LeBron’s hometown Akron celebrates his NBA title with Cavs

Aside from population and about a 35-minute drive, not much separates Akron from Cleveland. No matter what’s been going on, no matter the Browns, the Indians, the Cavs and so on, and all other sports teams, they continue to support us, and for us to be able to end this, end this drought, our fans deserve it.

I’m not writing this column to eat crow or to admit that I was wrong, but I’m truly, truly happy for the city of Cleveland and for the dedicated sports fans of northeast OH who are finally getting to celebrate a professional sports championship. And my one mission was to bring a championship back to OH, back to Cleveland, and back to Akron.

However, even without such talent Team USA are still heavy favorites to win gold: they are now 1-14 with bookmakers. They report that Cleveland fans bought twice as much merchandise in the 24 hours following the final game as Warriors fans did when Golden State won the title past year.

One guy who you won’t hear too much about throughout all of this is Channing Frye.

Fans stood on rooftops, portable toilets and hung out of office building windows hoping to get a glimpse of James, who rode in a Rolls Royce convertible with his wife, Savannah, and their three children. Now, the thin part is over: The Cavs are world champs. James, who came to the National Basketball Association straight out of high school as an 18-year-old, got his “college” experience in Miami, as he learned how to be a champion with some help from Dwyane Wade and Pat Riley. I came back to bring a championship to our city.

“There’s no way I could accomplish such a feat like we just had this past Sunday without the support from all of you guys”.

Akron’s only 40 miles south of Cleveland, but please know that’s a common sentiment.

While I felt (and still feel) that James was somewhat a diva while playing high school basketball in Akron, the more I thought about Smith’s assessment, the more I had to agree with him. “I love each and every one of you”. He also frequently mentions and shows Akron in commercials or other promotions. While Love consistently had terrific statistics in the Twin Cities, he was unable to lead the Timberwolves into the playoffs during his six-year tenure. He mostly talked about Akron, about his own family and foundation, about the people he loved.

While the move may have been understandable, the process, a one-hour prime time special called The Decision, was deeply regrettable.

It was the beginning of a tortuous championship drought for the city’s sports teams that reached 52 years coming into 2016 and left Cleveland, the lynchpin of the Rust Belt, a piñata of futility continually beat on by the rest of America. “It took a kid from Akron to end it”.