King James Gospel
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NBA Finals: Instructions for The Q Crowd

By Jared Mueller

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The Cleveland Cavaliers are returning home in the NBA Finals with a split of games on the road against the Golden State Warriors. That is always the goal when you start a series on the road, get a split and take homecourt advantage away. The Cavs did that, even though they could have won both games and lost Kyrie Irving in the process.

Now they return home where they could wrestle control of the series away by holding serve in Quicken Loans Arena (The Q). LeBron James made it clear what he expects from the home crowd:

"“I’ve heard our fans pretty loud before. A couple instances my first postseason appearance was really loud, and me coming home against the Knicks at the start of the season was pretty good. But I know we can be much, much louder than any fan base in this league.“I know they’re getting ready, and I can’t wait to see them.”"

So what does that mean? What can those who aren’t watching the game expect to hear from our fans tonight?

NOISE!

So we bring you some instructions. If you are going to the game: Memorize them, share them. If you are not going to the game: Share them with anyone who might be going tonight.

  • Loud – Everything you do, do it loud. Yell loud. Clap loud. Scream loud. Chew loud. Burp loud. Stomp loud. Whatever it is that you are doing, from the time the introductions happen to the time the final buzzer, and hopefully confetti falls, do it loudly.
  • Put Down Your Phone Often – Everyone loves photos, videos, Periscope time and getting your updates on social media. However, with phone in hand your ability to fulfill #1 is lessened. Take photos during introductions. Tweet between quarters and timeouts. Then put down your phone, put it in your pocket and use eyes to pay attention to the court and your hands to make noise.
  • Stand Up – Besides timeouts and in between quarters, if you are physically able to you should be standing. This is the NBA Finals. LeBron played 50 minutes in the last game, if you can stand up you can push through and stand for 48 minutes.
  • De-Fense – When the Warriors have the ball it is a simple chant: De-Fense. De-Fense. D-Fence. Loud and often whenever the Warriors have the ball.
  • Delly – A slower, methodical chant for when Stephen Curry has the ball. Think Delllll-E for the correct pronunciation. Curry has been hounded by Matthew Dellavedova, now we hound him with the Dellllll-E chant anytime he has the ball, even if Delly isn’t guarding him. We haunt him with Delllll-E even if the Aussie isn’t on the floor.
    • Encourage Each Other

    – Remember this:

    Well we are in it together and we need to encourage one another. Not yelling at each other, encouraging your fellow fans to cheer, shout and be loud. For those of you that are hoping to sit and watch the game from your seats quietly, you may want to sell your tickets. Get each other engaged with chants, cheers, etc.

  • O-H-I-O – Stealing a chant from The Ohio State Buckeyes isn’t a wrong thing. Remember “Ohio Versus the World!” Get people in your section to chant “O – H…” and wait as more fans join in with the “I – O!”
  • Runs Don’t Matter – There will be runs in this game. The Cavs will get hot and put together a few big baskets and a couple big stops. When they do, nothing changes. You still follow the rest of the instructions. Same goes when the Warriors make their runs. Just because they hit a big 3 or a big dunk, you don’t sit down. You don’t get quiet.
    • Wear Wine (Drink Wine?)

    – The Cavs are asking that everyone wear their wine gear tonight (I added the drink wine part but a little libations can’t hurt right?) The Q looking the part tonight is one way for the crowd to feel like they are in it together. Don’t get creative with your Gold, your Navy, your old school blue and orange. Heed their request:

    Conformity is a good thing tonight.

    Remember You Matter

    – Some of you might be reading this wondering what the big deal is. Why do we NEED to cheer? Why do we HAVE to stand? Why do we HAVE to wear wine? Why CAN’T I be on my phone the whole time???

    Simply: You matter. Players know how important homecourt is. Good crowds fuel role players, keep stars energized and can impact the refs. Our role players are key, LeBron needs extra energy and the refs can play a crucial role in the results of tonight’s game. YOU matter tonight in The Q. YOU could be a big piece of the Cleveland Cavaliers winning the NBA Finals and bringing a Championship to Cleveland!

    Isn’t it worth it to follow these instructions?

    More from King James Gospel

    If you are going to the game tonight, print out 100 copies of these instructions. If you are on Social Media, share this in anyway you can. Tag friends and family members. Share it on your organizations pages. Comment below with more instructions for your fellow fans. Lets do this together.

    Tonight you represent Cleveland. You represent Ohio. Heck you represent me and this site. Make us all proud.

    Go Cavs! #ALLinCLE

    Are you attending tonight’s game? What other instructions do you have for The Q’s fans?

    Next: Putting LeBron's Game 2 Performance in Perspective