CLEVELAND: It didn’t matter if fans had a ticket for the Cavaliers’ official watch parties at Quicken Loans Arena Sunday evening in downtown Cleveland.
Fans filled the Q, despite the disassembly begun by the Republican National Committee to prepare for the Republican National Convention. Staff workers replaced comfy chairs already removed with folding chairs.
They hung out outdoors filling lines as they waited for beers, and bodies dotted the openings of the parking garage across from the arena as Cleveland sat ready to explode.
But the Cavs needed to do work before that could happen.
The crowd on hand reacted to every pass, every basket and every mistake as Akron’s own LeBron James, teammates Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love went about the business of the night. In the end, Cleveland’s version of the Big Three rewarded their patience and loyalty with a 93-89 win.
Trailing 49-42 at halftime, they came out in the second half with a 12-5 run to tie the game at 54 with 8:52 left in the third quarter.
At 4:33 in the third quarter it would have been too early to call the came with the scored 64-59.
No way no how. But as the vibe shifted in Oakland’s Oracle Arena, it did so at the Q as well.
Irving stole a Steph Curry pass at 4:37 and took it coast-to-coast, banking a shot high off the backboard and drawing a foul from Draymond Green, turning the arena into a madhouse after connecting on the continuation play.
The crowd roared when James blocked a Curry shot as if he were a toddler on a Little Tikes hoop.
Anyone maneuvering their way through the streets of downtown Cleveland found the going challenging.
Throng? Herd? No It was an invasion. Downtown Cleveland experienced an invasion not seen in this area in a while.
They all reacted like Scott Poloncarz of Independence, moving with every play, every shot and breaking down in tears when the deed was done.
“Everyone said it was never gonna happen for us,” he said.
It happened all right. The Cavs became the first team to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the NBA championship, besting what many thought was the best team in the league.
Poloncarz, 33, mentioned that he lost one of his best friends in October. “I’m sure he had a hand in it,” he said.
The anticipation in the air proved thicker than the humanity. Why come? Why show up?
“If” answered the question. People such as Mark Leyser didn’t want to miss the celebration if this game were the one to erase 52 years of collective misery for sports fans of Northeast Ohio.
Leyser, 45, a University Heights salesman, almost stayed home.
“My brother got two tickets for this and dragged me out,” he said. “Superstitious me wanted to sit in the exact came place on the exact same couch.”
He confessed that it didn’t take much to talk him into coming.
“I’ve been going over it all day and I said to myself, I will regret it my whole life if — the big word is if — it happens.”
“I wanted to see an unbelievable happening event,” said Darmetrius North, 35, of Youngstown
He arrived with high hopes for the Cavaliers.
“I’m expecting them to win,” he said.
When asked why, the answer was simple: “I wanted to see history made for real.”
The Cavs made history, but they may have changed the city’s perception.
“The [Lake Erie] Monsters, now this,” Poloncarz said through tears. “It’s a changed city. We’re here.”
George M. Thomas can be reached at gmthomas@thebeaconjournal.com.