THE MISERY IS FINALLY OVER

Cleveland sports fans have waited for 46 years to celebrate a Championship. Those forty six years have been filled with frustration, disappointment, and misery. The last time Cleveland fans celebrated a Championship was in 1964 when the Cleveland Browns defeated the Baltimore Colts 27-0 to win the NFL Championship. Before that, the Cleveland Indians defeated the Boston Braves 4 games to 2 to win the 1948 World Series. And the pitiful Cavaliers have only been to the NBA Finals once, in 2007, only to be swept by the San Antonio Spurs. The forty six years between the Browns Championship until now have been filled with frustration, disappointment, and misery...UNTIL NOW!

All that heartache FINALLY came to an end on November 22, 2010. On that night, on national television, Mike “The Miz” Mizanin, cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to face Randy Orton for the WWE Championship. The Championship moment came at around 11:00 PM when the current Champion, Randy Orton, tried to execute his finishing move, the RKO, on The Miz. The RKO usually results in a victory for Orton. But on that night, The Miz brilliantly blocked the RKO, turned it into his own finishing move The Skull-Crushing Finale, covered Orton and got the pin. With that one amazing move, Mike “The Miz” Mizanin brought a Championship to Cleveland and ended a 46 year drought.

Mike Mizanin was born in Parma, Ohio where he went to Normandy High School. While Mizanin has since relocated to Southern California, he remains a Clevelander at heart. When making his way to the ring for a match, The Miz is always announced as “hailing from Cleveland, Ohio.” The Miz is very proud of his Cleveland roots. In the October 2010 issue of WWE Magazine, The Miz was quoted as saying “I left Cleveland, but I’ll always remember Cleveland. When I walk out on Raw, what city do they announce? They don’t say Los Angeles, California. They say Cleveland, Ohio, because that’s where I was born....I am the last hero of Cleveland, and I will finally bring another Championship to that city one day.” To the delight of long suffering Clevelanders, The Miz came through on that promise!

Cleveland sports teams have come close to winning a Championship, only to let the city down time and again. Cleveland fans have even given nicknames to the many heartbreaking moments. “The Drive” took place in the 1987 AFL Championship game between the Cleveland Browns and the Denver Broncos. The Browns were leading with about 5 minutes left in the game. The Broncos were on their own 2 yard line. It looked for certain that the Browns were headed to their first ever Superbowl appearance. But John Elway masterfully led his team 98 yards down the field to tie the game. The Broncos went on to win 23-20 in overtime. “The Fumble” occurred in the 1988 AFL Championship game when Cleveland Brown running back Earnest Byner fumbled the football at the Broncos 3 yard line with 1:12 seconds left in the game. What should have been a touchdown would have sent the game into overtime. Instead, the Browns went home for the summer. "The Shot” happened in the final game of the round one match-up of the 1989 NBA Playoffs between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Chicago Bulls. Michael Jordan hit an almost impossible buzzer beating shot to eliminate the Cavaliers from the playoffs. And most recently there was “The Elbow” or “The Rumor”. The Cavaliers ended the 2009-2010 NBA season with the best record in the league. The Cavaliers defeated the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoff but lost to Boston in the second round. LeBron James, the leagues MVP that year, blamed a mysterious elbow injury for his poor performance against Boston. Others claim that their was a rumored affair taking place between one member of the Cavaliers and someone in James’ family that caused the team to become divided and self-destruct.

But now the words “The Drive”, “The Fumble”, “The Shot”, and “The Elbow” can be proudly replaced with the words “THE MIZ”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mike Mizanin has ended 46 years of misery. It is appropriate that it took someone whose name sounds just like the beginning of ‘misery’ to finally end the misery and bring a Championship to Cleveland. Mike Mizanin, Cleveland fans thank you! And we are waiting for the city to throw you a Championship parade down East 9th Street!