Cleveland parties as Cavs’ NBA title celebrated with parade

He also took a swipe at the Golden State Warriors, who became the first team to blow a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals, by wearing a blue T-shirt with “Ultimate Warrior” written on the front when the Cavs returned to Cleveland on Monday to a raucous celebration at Cleveland’s Hopkins Airport.

A parade held somewhere else for more than a half-century is rolling through Cleveland.

The festivities kick off at 11 a.m., and LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Coach Tyroon Lue are all expected to be on hand to bask in their newfound glory.

And the sight of James, who scorned the city by leaving in 2010, holding the Larry O’Brien trophy as he rides down East 9th Street is certain to produce cheers and some tears from fans waiting a lifetime to see one of Cleveland’s three teams finish first.

“This is a family friendly event and fans are reminded that public consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited”, the City of Cleveland said in a news release.

While Cleveland hosts other parades like a popular one on St. Patrick’s Day, there hasn’t been a sports parade of this magnitude since 1995, when the Indians were honored for their first appearance in the World Series since 1954. Police used patrol cars and a mounted horseback unit to slowly clear the congestion so the celebration could continue. A shirtless J.R. Smith dropped down from his vehicle and slapped hands with fans along barricades near “The Q”.

Later, James planned to address the crowd at a rally on Mall B, a wide-open area flooded with fans.

No major city had endured more pain with its sports franchises. Cleveland fans simply went home, probably shoveled their driveways and went on with their lives. Decades of bad breaks, close calls and stunning incompetence even spawned the phrase that, when it comes to sports, “God Hates Cleveland”. As long as he’s in Cleveland, the Eastern Conference runs through them, and it would come as no surprise if they end up back in the NBA Finals next year again.