Could the city of Cleveland, Ohio possibly have a “rivalry” with the city of Miami, Florida?
Though not even close to being a regional rival like that of Cleveland-Pittsburgh or Ohio State-Michigan, it appears that the city of Miami is taking a page out of the Washington Wizards book by stirring up a little drama. The difference here is that this one may actually carry some weight with fans in the buckeye state as the last two months may have served as fuel to the proverbial fire.
Though it may date all the way back to 1997 when the Cleveland Indians were upset by the Florida Marlins in the World Series – thank you, Jose Mesa – it really picked up some steam in 2002 when the Buckeyes topped the star-studded Miami Hurricanes for the Division I National Championship game. Willis McGahee knee injury, fumble recovery by Maurice Clarett, debatable pass interference call in waking moments… this game may have truly been the one that put the Ohio-Florida rivalry on the map.
Fast forward to 2010 and we now have a few more rungs in the latter to Sports Misery, USA. LeBron James “took his talents” to South Beach, Ohio State will play host to the Hurricanes for the first time since the 2002 matchup, and the Indians and Marlins are primed to repeat in the upcoming World Series. Okay, maybe not the last one, but the Browns are heading down to Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, so that sort of counts. Doug Lesmerises of The Plain Dealer went as far as grouping in the recent high school football game between Dwyer (about an hour away from Miami) and Cleveland’s Glenville – the game ended on a very controversial string of calls that landed in the Tarblooders favor.
Regardless, this opportunity was seized by some Miami, Florida faithful, as they have taken to the printing press. The point of the operation? Apparently to tell Cleveland that LeBron James went to Miami because the Hurricanes were allegedly robbed eight years prior.
“I can report that the Heat only signed LeBron as payback for Ohio State stealing the national championship from UM,” Miami Herald columnist Greg Cote joked. “If not for that terrible call, LeBron would still be in a Cavs uniform.”
In the case of the Washington Wizards, it was a one-sport, one-team deal. They hate (hated?) the Cavaliers and LeBron James. With Miami, there is some excellent overlapping when factoring in both professional and collegiate athletics. Venn diagrams, ahoy!
Naturally, regardless of the year, the sport or the game, it all appears to boil down to the common denominator of LeBron James. James, who may or may not grace Columbus with his appearance on Saturday, continues to support The Ohio State University despite his departure to the respective patios (or VIP rooms) of The Delano and Mansion. After all, Terrelle Pryor told the world that LeBron “is a Buckeye.” Perhaps this adds some more heat to the rivalry?
Or perhaps there is no rivalry at all…