NBA Finals: In Search of My Hometown Pride

Commentary by Wanda

This week I am not at a lost for finding newsworthy stories to discuss but I am at a lost for just.. it all. Between the TB bandit, the Republican Debate, Iraq War, immigration, the cost of gas, and the slew of missing children/found children, I just want to escape. So in my protest against discussing important adult issues I have decided to discuss what is the topic of discussion in my hometown; the Cleveland Cavaliers making it to the NBA finals. I am not much of a basketball fan although I devote some time to watching the finest point guard in the league, Tony Parker. Unfortunately, the Spurs have made it to the finals and now I have to root against him, which is not a practice of mine but I guess this year I will have to make an exception.

The Cavs experienced their last heydays in the 80's and early 90's with players like Mark Price, Brad Daughtery, Larry Nance, Craig Ehlo, Shawn Kemp, and Ron Harper. Over the years the Cavs along with the other Cleveland sports clubs have struggled and basically lacked sufficient talent to make it to the playoffs. We won’t even discuss the huge debacle with the Browns (please stop laughing.) I have felt fairly guilty about my disinterest in the fate of the Cavs and the only reason I know that they have done so well this season is from weekly conversations with my mother (who knows nothing about Basketball but has predicted the winning game score) and constant text messages and voicemails from many of you giving me the game highlights (all very much appreciated.)

I guess I can credit my overall disinterest in the reason why I moved from Cleveland. If you don't know a lot about Cleveland it is a typical Midwest city. If you have had the fortune of visiting good ole Cleveland you know that it is for the faint of heart. Not a huge nightlife, fairly dead downtown, limited career opportunities and extremely cold weather. When I left on a spring day about 8 years ago I vowed to never return (except for holidays and special occasions.) In many ways I am a stranger to the city where I spent most of my life because although I have changed a great deal the city and many of its inhabitants remain the same.

The victory for the Cavs this year maybe just what this lulling metropolis needs. I plan to visit home over the next month and maybe just maybe the excitement of having a champion team might be the boost that I need to resuscitate my hometown pride.

To read more from Wanda logon to SummerBloggin.


Response by Cantice

I haven’t seriously watched basketball since the “Bad Boys” played the Lakers and Isaiah Thomas went around kissing Magic Johnson (now Isaiah was fine). So I can’t pretend that I can say anything about this year’s NBA finals. I, like Wanda, would rise up proudly if my Phoenix Suns were to land themselves in the championship (even if I can’t name one person on the team and haven’t watched a game since Charles Barkley donned the purple uniform). What are hometowns for if they can’t give us a team to root for when we are oblivious to the standings or new talent of a team?

Unlike Cleveland, the city of Phoenix is on the rise. If you haven’t kept up, real estate in my hometown and in cities surrounding Phoenix is becoming unaffordable. City-dwellers from the northeastern U.S. are leaving their concrete slabs for a taste of valley life, even if it is adjacent to the desert as is the case in Phoenix. I left there 13 years ago to come to Atlanta and Spelman College—I know you’ve heard the story. The thing that kept me from returning after graduation was my vow not to go back until I had made something of myself. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I figured I’d know it when it happened. Today I know that I have made something of myself, well maybe I didn’t do it myself, but I know that I have the ability to cultivate myself and my surroundings wherever I am. I learned that in Atlanta after college. That said, I still think there is more for me to experience in Atlanta before I consider moving. There’s so much I haven’t done…and Wanda and I, we’re just getting started.

To read more from Cantice logon to her blog.