the game on the radio and followed along with the gamecast. Even without actually watching the game, it was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. The subsequent dismantling the Cavaliers received from the Spurs in the Finals stung for a long time. Last season, I had ultimate faith that the Cavs would return to the Finals. But it was not to be. This year, again, I have ultimate faith in LeBron.

A friend of mine who is a die-hard Knicks fan asked me recently if I'll follow LeBron if he leaves Cleveland, meaning if I'll become a fan of whatever team LeBron lands on. I told him, no, I am a Cavaliers fan first and foremost. I'll remain loyal to my team. However, I don't know how honest of an answer that is. Ideally I wouldn't have to make that choice. But if I do, I don't know what will happen. I can't imagine ever rooting against LeBron. He single-handedly resurrected my interest in the NBA. I spend about half my free time thinking about LeBron. He'll always be my favorite player, for technical and sentimental reasons. He is the driving force behind this blog. He made me a Cavaliers fan.

Please, LeBron, don't make me choose between my favorite player and my favorite team.