From Loved to Hated in a Cleveland Minute
By BOB FRANTZ
frantz.media@yahoo.com
The speed at which a sports star in Northeast Ohio can go from beloved to hated is absolutely staggering.
That’s not to say, of course, that such shifts in public opinion aren’t warranted in many cases, but the sight of a fan-favorite morphing into a public enemy in this part of the sports world is truly something to behold.
Examples, you ask? Sure:
LeBron James: This is the most obvious case, for obvious reasons. Stabbing a franchise and a city in the back after refusing to do all he could to fulfill his promise of bringing a championship to Cleveland will certainly earn you a few hundred-thousand local enemies.
Jim Thome: Like James, Thome falls into the “He asked for it†category. After pledging his love and loyalty to the city and its fans, (“It can’t always be about money! It can’t!â€), Thome made it about money, bolting for a bigger paycheck and longer contract in Philadelphia. Only his end-of-career return to the Tribe this fall restored some of the respect Thome once commanded in Cleveland.
Braylon Edwards: When Edwards was catching 80 balls for 1,289 yards and a franchise-record 16 TD’s in 2007, he was the toast of the town. When he started dropping passes and blaming fans’ booing on Ohioans’ disdain for Michigan alumni, he was quickly on a rail out of it.
Terrell Pryor: When he was the most highly recruited prospect in the country finally committed to Ohio State in March of 2008, Buckeye fans were tucked into bed with visions of title rings and Heismans dancing in their heads. A few million needle pricks from a tattoo gun later, and he’s suddenly the hated “Man Who Brought Down Tressel.â€
Albert Belle: Running down trick-or-treaters in his SUV? Cursing out Hannah Storm in the World Series? Corking his bat? Didn’t matter to us. We all had his back, no matter how horrible his behavior, as long as he was mashing 50 homers and 50 doubles in a season and powering the Indians’ mini-dynasty through the mid-1990’s. Then he went to Chicago, and suddenly his abusive behavior was intolerable to us, and we were glad to be rid of the boor. Sure we were.
Fausto Carmona: The midge-covered right-hander with nerves of steel won our hearts when he locked down the Yankees in the 2007 Division Series following his 19-win regular season. Then came the roller-coaster of the past three seasons, and fans want him run out of town on the same rail as Edwards.
These are but a few examples of stars we’ve quickly discarded for one reason or another after living vicariously through their glory in Cleveland uniforms, and it appears we’re at it again.
One year ago, Peyton Hillis was the embodiment of Cleveland. His blue-collar attitude, his bulldozer running style, and his gentle humility made him the poster-child of this community in his first season with the Browns.
Quite literally, in fact, considering the Hillis “poster†on the cover of the Madden 2012 video game that has sold tens of millions of copies in a couple months.
With every flex of his massive biceps following one of his 13 touchdowns in 2010, Browns’ fans flexed along with him as their girlfriends swooned over the Arkansas good ol’ boy.
Today, after a series of ridiculous missteps by Hillis and his loose-lipped agent, those same fans are ready to dump him.
“Overrated. Please tell me what he has done. Nattttta. Worse thing that could have happened was Madden Football,†commented one reader on the News-Herald website.
“He wants to get paid guaranteed money as he knows his career will be a short one,†wrote another. “The Browns won’t pay him what he wants because they know his career will be short.â€
Sure, there were several supporters on the website as well, even following the article chronicling Hillis’ admission that his agent, Kennard McGuire, helped make his decision not to play through strep throat and high fever two weeks ago.
Many called for the Browns to end the contract extension soap opera by paying the man what he wants.
A growing majority of public opinions, however, seems to suggest Hillis should get ready to pack his bags.
From callers to my radio program to online message boards and social media postings, most fans seem ready to give the would-be working-class-hero the boot.
“This guy has one good season, not to mention no one even heard of him before last year, I think he should be grateful that he is getting what he is,†commented another fan on the newspaper website.
“The blue flu excuse for sitting out a game did not turn out too well for Hillis, posted a fan on the Morning Journal’s website. “His loyalty is not to Cleveland fans or his employer. He is loyal to his agent and his union. Another overpaid punk.â€
Incredible.
Cleveland sports fans have been begging for a true superstar to rally around, and thought they had found one in Hillis.
In a span of less than nine months, however, they’re ready to turn on him over a contract negotiation, a big-mouthed agent, and some poorly chosen words by the NFL’s 6th leading rusher/receiver from a year ago.
In this town, maybe — just maybe — we deserve what we get.
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