The Cavaliers won the NBA title on Sunday night, bringing the city of Cleveland its first major sports title since the Browns won the NFL championship in 1964.
The long span between those two titles featured many gut-punches to fans of teams from the city that have come to be known by names like The Shot, Red Right 88 and The Fumble. Former Browns running back Earnest Byner contributed the last of those when he lost the ball late in the AFC championship game against the Broncos in January 1988, something that Byner recalled in an emotional scene for the recent ESPN documentary Believeland about Cleveland’s long drought.
That film will be getting a revised coda and Byner shared his happiness for the Cavs on social media Sunday night. He’ll do the same in Cleveland on Wednesday, telling Adam Schein of Mad Dog Sports Radio that he’ll be in town to celebrate LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and company at their parade.
Byner said he won’t be in the parade, but will be there because of his strong feelings about the city and his time there. He also said participating in the film has helped him deal with remorse over his fumble, although he knows that the Cavs ending the city’s drought doesn’t take him off the hook.
“Absolutely not,” Byner said with a laugh. “I’m still on the hook, but it makes managing the situation a little bit easier.”
While the city has a title, the Browns’ own run without a title continues and the demons unique to the franchise are likely to remain in place despite the fun that Byner and the rest of Cleveland are having this week.
