Ohioan Frank R. Satullo wrote a piece recently on the internet recounting the plight of Cleveland sports fans.
Satullo, an unabashed Cleveland fan and owner of OhioTraveler.com,wrote that they "have endured what no major city fan has in the history of American sports. That's why few still hold hope that things will ever change. But remember, it's darkest before dawn."
Satullo wants fans like me standing with him when the light shines on northeastern Ohio sports again.
I'm on board. Where else do we have to go? Pittsburgh? Columbus?
I have to admit that I was never one to root for the favorite. Pittsburgh has the Steelers and Columbus has the Buckeyes. Of course, there are still the Pirates and the Blue Jackets, but they are definitely second bananas in their respective football cities.
It is always fun to root for the underdog, but for Cleveland fans, the underdog has to win sometimes. Look at the 1969 New York Mets and Jets, the 1997 Florida Marlins (sorry Tribe fans) and the 1985 Villanova team that downed mighty Georgetown in the NCAA Tournament. It seems like a long time for our Cavaliers, Browns or Indians. It has been 15 years since that World Series Game 7 in Miami and 25 since Ernest Byner hit the end zone at Mile High without the football.
We need some hope and we think there are Cleveland sports fans out there to help us. Well, the Indians-owned channel, SportsTime Ohio, has come out with a spot saluting Cleveland fans saying, "We do it the hard way!" In the spot, there is a shot of LeBron James in his Yankee gear.
We want to hear from those "Last Fans Standing" who live in Trumbull County, those who are still loyal to the Cleveland teams despite all the losing. And we want to hear from the Pittsburgh Pirates fans who are suffering through a 20th losing season after enjoying a summer fling of playoff dreaming. So those who want to have their loyal voices heard, tweet @Couchfan, Facebook (Guy Vogrin) or email me at gvogrin@tribtoday.com
Here's some other things as we wait for the MLB playoffs to begin:
By the way, Time Warner Cable, which reaches most of the homes in Trumbull County, has picked up the NFL Network, which airs an NFL game every Thursday night. Some also might want to pick up NFL Network Red Zone, which mimmicks NFL Ticket by having cameras at every Sunday game showing touchdowns and other key plays. The cost is $5.99 per month for Red Zone for those Time Warner viewers on the digital tier. In Northeast Ohio, Time Warner Cable systems, the NFL Network is found on channel 346 with Red Zone on channel 347. High Definition Channels are 1346 for NFL Network and 1347 for Red Zone.
NFL Ticket, by the way, is available on DirecTV.
New Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslem has met with Cleveland officials seeking a retractable dome on Cleveland Browns Stadium. Those who remember Art Modell's talks with Cleveland officials over a dome stadium project for both the Indians and Browns. Of course, those talks broke down and the Gateway plan was born and you know the rest. By the way, I want to hear from some fans about whether we should forgive Art for taking our Browns away and turning them into the Ravens!
This has become a season to remember for Youngstown State University football fans. The undefeated Penguins will go on the road for an important game against North Dakota State next Saturday and WFMJ-TV 21 (Channel 4 on Time Warner cable systems) will be there to broadcast the game live at 2 p.m.. In fact either WCWB -TV or its sister station WFMJ-TV will be broadcasting live all of the remaining YSU road games.