If you’re a sports fan, and not from Cleveland, Ohio, be thankful. The following quote from Wikipedia is reason why, “The Cleveland sports curse is an ongoing sports superstition involving the city of Cleveland, and all of its professional sports teams. Cleveland has three major sports teams: The Browns of the National Football League (NFL), the Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and Major League Baseball (MLB)’s Indians. The city’s teams have endured an unprecedented combined 156-season championship drought, having not won a title since 1964, when the Browns won the NFL Championship Game, two seasons prior to the first Super Bowl.”
That is the sad state of sports in Cleveland, but they had a ray of hope when, in 2003 their professional basketball team, the Cavaliers drafted the first overall draft pick Lebron James straight out of High School. Lebron was a highly talented Shooting Guard in High School and was predicted to be an NBA super-star by many experts. Their predictions came to fruition; by 2007 the Cavaliers were in the finals of the NBA Championship, but ultimately lost the series to the San Antonio Spurs. It seemed as if the “Cleveland curse” was alive and well. To make things worse, in 2010 Lebron left the Cavaliers to seek a championship ring with the Miami Heat. He played four seasons for the Heat, reaching the Finals all four years and winning back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013.
Life was great for Lebron but Cleveland was still reeling over his departure, and for all intents and purposes were nursing a root of bitterness from his perceived betrayal. But then, in 2014, in an unexpected and surprising decision Lebron announced his return to Cleveland and the Cavaliers!
It didn’t take long for the basketball prowess of “King James” to make an impact; the Cavaliers were back in the NBA Championship series in 2015, but in the end lost to the Golden State Warriors. Yet again, the Cleveland curse was alive and well!
Fast forward to early December of 2015. Lebron and his Cavaliers had just suffered an overtime defeat at the hands of the New Orleans Pelicans. Lebron had played well himself, scoring a season high 37 points, but his team seemed lethargic at best. After being asked about the difference the return of two team mates may have, many were surprised by Lebron’s response,
“It’s only one guy in the world, ever, where everything will be all right when he comes back, and that’s Jesus Christ. Other than that, you can’t bank on nobody being OK.”
Who’d a thunk it?? I mean, we’re used to hearing these obligatory postgame interviews with oftentimes pithy quips from players who would rather be in the locker room showering, but Lebron’s statement was completely out of left field, and somewhat surprising! Many may have ignored his response and urged him on to a more secular and SportsCenter worthy quote, but I was fascinated by what he said! It’s as if this quote from Lebron James makes the entire “Cleveland Curse” make sense, at least from my perspective.
Think about it this way, the whole “Lebron era” in Cleveland has been a source of hope for Cleveland sports fans; hope that the curse would finally be over; hope that this special player in the story would bring light to a dark state. Some even referred to James as “The Messiah”! But contrary to what many wanted him to do, he deflected the title and duty of “Messiahship” away from himself and on to the one who truly deserves the title of Messiahship and the only one who can do the work of the true Messiah! In one brief, concise statement, poor grammar and all, Lebron James put it all in perspective.
Sports is fun, but in the grand scheme of things it’s nothing but temporary, and we would all benefit if we would back up a bit and observe a view of the “big picture” of life. Sometimes sports can be a snapshot of the bigger picture; Cleveland sports most definitely falls into that category. The “Cleveland curse” surely serves as a metaphor for the sin curse that all mankind is infected with. We live in darkness because of the curse of sin. There’s nothing, regardless of how hard we try, that we can do to remedy the curse ourselves. We must look for someone who can break the curse, someone who is capable and willing to do the work of redeeming man from the curse of sin; someone who can meet the requirements and pay the penalty for the curse; someone who can truly win the championship for us! Lebron clearly told the world who that person is, and he did not point to himself. At that one moment Lebron was a modern day John the Baptist who, when some were calling him the Messiah said, “I am not the Christ” (John 1:21), but pointed them to the true Messiah, the one that could genuinely save them from the curse, and pointed them to Jesus. Kudos for Lebron!
Could it be that the entire Cleveland curse is indeed a metaphor for the gospel? It certainly can be. If we are wise we will use it as such and take the timely advice of one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Lebron “King” James, by getting our eyes off of temporary things and fallible people and fix our eyes on the genuine Messiah, Jesus Christ, because no one will be “OK” without Him! Look unto Jesus!
Treasuring Christ 