My great-grandparents emigrated from Slovenia around World War I. Growing up, I remember family visits full of painful polkas and precious potica…
Many of you can tell of your own cultural traditions that have been past down through generations. The food (baklava, pasta fagioli), the celebrations (Chinese New Year, Oktoberfest), the trinkets (pinata, nesting dolls), the religious moments (bar mitzvah, first communion). While this list is endless, many of these traditions have waned as the ‘old country’ becomes a faded memory.
But in Northeastern Ohio, there is a different kind of culture, the origin of which is not based on ethnicity, but on emotion:
CLEVELAND SPORTS FANDOM.
Fan is short for fanatic, which as defined by Merriam-Webster, is marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion.
Judging by the 1.3 million people that recently flooded the streets of Cleveland, that definition sounds about right.
For many regions, their fan base is built primarily on success. That once-appealing bandwagon quickly becomes a ghost town once losing sets in.
But Cleveland fans stick with their teams through think and thin…and thin…and thin.
Our connection to our teams is much more than being a fan; it’s a heritage that has been passed down like a family recipe through the decades.
I remember my mom’s mom telling me of walking pregnant high up the steps of old Municipal Stadium to watch Satchel Paige. And my dad’s dad telling me of the exploits of Otto Graham and Dante Lavelli.
Dad and grandpa were regulars in the ‘cheap seats’– the bleacher’s moniker in the pre-Dawg Pound days–and were at that famous 1964 Browns’ title game. Their Sunday traditions soon became mine, as I detailed in this article…
Home Opener Brings Back Stadium Memories
Of course, that Cleveland culture included the Tribe (we always drove up for twi-night double-headers) as well as the Cavs (I got to see to see Dr. J get beat on free basketball night!). You have your own family memories of Cleveland sports, many of which have surfaced during the Cavaliers’ magical run.
Quite simply, Cleveland sports is in our DNA. As a kid, you may try to flee the losing–I was a Sixers fan in the Ted Stepien years–but that C-Land blood never leaves you. We share commonalities:
Hating John Elway
Stadium Mustard
World B. Free
Dorothy Fuldheim
Selling out The Jake
East Siders
‘Get that weak stuff outta here!’
Friday nights with…
Rocky Colavito
The Flats
Howie Chizek belting out: Mark Price for Tha-reeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!
Frankie Yankovic
Hating Michael Jordan
Higbee’s
John Adams drumming.
West Siders
Herb Score’s ‘swing and a miss’
Dick Goddard
Boobie Gibson
Nev Chandler’s Pandemonium Palace!
Joe Tait’s Wham with the right hand!
Siper Bowl
Snow Belt
Do-it Pruitt
Bob Hope
Ask Hal
The Terminal Tower
Cleveland traditions, sports and otherwise, are a never-ending menu of joy and tears. And the June of 2016 will be served up at family gatherings for generations to come.
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