You've heard this story before. You can't get enough of it.
A native son of Ohio takes his talents to the state of Florida to put himself in a better position to win a championship while cementing his legacy. He succeeds, and never leaves the spotlight - even in seasons when he fails to raise the sport’s most coveted trophy. After two titles he bids Florida goodbye and returns to Ohio.
Shortly after returning home he wins his third championship, under absurd circumstances with incredible odds stacked against him. Of course, you’ve heard this all before. We’re still in awe of what Urban Meyer pulled off at Ohio State in 2014.
For three straight games his Buckeyes faced a team that had stacks of commemorative shirts and hats boxed up behind their sideline waiting to be unpacked for a celebration that would never arrive. They were underdogs all the way to each podium. Ohio State was supposed to have already been eliminated from contention.
What made that title sweeter - yes, that's somehow possible - is that it happened after several years of Ohio State’s conference being disparaged as a national punchline; both deservingly and selectively, for its big stage failures. The Buckeyes won six BCS bowl games prior to Urban’s arrival, but they were guilty too.
As a result, Ohio State’s 2014 triumph met and possibly exceeded every one of its other championships in terms of satisfaction.
Meyer was supposed to be past his prime. We were told he was burnt out and too intense elsewhere to approach matching what he was able to accomplish when he was younger down south. That was several scars ago. His best years belonged to Gainesville.
Ohio State's run to finish as undisputed champions also served as a bit of forgiveness for the conclusion to the 2006 season, where an undefeated and conspicuously entitled Buckeye team ran into Meyer’s Gators, promptly dissolving any good feelings from that season into a puddle of sadness. Florida was marvelous and the result was largely self-inflicted, but Urban was the captain of the ship that obliterated a destiny that had been two seasons in the making.
He returned home and made things right. Ohio was on top of the world again. LeBron James openly cheered for Urban's Buckeyes along the way, and over the past few months Meyer returned the favor to LeBron's Cavaliers.
Cleveland's run to finish as NBA champions also served as a bit of forgiveness for the conclusion to the 2010 season, where a frustrated and conspicuously unsupported James team ran into the Boston Celtics, promptly dissolving any good feelings from that season into a puddle of sadness. James opted to leave for Miami in a public relations disaster that was largely orchestrated on his behalf, but LeBron was the captain of the ship that obliterated a destiny that had been seven seasons in the making.
James was supposed to be past his prime. We were told he logged too many minutes in too many lengthy title runs elsewhere to approach matching what he was able to accomplish when he was younger down south. That was several scars ago. His best years belonged to Miami.
What made that title sweeter - yes, that's somehow possible - is that it happened after several decades of Northeast Ohio being disparaged as a national punchline; both deservingly and selectively, for its civic failures. Cleveland was the eighth largest city in America the last time it won a major sports title (it's now 48th) which is exactly as long ago as that seems.
As a result, Cleveland's 2016 triumph met and possibly exceeded all of its other championships in terms of satisfaction.
For three straight games his Cavs faced a team that had stacks of commemorative shirts and hats boxed up behind their sideline waiting to be unpacked for a celebration that would never arrive. They were underdogs all the way to the podium. Cleveland was supposed to have already been eliminated from contention.
Shortly after returning home he won his third championship, under absurd circumstances with incredible odds stacked against him. Of course, you’ve heard this all before. We’re still in awe of what LeBron pulled off last week.
A native son of Ohio who had taken his talents to the state of Florida to put himself in better position to win a championship while cementing his legacy. He succeeded, while never leaving the spotlight - even in seasons when he failed to raise the sport’s most coveted trophy. After two titles he bid Florida goodbye and returned to Ohio.
You can't get enough of it. You've heard this story before.
