King James Gospel
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Why I’m a Cavs Fan: Jackson Flickinger

By Jackson Flickinger

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There are certain things in life that you don’t get to choose. You can’t choose your name, your parents, and where you were born. To a certain extent, that’s true with being a sports fan. You don’t always choose your favorite team, it’s something you were born into.

I’ve been a Cleveland Cavaliers fan since I began watching the NBA. I remember the excitement that came when the Cavs won the lottery in 2003 and got the chance to draft LeBron James. I’ll never forget seeing an 18 year old LeBron walk across the stage in his all white suit to shake David Stern’s hand after the Cavs drafted him. After just his first regular season game in Sacramento, we all knew this kid was destined for greatness. We knew he couldn’t resurrect a dormant franchise overnight, but we had hope for the first time in almost a decade.

There are many peaks and valleys in the life of a fan. You can go from the ultimate high to the ultimate low in a matter of a few seconds, but that’s what makes being a fan so great. The peaks wouldn’t feel the same if it wasn’t for the valleys.

Unfortunately as Cavs fans we know the valleys all too well. We know what it’s like to feel our hopes of a championship slip away as we watch Kyrie roll on the ground in pain in the first game of the NBA Finals. We remember how we tried to convince ourselves that Jamario Moon and Anthony Parker could replace LeBron. We’re reminded of “The Shot” every time we see Michael Jordan highlights. The list could go on, but there’s no reason to keep bringing up all the pain from the past.

I’ll remember Friday July 11, 2014 for the rest of my life. I worked that summer as an intern on Capitol Hill for a congressman. The House was in session and there were critical bills up for vote that day. Everyone in the office was assigned more tasks then they could handle. I had a hard time staying focused on anything that day. The anticipation of LeBron’s decision was driving me insane. I went from updating Twitter for news every couple hours in the beginning of the week to constantly listening to 92.3 The Fan and refreshing Twitter every couple minutes.

Everybody in the basketball world thought that they were Chris Broussard that week. Everyone had their own sources saying LeBron was or wasn’t coming back. We remember the pictures of his cars being moved from his Miami house, tracking Dan Gilbert’s jet, and even the computer hackers that tried hacking LeBron’s website in search for clues. The whole thing was starting to get out of hand.

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I remember just getting back to my desk after running an errand and putting my headphones back in just in time to hear Baskin and Phelps on 92.3 The Fan announce LeBron was coming home. I couldn’t believe it at first. I just thought it couldn’t be real. Then I immediately found LeBron’s essay on SI’s website and I realized he was actually coming back. I immediately jumped out of my seat and started screaming. Nobody in the office appreciated that, but I didn’t care at that point. I immediately left the room and called or texted almost everyone I knew to tell them of the news just in case that hadn’t heard it for themselves.

Just like the first time we all watched LeBron walk across the stage in his white suit, we had hope again. The pain of The Decision wasn’t completely erased by LeBron coming back, but it made it a distant memory.

The Cavs have given us some great moments in the last 45 years, but they haven’t reached the pinnacle. We certainly know the pain of crushing defeats, but that will all become a distant memory when the Cavs lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy. We won’t be thinking about all the disappointing losses when that moment comes, those will also just be distant memories.

Let’s hope that moment comes soon.

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