Bad Things Happen in 3 - Cleveland's Early July Woes

On July 8th Lebron James made a humiliating and public statement called, "the Decision."This hour program focused on his future as a basketball star in which James decided to leave Cleveland and his near by home of Akron, Ohio. Akron is less than 40 miles from Cleveland so locals took his departure personally, as they should have. The locals have followed Lebron James since middle school and Cleveland Cavalier fans could only wait anxiously to see if they could ever have the chance of landing the young superstar. A few years later, with a little bit of luck, the Cavaliers landed their star, gave him everything he wanted and seven years after that, he publicly embarrasses Cleveland by suggesting the team, the organization and the city are not good enough.

I think it is easy for those on the outside to agree with James about leaving. I think it is impossible for those in Cleveland and in Ohio to see this as anything but insulting and heart shattering.

Cleveland didn't just lose James but within the next week the city would mourn the death of two other great men. Cleveland also lost writer Harvey Pekar and New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. The departure of James along with the passing of Pekar and Steinbrenner do nothing but bring a great sadness to many within Cleveland's borders and beyond.

George Steinbrenner was a Cleveland area native. Before the Yankees, George made a name for himself with the Great Lakes Shipping Company. He also owned an ABL (American Basketball League) team, the Cleveland Pipers. Steinbrenner also made an attempt to purchase the Cleveland Indians but was rejected. What success the Indians could have had is unknown. Would the Indians have won 7 World Series in the past 37 years? Probably not, but winning one would have been better than the none they have won without Steinbrenner.

George is just one of many Ohioans to find success outside of Ohio but he never left his roots, often returning to the Columbus, Ohio for the annual OSU vs. Michigan game. Mr. Steinbrenner was a graduate student at OSU and it's good to know that after his success he would still return to celebrate one of sports great rivalries. A funny story I had heard was that one year all the hotels were booked for the rivalry game and George had no place to stay, so the next year George built his own hotel and kept the top floor suite to himself. The Yankees triple-A ball club was also based in Columbus. The Columbus Clippers is where notable Yankees got their start including Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, Alfonso Soriano, Mariano Rivera and Don Mattingly.

The Yankees flourished under his control and Steinbrenner revolutionized free agency. It is ironic, a twisted piece of fate or something like that, that the system of paying athletes outrageous amounts, the system Steinbrenner revolutionized would be the framework for James' departure. George Steinbrenner changed sports, for good and bad... the debate continues. I think it goes without saying that he was a man you'd want to own your sports local team because he would have done whatever it takes to win.

Steinbrenner is recognizable to many Americans because of his success on and off the field, also because of a recurring character on the hit show Seinfeld. Harvey Pekar was not nearly as famous with the American public. Harvey Pekar was a mild mannered file clerk by day and an alternative comic book writer genius on the side. He also was a music critic. Mr. Pekar became more recognizable in 2003 because of the part autobiography, part documentary film based on his comics and his life. The comic, American Splendor and film of the same name helped elevate alternative comics to a larger audience. His comics focused more on the struggles of the average person with himself as the central figure. Pekar was able to express himself about his job at a local veterans hospital, the struggles of marriage or what other ramblings happened within his mind.

I was first introduced to Harvey Pekar as a teenager. I grew up reading comics but most about super dudes with super power and super chicks with super bodies and super powers. In high school my father introduced me to an American Splendor comic. My father was a doctor for the VA hospitals in the Cleveland area for around 20 years and the two had become casual friends that would on occasion discuss Latin jazz. They were never close friends but I do have a signed copy of an American Splendor graphic novel with an inscription to my father that reads, "To Luis, Thanks for the music recommendations." Years later I would meet Mr. Pekar at the OSU campus in Columbus, Ohio. After a discussion on comics he signed my copy of his latest graphic novel, the Quitter. I asked him if he remembered my father. He asked for my name, he asked for my father's name and after a brief pause he said, "Yes I remember, your father is a smart man." Maybe Pekar didn't remember him but it was enough to put a smile on my face then and even now.

While talking with my father about Pekar today, my father and I were most impressed by Pekar's humility. He always wrote about normal daily life and even after the success of his comic, several appearances on David Letterman and a critically acclaimed film, Pekar never stop writing about what he wanted to write about nor did he ever stop working at the hospital as a file clerk. As someone on the radio noted, after all the success Pekar had, maybe the greatest thing he did for Cleveland was never leaving her because he never wanted to.

Lebron James will be missed without question and possibly without parallel but maybe just maybe, the loss of Steinbrenner and Pekar are just as hollowing. I often have to defend Ohio and Ohioans when traveling elsewhere. People forget what great things have come from Ohio like the birth of flight or even Victoria's Secret. Great American athletes like Jack Nicklaus and Lebron James are from Ohio. Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon and is from Ohio. In fact, Ohio has had more astronauts walk on the moon than any other state. Ohio has also produced the most Presidents behind the state of Virginia. If anything Virginia was cheating having 4 of the first 5 Presidents and by the time Ohio became a state our third President Thomas Jefferson was already in the White House. What am I saying? Virginia had a jump start.

I love Ohio very much. I have known many great men and women in this state. It is the state of my childhood. I have many fond memories of this place. Memories that I carry with me where ever I go. It is a shame that so many look down upon it but for someone like myself, it will always be home.






Side note. Even though Cleveland is about 120 miles away from Columbus, while writing this blog Columbus radio personality John Andrew "Andyman" Davis drowned while on vacation in Michigan. Another blow to Ohio, also adding proof that nothing good happens when you go to Michigan. (it's a rivalry thing... Mr. Steinbrenner would understand)

"Andyman" was a local dj for the indie radio channel CD101. Every year the "Andyman-a-thon" would be a 48 hour special in which "Andyman" would stay on the air for 48 hours straight, trying to raise money for local kid's charities. His passing is nothing but sad.