Red Right 88

So … there’s some big game on Thursday?

Did you know the Cavs have some kind of big game on Thursday?

We kid. Obviously LeBron James returning home for the first time since stabbing Cleveland in the back on national TV is a big deal. The game offers fans the opportunity to:

• Vent their anger
• Finally have some closure
• Embarrass themselves and Cleveland on national TV
• All of the above

In some ways, we’ve been through this before as fans, especially with the exodus of players from the Indians following the late ’90s.

But in reality this is more akin to when the Browns left in 1995. LeBron was more than just a player on one of the local sports teams, we all bought into the notion that he was one of us. And when it turned out he was just like every other athlete it cut deeper than when Albert Belle or Jim Thome, for example, walked away from the Indians in free agency.

LeBron’s leaving tore a hole in the soul of Cleveland sports and everyone is recovering from that in their own way. Thursday night’s game should help with that recovery as LeBron only comes back to Cleveland for the first time once.

After tomorrow, home games against the Heat become just another game.

And, hopefully, Cleveland fans still looking for closure can find it.

***

No surprise that there are multiple stories coming out as we draw closer to the actual game:

• Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting the Cavs are probing the Heat’s signing of Lebron.
• Earlier in the week Wojnarowski had an article on how LeBron is testing the boundaries in Miami.
• Fox Sports’ Jason Whitlock says LeBron is a lost cause.
• Fanhouse looks at where LeBron’s return ranks in sports history.
• ESPN’s Wright Thompson looks at how some Clevelanders are moving on without LeBron. This one is probably the best of the bunch. The only problem, with stories like these, is a reporter parachutes into town and the people featured in the article always come out sounding as if they are speaking for everyone, rather than just themselves. We’re sure that’s not their intention, it’s just something that’s always rubbed us the wrong way.
• USA Today says Cavs fans are ready to vent. (Read it and you’ll understand our previous comment even better).
• The Cavs fan guide to taunting LeBron

Well, you get the picture.

No matter what happens Thursday night, it should be another night to remember in Cleveland sports.