2016 NBA Playoffs

[goatprairie]

Yeah..you're right.  I'll just stick to beisbol.   

Hey, I like to watch baseball....especially when I'm having trouble sleeping. Never fails.

[musiclady]

So where is the dividing line for allegiance to Cleveland or Cincinnati teams? Columbus? And who do people from Columbus cheer for?

More people in Columbus root for the Reds and the Bengals than the Indians and the Browns.  Columbus feels a lot more "southern" than "northern" Ohio.  I'm about an hour from each city (Cleveland and Columbus), and we're hardcore Cleveland people here.

My husband was raised in Dayton as a Browns' fan before the Bengals started in Cincinnati.  When they did, a lot of Daytonians switched allegiance from the Browns, and he considers them turncoats to this day.  But when it comes to baseball, he likes the Indians, but his heart is still with the Reds.  Of course the fact that they're in different leagues doesn't cause much problem there.

THE Ohio State University bridges all gaps, however, and when it comes to the Buckeyes, we are ALL Ohioans.  ^-^

@goatprairie

[Maj. Bill Martin]

@musiclady

Made it to parade route - absolutely crazy even to make it downtown, but we got a good spot. Line for actual rally thousands long by 4:00 a.m.

You can watch it on NBA TV, which is included in a lot of cable packages.

[musiclady]

@musiclady

Made it to parade route - absolutely crazy even to make it downtown, but we got a good spot. Line for actual rally thousands long by 4:00 a.m.

You can watch it on NBA TV, which is included in a lot of cable packages.

Congratulations on getting there!  I've been watching FOX8 for coverage, but will check to see if we get NBA TV.

They're saying as many as 80,000 - 1,000,000 people could be there, so the fact that you got a good spot is remarkable!

I'll be with you in spirit!

@Maj. Bill Martin

[musiclady]

@Maj. Bill Martin

NBA TV isn't currently available, but all the Cleveland stations are showing coverage all day long.

When you get back, you should take a look at some of the aerial shots of the mass of humanity you're in.  It's AWESOME!!

Happy, happy day for Cleveland, the region and ALL of Ohio!

[musiclady]

Estimated attendance at the Cavs victory parade today.......... 1.3 MILLION people!

Way to GO, CLEVELAND!!

(It was fantastic seeing the GREAT Jimmy Brown hand the trophy to LeBron!  52 years is a LONG time!!)

[goatprairie]

Estimated attendance at the Cavs victory parade today.......... 1.3 MILLION people!

Way to GO, CLEVELAND!!

(It was fantastic seeing the GREAT Jimmy Brown hand the trophy to LeBron!  52 years is a LONG time!!)

It was weird watching Brown carrying the trophy being helped by several people. I know he's about 80 now, but most of my memories of Brown are of him being greatest running back in NFL history. An old Jim Brown is somewhat hard to fathom.

[musiclady]

It was weird watching Brown carrying the trophy being helped by several people. I know he's about 80 now, but most of my memories of Brown are of him being greatest running back in NFL history. An old Jim Brown is somewhat hard to fathom.

I've seen him often enough to know he's been aging, especially lately.  It is hard to accept after having watched him play, though.

The greatest in history......... and probably always will be.

[goatprairie]

I've seen him often enough to know he's been aging, especially lately.  It is hard to accept after having watched him play, though.

The greatest in history......... and probably always will be.

Living in Wisconsin during the Lombardi era, I was huge fan of Jimmy Taylor the great Packer fullback. In 1961 or 1962 Taylor finally outgained Brown in yards. I think Brown was hurt that season and missed a number of games and/or played injured.
In those days games of other teams were not televised like they are now.  I think I saw one Browns game up to that point, and and an injured Jim Brown didn't have a good game.  Up to that time I thought Taylor must be the better player because he had outgained Brown by quite a bit in '62.
Then I finally saw a healthy Jim Brown play in 1963. I said to myself, okay so Jimmy Taylor is the 2nd best running back in the league.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

The parade was...unbelievable.  Cleveland is not nearly as large physically as Boston, Chicago, or L.A., and Cleveland proper has less than 400,000 people now, though people have been moving back in for a few years now.  So it does not have the budget, infrastructure or police services of a larger city.  There were over 1.3 million people at that rally -- more than three times the population of the city itself.  And that's not even counting the hundreds of thousands who simply tried and could not make it in.   The main highway into the city from Akron in the south was backed up all the way...to Akron.

But it was absolutely glorious.  Pure happiness the entire day, hugging and high-fiving people you didn't even know.  People were climbing on anything they could to get a good view -- I saw one guy climb straight up the side of one building to sit on a ledge thirty feet up.  And while breaking the whole curse thing was monumental in itself, having it done by a hometown kid like LBJ just added something incredible to it, because we know that he felt what we all felt.  Adding those feelings on top of what any player feels winning a championship, and it must be mind-blowing for LBJ.

The players were awesome.  The city was so crowded that it wasn't possible to even have a parade route because the streets were too full, so all the vehicles essentially crept through the city while completely surrounded by people.  Players on the vehicles were shaking hands, interacting with fans....could not have been better.

At one point, this sweaty bra comes flying out of the crown and almost hits Tristan Thompson.  He picks it up, looks at it with this hilarious expression on his face, and throws it back like it was diseased.  Crowd went wild.

@musiclady -- PM me your address and I'll have a thumb drive of the parade sent directly to you.

Also, check our this collection of videos and photos.  The third one down is the video of the Cavs announcing team at the moment of victory.  Just watch  MacLeod completely lose his composure.  Wonderful to see and feel.

https://bottlegate.com/2016/06/21/videos-seventy-five-reaction-videos-from-the-cavs-winning-a-title/

Here's another one worth watching from the airport.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfLNsMWOkVA