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IMHO the next month is more critical for the Cavaliers franchise than at any time since the draft lottery that got us Lebron.

All that energy and enthusiasm of the last few years and last night must endure. There is no way that the Cavaliers can remain in Cleveland in front of pre-Lebron crowds of 8-9,000 largely unenthused fans. The franchise will not be saved by a new arena again. It will not be saved by a deep-pocketed owner and a local icon again. All you Cavs fans that filled the Q the last few years must continue to buy tickets, show up, buy merchandise, and visibly support the team as it struggles through this season. If the crowds go back to the days when I used to sit in Section 133 almost by myself, there won't be a team in Cleveland three years from now. And I sense that is going to happen after the terribly discouraging outcome of Lebron's largely uneventful return. By even the rosiest projections (read the Sports Business Journal), Dan Snyder has lost $150M in value in the last 6 months...and that number is only going to grow.

If you are a true Cavs fan, this team needs you now more than ever. The future of the franchise in Cleveland quite literally depends on it. Go to games, take some friends, buy gear for XMas presents, call into WKNR and Trivisonno and show you still love your Cavs. Be visible and be proud.

Good post man. Dont get too absorbed in the hate and stop showing love for what you still have.

That hate isnt going to carry the franchise far. I really dont like Dan Gibert and how he is fueling the flames because i think he is an jackass with a sense of entitlement who really doesnt care about Cleveland beyond what it can do to line his already fat pockets. He shouldnt be the rally leader, you need to rally behind the players and the team.

It would be really depressing to see the cleveland lose the cavs. You have some young talent with heart. Rally around them and give them a reason to keep playing hard for you. Also give others around the nba a reason to want to come play for your team.

Honestly, i think the anger and prolonged hate fest will tarnish the reputation of your organization and cause you to lose out on more talent in the future. Dont let that happen.

Keep your heads high, Good luck guys.

We just need to draft a couple of young studs to get the fan base excited again. The hate fest is the only thing keeping the fans coming at this point so I dont see any reason for it to stop until there is a team that will draw fans to support it.

Right on BMac, in the NBA its either superstars, title contenders, or hope that sells tickets. We have good fans here, but the bad economy and a bad team could well be a death knell for this team. I can suffer througha terrible season if indeed the team does some constructive deals and drafts well, but I dont know if the casual fan will have any patience for a prolonged rebuild.
The only chance this team has is in tanking this season and getting good enough draft picks to sell hope for the next couple of years, manage the cap well so they can tell the fans that they have the cap space to use when the team is close AND USE THAT SPACE WHEN THE TIME COMES unlike the semi-pro baseball franchise we have here.
The wildcard in all of this is the labor situation. Not a good time for our franchise to be in rebuild mode. As for the poster who doesnt like Gilbert, I guess from an outsiders perspective I understand you pov, but from this Clevelanders perspective Gilbert is exactly the type of owner I want to have, deep pockets, passionate, invested in the community, and not afraid to speak his mind and isnt into the corporate doublespeak and politically correct whitewashing of his opinions that so many other franchise owners and front offices seem to hide behind nowadays.
This is one guy who wont just fold up the tent and run off. He is the type who will fight to the bitter end, a self made guy who didnt just wait for daddy to die to collect his fortune, or live off his family riches while never proving himself to be worthy of those riches.
To me Gilbert is where our hope lies at this particular lowpoint (which there have been many) in our franchise' history. I only hope he sees this team for what it really is after last nights game.

Plus lets not forget Gilbert's casino deal that all but guarentees that the Cavs arent going anywhere. The casino will rely on Cavs games during those cold January and February nights and the Cavs will rely on the casino as well.

B Mac wrote:We just need to draft a couple of young studs to get the fan base excited again. The hate fest is the only thing keeping the fans coming at this point so I dont see any reason for it to stop until there is a team that will draw fans to support it.

This. I'm actually excited for the future because we have stockpiled so many draft picks, the odds are in our favor that we can pull in 2-3 quality young pieces to build around in the very near future through the draft.

Free agency will never work for us, we need to concentrate our efforts on the draft. Bring in 2-3 pieces and build around them.

I said it once, but the Cavs lost a lot of fans last night. It will be a test indeed

Niko23 wrote:I said it once, but the Cavs lost a lot of fans last night. It will be a test indeed

I believe the way some of the Cav's players responded to Lebron (not blaming the players, just pointing it out0 it turned alot of fans OFF big time.That said & the way the Cav's played it is time to blow this team up & speed the re-building process up. Trade Mo, Jamison, Andy, Parker & Moon for young players & draft picks. Do it between now & the deadline. theese players can bring back good returns if done right.


cleveland fan

Cleveland Fan wrote:

Niko23 wrote:I said it once, but the Cavs lost a lot of fans last night. It will be a test indeed

I believe the way some of the Cav's players responded to Lebron (not blaming the players, just pointing it out0 it turned alot of fans OFF big time.That said & the way the Cav's played it is time to blow this team up & speed the re-building process up. Trade Mo, Jamison, Andy, Parker & Moon for young players & draft picks. Do it between now & the deadline. theese players can bring back good returns if done right.


cleveland fan

Add Hickson. Sorry. But dude is a Drew Gooden clone with better hops and a worse jumper