The title was the first title in any of the four major sports for the city of Cleveland in 52 years. Public transportation services were overwhelmed, with fans told they’d have to wait five hours for rides into downtown Cleveland.
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“I love all of y’all”, James said. I love being here.
“For some insane reason, I feel like I’m gonna wake up and it’s going to be Game 4 again” with the Cavs down 2-1 to the Warriors, James told hundreds of thousands of fans before thanking each of his teammates one by one. “Obviously my agent will take care of all the logistical things but, I’m happy”.
“We are prepared for any eventuality”, James Hardy, Akron’s chief of staff, said Wednesday afternoon, adding that the city has a contingency plan if the crowd is larger than expected.
Cavaliers fans line the parade route in downtown Cleveland.
Or, maybe he realized that despite Miami’s warm weather and lower taxes or Los Angeles’ glitz and glamour – both city’s franchises are pretty far away from winning an National Basketball Association title.
“Just knowing what our city has been through, northeast OH has been through, as far as our sports and everything for the last 50-plus years”, James said on Saturday.
Irving gave props to James’ block on Andre Iguodala that set up his 3-pointer to take the lead for good in Game 7.
James told the victory rally on Wednesday (Thursday NZ time) that it still hadn’t sunk in. James, Ohio’s prodigal son who was born and raised in Akron, held true to the covenant to end the misery shared by the state’s starved fan base, particularly those in the northeastern region, where Cleveland and Akron are located and separated by a mere 40-minute auto ride. I think it’s a great day for Cleveland. I sometimes feel like I’m their son. It was easy to draw the conclusion that their competition, the Golden State Warriors, were going to repeat and win another championship for the second straight year.
The team immersed themselves in a goal so lofty that it brought such special meaning to not only them as a team, but to an entire city of passionate fans who had been yearning for this moment for such a long time.
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James was named Finals MVP after averaging 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 8.9 assists during the series. The Warriors were in pursuit in being crowned the best team ever.
