Cleveland Cavaliers vs Chicago Bulls

I am continually humbled by the loyalty of Cleveland sports fans. Raised on the Philadelphia Eagles, I would lament year after year when we would make it to the playoffs just to blow it at the last second (trust me, given the Eagles’ current record, the irony of that statement is not lost on me).

I really don’t think I understood what a die-hard fan is until I moved to Cleveland and witnessed a city who continues to support their teams regardless of the challenges and betrayals of the past. Quitting just isn’t in the vocabulary.

And that’s incredibly admirable. While Cleveland fans aren’t pushovers and give critical feedback when it’s justified, there’s still a sense of hope and rebuilding. A celebration at all victories – large and small – never taking for granted the good times.

I was struck by this when I went to my first Cleveland Cavaliers game last week.

Cleveland Cavaliers pre-show

I’ll confess — running on 3 hours of sleep and overwhelmed by the hecticness of the arena before the game, I was a tad cranky when I sat down in my seats.

And as the first half of the Cavs-Bulls game ended, the pessimist in me knew the Cavs were likely to not win. Given my disposition that night, I typically would have checked out and taken a walk around the stadium for the rest of the game.

But from behind us came the chanting of a very young Cavs fan. Up until the end of the game, you could hear him without fail cheering on the Cavs defense every time the Bulls had the ball and going wild whenever we made a basket. You couldn’t deny it was contagious and I found myself caught up in cheering the Cavs on too.

Yes, the Cavs couldn’t close the point gap enough to pull out a win in the game’s fourth quarter; however, by that point, it didn’t matter.

Trampoline acrobats during Cavs halftime

When I let go of my concern over whether the Cavs were going to win or lose, I had a blast.

From the Cavs’ Scream Team hip hop dance crew to the halftime show of trampoline artists, the Q made it difficult to not have fun during the game.

I had been to the Q before for Monsters Hockey and really enjoy the energy of those games; however, the Cavs blew that away – literally – with their pre-game fire show.

Get the Cheese and Pepperoni pretzel roll at Sawyer’s See-Saw Pretzel Shoppe

They’ve also added some new dining options including Jonathon Sawyer’s See-Saw Pretzel Shoppe. My favorites from what we tried were the Roasted Garlic and Parmesan pretzel, Cheese and Pepperoni pretzel roll and the hot dog pretzel roll with Sir Kensington’s ketchup.

I haven’t been to a Browns game, so I can’t speak from personal experience on their food offerings; however, I’ve been very pleased by the variety and quality of food I’ve had at the Indians and now the Cavs – more than in other professional sports venues I’ve visited. They seem to try hard to give fans a good experience regardless (or in spite of) what’s happening during the game.

And of course, we got to celebrate Christmas Story Night with plenty of pink bunny costumes and my very first leg lamp.

My first Leg Lamp

While a Cavs win would have been the bow on the package, the entertaining evening we had at the Q still warmed this sports scrooge’s heart.

Disclosure: I was provided 4 tickets to give away to the Dec. 5 Cavs game and 4 for myself to use. My opinions are my own.

I’m happy to say that after this weekend, the holiday shopping list is all planned out and (most of) the decorations are up around the house. My goal this year is to not get too overwhelmed by the holidays.

Good luck with that, right? We’ll see how it goes but one way I hope to not completely lose it is by plotting nights out to escape the craziness – one of those being the Cavs game this Wednesday.

I’m excited not only because it’s my first NBA game, but also because everyone at the game gets to take home a bobble leg lamp for the mantle (or in my case, my bookshelf).

But first, it’s time to announce the winner of 4 tickets to this week’s game.

After counting up all of the giveaway entries and removing a pingback, the winning entry selected by Random.org is…

Congratulations, entry number 11 – BiteBuff, for winning 4 tickets to Key Leg Lamp Night! I will email you today to confirm your prize.

KeyBank isn’t done making your holidays merry. Enter their Christmas Story Night Out Sweepstakes for a chance to win a deluxe holiday prize pack for you and 15 friends.

1 grand prize winner will get:

• Private suite for the Cleveland Cavaliers-Atlanta Hawks game on Dec. 28, 2012
• Special VIP Tour of A Christmas Story House
• Limo pickup for an early, pre-game Chinese Turkey dinner at Bac Asian American Bistro & Bar
• $500 Key Possibilities MasterCard Gift Card

Plus 10 second-prize winners will each receive a full-size lamp with FRAGILE crate and 20 third-prize winners will win a set of two tickets to the December 28 game, two tickets to the A Christmas Story House and a $50 Key Possibilities MasterCard gift card.

Now that’s a major award!

Learn more about the sweepstakes at www.keyleglamp.com.

Disclosure: I was provided 4 tickets to give away to the Dec. 5 Cavs game and 4 for myself to use. My opinions and the choice of events I share are my own.

The entire New Years Cleve gang after our visit to The Christmas Story House.

While we were huddled around the table, we talked about having people out to Cleveland to stay at the house. When we realized the next New Years Day fell on a Saturday and would be recognized by our various employers on the Friday, we discussed celebrating the extra long weekend in Cleveland – jokingly calling it New Years Cleve. Flashforward a year (give or take a few days) and we had four houseguests pull into our driveway after an 8-hour drive ready to take on Cleveland for a few days.

When I have guests in town, I usually like to put a few ideas together based on their interests. If they like art, we have a number of larger museums and smaller galleries to take them to; food, there are plenty of restaurants; theater and film, the Cleveland Cinemas, PlayhouseSquare, and a myriad of other theater companies.

Matt's sketch of himself enjoying a Happy Dog hot dog. (photo by Matt and Lish)

However, our first stop was a no brainer.  I took them to the one place I typically take all visitors: the Happy Dog. It has excellent choices for food and drink, prices that don’t hurt your wallet, vegan options, music, and most importantly a laidback atmosphere (especially if you’ve just driven 8+ hours and want to relax).  When we got there last Thursday, we ordered a round of PBRs and our hot dog creations. I had my usual favorite: marcella’s grape jelly and chile sauce, baked beans, garlicky escarole, and brie. However, I also branched out a bit, trying garlic-tomato-basil jam and “alien” pickle relish with my fries. So that they could get a taste of polka, Scott played a few songs from DJ Kishka’s album in the jukebox. Not surprisingly, a few new fans were won over.

After a night of playing Clue, we woke up early the next morning and ventured over to The Christmas Story House in Tremont. My friend Angie is a fan of the film, and considering the tickets are only $8, we couldn’t really pass up the pop culture/kitsch appeal. This was all of our first times visiting the house, including mine. And there’s another post that needs to be written about it at some point.  However, it was a very interesting look behind the scenes of the classic holiday movie. Also, Ian Petrella (the actor who played Randy) is wrapping up his stay at the Christmas Story House and was there meeting fans and signing autographs for anyone who wanted to pick up a unique souvenir.

Our final stop in our New Years Cleve tour before heading home was the West Side Market. Instead of going out for the night, we stayed in and made a dinner featuring food from the Market.  Thanks to everyone on Facebook and Twitter who suggested their favorite West Side Market stands.  We had a number of options of where to go when we got there. Being New Years Eve, the parking lot was the craziest I’ve ever seen it. However, we got in and out with what we needed thanks to the efficiency of everyone working there that day.

Meeting Ian Petrella (Randy from Christmas Story) at the Christmas Story House.

With all of the great options at West Side Market, it was no surprise that dinner was delicious. We started out with some cheese, sausage and olives, as well as two kinds of dip thanks to Lish and Matt. Our main courses consisted of sweet potatoes and pork garnished with apple, onion and spices, as well as parmesan tilapia (thanks, Angie and Jess). We finished with Theresa’s cannolis for dessert.  The meal was topped off with wine and – what else – some Great Lakes beer.

While it was the first New Years Eve in a long time that I spent at home, those two days were a most fitting end to 2010. Since starting Clue Into Cleveland last March, I’ve explored Cleveland more than any other city I’ve lived in in the past.  And although I loved living here before I started blogging, I’ve enjoyed learning how much more there is in Cleveland than I ever expected.  Getting to share my favorite places and discovering new ones with my friends was a delightful way to start 2011.  At midnight, we even got in a little ‘mumming’ in our front yard – in honor of the one Philly New Years tradition that can never be replaced: the Mummer’s Day Parade.

Happy New Years Cleve — I hope you had a great end to 2010!  I’m looking forward to the new year and everything it’ll bring for Cleveland.

We ended the evening by sharing a little 'mumming' with Cleveland - a tip of the umbrella to a great Philly tradition. (photo by Lish and Matt)