November 22nd, 2018
It was a gorgeous, but chilly night in Downtown Cleveland. I could see the bright lights of Key Tower and the lovely colored display of wine and gold along the Terminal Tower. However, this was not just another ordinary night in The Land; it was the night LeBron James was to make his return from Los Angeles and debut his talents as a member of the purple and gold of the Lakers. The energy inside of me was enormous. I had been waiting for this night for nearly three months, and I was ready to soak in all of my memories for the night. I was attending the game with my mother, who is also an avid Cavs fan. As we entered the confines of the Quicken Loans Arena, there was a great buzz in the air; and the assortment between Cavaliers and Lakers Jerseys was frequent. Yet there was one great similarity: all of these jerseys had the name “James,” and the number 23 on the back of them. The support of LeBron James was surprisingly positive, and I never heard anyone state anything otherwise. Once my mother and I were seated, we could see the Cavaliers warming up (with minimal players), as usual; however, it was the other side of the court in which everyone’s eyes were glued to. Once the Lakers arrived for their pre-game warm-up, no one could find LeBron in sight. Some of them became worried. What if he wasn’t playing? What if we came all the way out here for practically nothing. But then, a huge spotlight shined towards the Los Angeles bench; and there he came jogging out in a purple warm-up shirt. The crowd roared and applauded as LeBron commenced his pregame routine. It was then time for the announcement of the starting lineups, and the final member of the Lakers’ starting lineup was called. “And starting at forward, from St. Vincent, St. Mary High School, number 23, LeBron James.” I stood up along with many others as we all gave a standing ovation to the man who had changed an entire community with not only what he did on the court, yet off of it as well. Once the game itself started, the Cavaliers surprisingly kept it close. During a timeout in the first quarter, a tribute video to LeBron was shown. There, of course, were the many accomplishments and success of James on the court, but we also knew something else: this was much bigger than basketball. After the video, LeBron came back onto the court, and saluted to us, the fans of Cleveland, for our ongoing support, through the good times and the bad, although he now wore colors other than the wine and gold of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Once all of this concluded, the game continued as any other Cavs game would. There were the occasional cheers if James would score, not to mention those who would yell, “LeBron, come back. We miss you!” James would finish the game with 32 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists, as well as two three point field goals; all in 36 minutes. The Lakers would prevail by a final score of 109-105, in which Cavaliers’ guard Kyle Korver missed a crucial three point shot to tie the game. Time does fly when you are having, and it was no different on this special evening. As it happened, I finally found myself back on the road home. Yet as I was leaving, I could see that all of the restaurants near Quicken Loans Arena were still tuned to ESPN, the channel in which the game was broadcasted on, which I found fascinating. The Terminal Tower was still in its glow of wine and gold as my mother and I left Downtown Cleveland. I have never experienced a night quite like this one. And what a night it was!
Editor’s note: Darayus attends Nordonia High School and is part of the Cleveland Sports Show. Listen to his work here.
