Here’s what I’m hoping happens tonight. I hope that Cleveland wins convincingly over Boston, and the media continues to talk about Joe Torre’s departure from the Yankees and how Boston should have beaten the Indians if they just hadn’t used Tim Wakefield in game 4. Then, the series itself would be a mishmash of stories involving Todd Helton, Colorado’s magical run, and the Rockies team faith. If I were a Clevelander, I would be licking my chops.
It may come as a surprise, but Cleveland and Denver have one of the most heated, quiet sports rivalries out there. Just looking at the cities, you can see the dichotomy, and the almost movielike difference between the cities. You have Cleveland, the gritty industrial town, full of down on their luck, hard working blue collar citizens, and then you have Denver, picturesque, thriving as a commercial center, full of affluent white collar citizens. And time and time again, Denver kicks Cleveland in the stomach.
Look no further than the NFL, and the late 1980’s. In 1987, the Browns and Broncos met in the AFC championship. The Browns were up 20-13 with 5 and a half minutes remaining. They had the Broncos right where they wanted them. And then this happened:
Certainly one of the most epic possessions in football history. The first kick to the city of Cleveland’s collective gut. Fortunately, next year, they made it to the AFC Championship game again, facing their nemesis, the Broncos again. Running back Earnest Byner was running all over the Broncos, but Denver was ahead 38-31 with time winding down. Cleveland was driving, looking to make up for the previous season, and they had the ball at the Denver 8. They gave it to Byner again, he made it to the three, until:
The Fumble. I really think these two games crippled the entire Cleveland psyche. Sure, the Indians came around, becoming the dominant team in the AL Central, even making the World Series twice. How much of the losing mentality learned in those years against Denver still lingered with the crowd, though, as in the same year Denver won the first of their two Super Bowls, the Indians lost their second World Series, this to the Marlins, a 4 year old team from Florida. their first loss was to the Atlanta Braves, who had a pattern of losing when it really mattered. Until, of course, they played Cleveland.
Around the turn of the century, both cities stopped being relative in most competitions, until the 2003 NBA draft, when the Cleveland Cavaliers had the first pick, with a hometown hero, Lebron James, the top player available. But this draft was stacked. There were two players of particular note in this draft, James, and Syracuse freshman Carmelo Anthony. And of course, where do you think Anthony went? The Denver Nuggets picked him third. Now, while both the Cavs and the Nuggets are successful, Anthony hasn’t shown up to any Rockies games wearing paraphernalia of the opponents.
So yeah, I think a Cleveland-Colorado World Series would be delightful. The Rockies are getting all the headlines, and they certainly seem like the team of destiny, sweeping their way to the World Series. They’ll be more than happy to tell you that they are blessed, although I find it hard to believe that God is really all that interested in baseball (or football for that matter, Jon Kitna) when there are seemingly bigger things to worry about. The Indians would come in much more quietly, with their opponents having received all the headlines. The Yankees, out of the playoffs, have been making headlines all week, and the news out of the ALCS is all Red Sox oriented. It seems that people have already tacitly ordained the Rockies as the World Champions. How sweet would it be if Cleveland could finally stick it to Denver?
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