Many in Miami rooted against LeBron James last weekend, the basketball star that left the city to play for his hometown team two years ago. But Nicole Waters, a Cleveland-native who works in Coral Gables was ecstatic. It was a championship fifty years in the making, but she couldn't celebrate until the final seconds ticked off the clock.
“We’re down to ten seconds and we’re certainly ahead at this time and my niece calls me,” she said. “She’s like we won! we won! I say, Elaina hang up the phone, we have not won yet. I’ll call you back when we hear the buzzer.”
A few brief minutes later she called back. The Cavs won by four points, ending a 54-year championship drought.
“My chest was just beating out of my body. Quite honestly it took me a while for it to sink in.”
The “haters” at the Coral Gables car dealership, who hoped LeBron would fail in bringing another city a championship were quiet the day after the game; Waters felt like the win was a long overdue gift for the city of Cleveland.
Postgame interviews played on the dealership’s giant screen, but Waters didn’t watch.
“I said I can’t watch because it’s too emotional,” she said. “I literally can’t watch any of this coverage without crying.”
The Marlins spoiled a Cleveland baseball championship run eighteen years ago. Waters used to drive to Winter Park every weekend to watch Cleveland Indians spring training and she remembers the eleventh inning line drive that dashed Cleveland hopes.
Water said that families in Cleveland have long histories of cheering on their teams,
“There are generations of families that have watched these teams year after year,” she said. “Miami’s very transient."
Her niece won't remember those years of disappointment, just LeBron's words when presented the MVP trophy:
“I’m home. I’m home,” he said. “This is what I came back for."
