Back on December 27, 1964 the Cleveland Browns beat the Baltimore Colts 27-0 to wrap up the National Football League Championship.
Unfortunately, that would be the last time the City of Cleveland would taste a championship for any of its major league sports teams. We would come close...several times.
The Indians went to the World Series in 1995 and 1997. We all remember the meltdown of star closer Jose Mesa.
The Browns in the 80s and 90s were good. But, "Red Right 88," The Drive and The Fumble prevented any visits to the Super Bowl.
The Cavs were close. The Miracle of Richfield gave us hope. And Michael Jordan dashed our hopes in 1987 with "The Shot."
Yes, Cleveland's sports woes have been given names. Names that everyone recognizes.
But that all changed on June 19, 2016. This time it worked in our favor. This time the "The Block" by LeBron James, "The Shot" by Kyrie Irving, and "The Comeback" by the entire team. Down 3 to 1, no team in NBA History has ever come back from that. 32 tries...32 failures. Until the Cavs.
A 53 YEAR SPORTS DROUGHT. So how long was the drought? Since December 27, 1964, it's been 18,802 days since the last Cleveland world championship. That's 2,686 weeks...or 451,248 hours...or 27,074,880 minutes...or 1,624,492,800 seconds. Congratulations to the Cleveland Cavaliers and LONG-SUFFERING Cleveland fans everywhere!
THE IMPROBABLE JOURNEY TO A CHAMPIONSHIP. Of course there was doubt with many long-suffering fans. Just think of the odds! Every national pundit picked the Cavs to LOSE the championship series. Its true, the Cleveland Cavaliers were odds on favorites NOT to win a Championship this year. Consider what they had to overcome to WIN:
1) They had to beat a team that won a regular season record 73 games in 2016.
2) They had to beat a team that scored the most regular season points in NBA History.
3) They had to beat a team that scored the most 3-point baskets in NBA History.
4) They had to win 2 Away Games against a team that lost only 2 home games during the entire regular season.
5) They had to beat a team that hadn't lost 3 games in a row since November of 2013.
4) They had to beat the reigning regular season MVP.
5) They had to come back from an 0-2 Championship Series deficit.
6) They were down 3 games to 1. No team has ever won the NBA Title being down 3-1 in the Finals.
7) AND...As a BONUS, they held the reigning NBA Champions scoreless for the last 4-plus minutes of Game 7.
In other words....They had TO REWRITE HISTORY. And they DID! The DROUGHT IS OVER! Rejoice!
