Five Things a Championship Will Do for the City of Cleveland

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2. Thicker Skin

That attitude has led to a hypersensitivity on the part of residents toward any slight (perceived or otherwise) by outsiders. Derisive nicknames like “Mistake on the Lake” and jokes about the city in nightly monologues, TV shows or other media have always elicited a knee-jerk reaction of anger toward those people or groups.

The most recent example of this phenomenon came during the playoff series with the Boston Celtics when Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy described the city as “dead or dying.” The inevitable criticism followed, even though Shaughnessy also balanced his comments somewhat by writing, “I love this city.” By winning a championship, the sting of such comments might finally start to fade.

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Brad Sullivan is a lead writer for Cavaliers Nation. He has spent much of life in the Cleveland, Ohio area, and has remained a Cavalier fan from their 1970 beginnings through the return of LeBron James. While that fandom was sorely tested during the Reign of Error known simply by one word, Stepien, that overall historical perspective will be part of his writing for Cavaliers Nation in the months ahead.