Day after Game 7, Cleveland basking in the afterglow
CLEVELAND — The video billboard on the side of a building in downtown Cleveland said it all:
“CHAMPIONS.”
Nearby, dozens of fans waited in line outside the Cavaliers‘ team store at Quicken Loans Arena to purchase some new championship apparel on Monday afternoon.
A day after the city’s 52-year title drought ended, nearly everyone in Cleveland still seemed to be reveling in the city’s first major sports crown since 1964.
“It still feels like a dream,” said Matt Klodor, 27, who lives above the House of Blues on Fourth Street — a small street lined with bars and restaurants downtown. “But like my friend said last night, it’s like that line in ‘Space Jam’: It wasn’t a dream. It really happened.”
Klodor was at the Q watch party as the Cavs defeated the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the NBA finals. He waited an hour at the team store after the game to get a black championship baseball hat.
Then it was time to party a bit with the rest of Cleveland.
The vibe, Klodor felt, was different as he walked around Monday.
“It almost feels like the city has lost its identity because we finally won, and I don’t know how it’ll react to all the positivity,” Klodor jokingly said, while making a good point. “I guess we’ll have to wait for the Browns.”
Derrick Porter, 27, of Brunswick, Ohio, slept a few hours after watching the game in his apartment — a superstition, he said — before heading over to a nearby Dick’s Sporting Goods store to purchase a championship T-shirt and cap. He also got a commemorative copy of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Akron Beacon Journal.
“It’s surreal,” Porter said.
How did he feel when he woke up?
“Like a winner, right?” he cracked.
Dave Howes, the manager of the Harry Buffalo bar across from the Q, worked a 22-hour shift Sunday. He came in at 9 a.m. and left at 7 a.m. Monday morning.
“Mayhem” was how he described the scene when the final buzzer sounded. “It was insane. People were throwing drinks in the air, dancing on the bar and spraying champagne.
“It still hasn’t set in. I just need a day.”
Cleveland fans plan to enjoy this one for a while — at least until the start of next season, anyway.
And don’t ask them about LeBron James leaving for Los Angeles or anyplace else.
“He won’t,” Porter said flatly. “That’s not happening.”
“I’m not worried about it,” Klodor said. “I hope they can return the same core and do this all over again next season.”
