Cleveland was championship-starved. In need of a hero, not any savior, a local hero. In 2003, through some bad basketball and the NBA Draft Lottery, the Cavaliers got theirs, LeBron James. And through a circuitous route, everything eventually worked out with the city’s first championship in decades.
Fast forward to 2020. Cincinnati finds itself in a similar sports drought. The Reds have not been to the postseason since winning the World Series in 1990. The Bengals’ posteason visits have been one-and-done since Jan. 6, 1991, when they downed the Houston Oilers, 41-14, in a wild-card game. Eight losses have followed.
The Queen City is in need of its local hero, as Cleveland got in LeBron, to wear a crown. And with one more loss in the 2019 season, it can clinch its shot at that guy: LSU quarterback Joe Burrow.
The Heisman winner, like the hoops King, also will have taken a circuitous route to the Buckeye state. Burrow played high school ball in Ashland, OH, started his college career at Ohio State before transferring to LSU and leading the Tigers to an undefeated season and No. 1 ranking.
He’s also got a great heart. Like LeBron, who has gifted much generosity to Akron and Cleveland, Burrow has proven philanthropic to his home region. He gained national attention and respect for referencing his hometown and inspiring people to donate nearly $500,000 to the Ashland Food Bank.
LeBron’s journey and relationship with Cleveland became complex when he “took his talents” to South Beach in 2010 to play for the Miami Heat. He was vilified for turning his back on the Cavaliers and his home state.
Four years later, he returned to Cleveland, a redemption tour of sorts, and led the Cavaliers and city to its first championship in decades with a miraculous comeback against the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals.
So, should the Cincinnati Bengals lose one of their final two games, against the Dolphins Sunday or Cleveland Browns in Week 17, they would wind up with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. And that would put Cincinnati in position to draft Burrow, whose hometown is about three hours from the Queen City.
Can sports history repeat itself in some form? Will lightning strike twice for sports teams in the Buckeye state? All it takes is another loss in a sad season for the Bengals to have a shot at the best player in college football.
Would Burrow be able to deliver Cincinnati its first Super Bowl championship? That’s getting way ahead of the story, which is going to take far more than LeBron James had to bring to the Cavaliers’ pursuit of a championship. If nothing else, it provide hope for a team that has proven hopeless to its fans.