{"id":77643,"date":"2016-06-21T05:30:55","date_gmt":"2016-06-21T09:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=77643"},"modified":"2016-06-21T05:30:55","modified_gmt":"2016-06-21T09:30:55","slug":"off-plane-still-sky-high-lebron-brings-title-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2016\/06\/21\/off-plane-still-sky-high-lebron-brings-title-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Off the plane but still sky-high, LeBron brings title home"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"As<\/a>
As promised, James brought home a championship, the one on hold the past 52 years. (Photo: James’ official Instagram account<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

CLEVELAND \u2013 LeBron James stepped off the plane and into a blizzard of red-and-gold confetti before hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy. It gleamed in the bright summer sun, a symbol of hope and history.<\/p>\n

As promised, James brought home a championship, the one on hold the past 52 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is for you, Cleveland,\u201d James shouted into a microphone.<\/p>\n

The superstar, born and raised in nearby Akron, powered the Cavaliers to a never-seen-before comeback in the NBA Finals, bringing them back from a 3-1 deficit to stun the Golden State Warriors.<\/p>\n

On Monday, more than 10,000 fans gathered at Hopkins International Airport welcomed James and his teammates, who made a pit stop in Las Vegas for late-night partying before completing this unlikeliest June journey.<\/p>\n

The Cavs not only defied the odds to make history, but they ended Cleveland’s pro sports title drought stretching to 1964, when the Browns won an NFL title.<\/p>\n

It’s been a surreal ride for Clevelanders and shortly after showing fans the trophy from afar, James, the four-time league MVP, paraded it around the perimeter of the parking lot so fans behind the chain-linked fences could see they weren’t dreaming.<\/p>\n

\u201cI kept waking up during the night and saying, \u2018Did we really win\u2019?\u201d said Diana Beetler of Oberlin, Ohio. \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it. I\u2019ve never had a championship since I was born. We\u2019ve been waiting years and years for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

She watched Sunday night’s game at home with family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cried,\u201d said Beetler\u2019s 18-year-old daughter, Zoe. \u201cEverybody cried.\u201d<\/p>\n

It seems the entire city choked up after James capped his MVP series with a sensational Game 7, a triple-double performance that will long be remembered for his chase-down block of Warriors forward Andre Iguodala in the final minutes \u2013 a rejection that seemed to erase so many bad memories in Cleveland.<\/p>\n

James\u2019 emotional reaction following the game seemed to strike a chord with everyone. He broke down crying several times, overwhelmed by the magnitude of what he had accomplished and what he knew it meant to Northeast Ohio.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was unbelievable,\u201d said Indians manager Terry Francona, who helped the Boston Red Sox end their 86-year World Series dryspell.<\/p>\n

\u201cI almost enjoy that part of it as much. Watching the genuine emotion come out. So often, when guys are talking, it\u2019s saying the right thing. I get it. I\u2019m supposed to do it, too. It\u2019s just part of the job. But to see the genuine emotion come out was pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even Golden State\u2019s Draymond Green, who nearly shot the Warriors to a win in Game 7, was happy for Cleveland.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s huge for that city,\u201d he said. \u201cThey wanted it bad, and they got it. It will be huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of the fans who arrived at the vast I-X Center adjacent to the airport on Monday morning were going on little or no sleep following Sunday night\u2019s riveting victory. The crowd was entertained by music and dancers before cheering replays of the final, frenetic minutes of Game 7 as if they were living them for the first time.<\/p>\n

Cleveland\u2019s furry mascot, Moondog, body surfed on the massive crowd, which continued to grow up until the moment the Cavs\u2019 757 jet pulled in about 12:40 p.m., welcomed under two crisscrossing water cannons and deafening cheers.<\/p>\n

Cavs coach Tyronn Lue, who took over the team in late January, and several other players paused at the top gangway to film and absorb the wild scene below as fans let loose and sang Queen\u2019s \u201cWe Are The Champions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following star guard Kyrie Irving and a shirtless J.R. Smith, James, wearing a blue T-shirt with \u201cUltimate Warrior\u201d written on the front, was the last player to come through the plane\u2019s door. When he lifted the trophy, Cleveland erupted as it did a few hours earlier after the 93-89 victory.<\/p>\n

Later, James was greeted by hundreds of fans outside his home in Akron. Their passion and patience was rewarded when James emerged from his luxury van and spoke to the group.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat championship wasn\u2019t just for us. That championship last night was for everybody in Northeast Ohio,\u201d James said, adding he hadn\u2019t slept and needed a long nap. \u201cI always want you guys to remember that I\u2019m just a kid from Akron, Ohio.\u201d<\/p>\n

The party in Cleveland will continue all week \u2013 and maybe beyond \u2013 with a downtown parade planned for Wednesday, a celebration few thought they would ever witness.<\/p>\n

Former Cavaliers guard Austin Carr attempted to convey a feeling he shared with so many Clevelanders.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo finally win a championship, coming out on top, there\u2019s no feeling like this in the world,\u201d said Carr, the team\u2019s first draft pick and now a broadcast analyst. \u201cI\u2019ve cried so much, I can\u2019t stop. I\u2019ve been walking on air.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moments later, Carr, known as Mr. Cavalier, couldn’t contain himself during a TV interview and sobbed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis,\u201d he said, \u201cmeans everything.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CLEVELAND \u2013 LeBron James stepped off the plane and into a blizzard of red-and-gold confetti before hoisting the Larry O’Brien …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":77644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[6637,11229,4897],"class_list":["post-77643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-cavaliers","tag-lebron","tag-lebron-james","mauthors-tom-withers","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77643\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}