Tonight, the Cleveland Cavaliers will begin their second-round series of the NBA Playoffs. All season long has been a quest, and this is the next step for the wine and gold. I have no doubts that this team will be ready and focused as they take the series from Atlanta.
But as tipoff approaches, I’ve been noticing how hard it is to muster up some sense of rivalry for this game. as a fan, this is a hard series to swallow.
The first round was easy for us to get fired up….it was Detroit, our mortal enemy in more than one sport. If we get to the third round, it’s either Boston (our nemesis from last year) or Orlando (whom we battled all year for supremacy in the East), and in the Finals, it’ll probably be the Lakers, and a massive LeBron vs. Kobe war.
But Atlanta? How the hell do we, as fans, get really fired up? Honestly, it’s a serious dilemma.
It’s hard to hate Atlanta. When you take a serious look at them, you begin to feel sorry for them…and that’s not good for rivalry purposes. I’d better have a long discussion with my inner monolgue and see if I can come up with a reason to consider Atlanta a rival town.
My Inner Monologue (MIM) – “Atlanta’s had some great athletes! Let’s hate ’em for that!”
Their best athlete ever is Michael Vick. Vick is certainly worthy of some hatred, but once he was put behind bars, the hate tends to fade away…the system worked, just forget about him. It’s easier to hate a criminal when he HASN’T been behind bars for his crimes…like, say Ray Lewis.
(MIM) – “Yeah! Ray Lewis! GRRRRRR I hate that fucker! Is he from Atlanta? Let’s do this!”
No, Lewis is from Florida, and played for Miami before being a a Baltimore Raven. We can’t blame Atlanta for this black mark on the human race.
(MIM) – “OK, who else ya got in Atlanta? Anybody else to get fired up over?”
Other great athletes from Atlanta – Hank Aaron and Dominique Wilkins. Aaron’s never been a target of anger, except from white supremacists who didn’t want Babe Ruth’s record broken. Knowing that just makes him more likeable. Wilkins was never particularly productive in terms of bringing bile into the throats of anybody except Celtic fans…and that is another reason to like the guy.
(MIM) – “Ummmmmmm, baseball! Can we hate Atlanta because of the World Series of 1995?”
No, we’ve kinda lost our distaste for the Braves, even through Chipper Jones and his massive cold sore took us down in the Fall Classic 14 years ago. Not playing the Braves in a meaningful game since tends to destroy a budding rivalry.
(MIM) – “Yeah, Chipper Jones! We hated him back then! Let’s rekindle that! Where’s that jagoff at now? Let’s go!”
Jones plays for the Atlanta Braves still. He’s 37 years old, has played for nobody but the Braves.
(MIM) That’s…..kinda sad. Let’s see….Atlanta is in Georgia, home to the SEC….does that count? We can hate on the SEC!
Sure, it counts, but when has Georgia done anything damaging to our beloved Buckeyes or the Big Ten? If it were Florida or Louisiana, I could drag out some anger. But Georgia? No, guilt by association via a collegiate conference is not going to sustain a mood worthy of a rivalry.
(MIM) – “OK, I’ve got a good one. The Republican candidate for Governor of Georgia has admitted to having sex with a mule….and he doesn’t think that will hurt him with the voters of his state! How’s that?”
The charges on that are actually TRUE. Neal Horsley has admitted to sex with farm animals, and claims he would kill his own son if it helps his home state of Georgia to secede from the United States.
But doesn’t that make you feel sorry for the voters of Georgia? I mean, if they vote the guy in, then maybe we can mock them as a state…but hell, any moron can run for public office no matter how stupid he is.
(MIM) – “Hey, wet blanket! How the hell are we supposed to get excited for this series then?”
That’s my point. It’s like our second-round opponent two years ago when we made The Finals….New Jersey. There was very little to that matchup, and very little to remember about it besides the series win we took.
It’s time to make a new rivarly. One that lasts four games and gets put in the books as we move on to a REAL rival in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Game 1 is tonight. Just win and let’s move on.
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