Displaying items by tag: championship

The Larry O'Brien Trophy has made the rounds since the Cavs locked up the 2016 NBA World Championship, defeating the Golden State Warriors. Now the championship trophy can boast a bird's-eye view from the Goodyear Blimp, after a trip in the iconic conveyance. 

It's the first time the blimp has given a ride to any professional sports championship trophy. 

It's the first major sports championship the Northeast Ohio area has seen in 52 years, so naturally thousands and thousands of fans flocked to the IX Center and Cleveland Hopkins Airport in Cleveland to witness LeBron James and the rest of the World Champion Cleveland Cavaliers bring it home. 

The festivities at the IX Center parking lot kicked off early, with the team expected to touchdown aroun 12:30 p.m. The mood was vibrant and the crowd was excited, hoping to get within eyeshot of the Larry O'Brien Trophy. The energy level was maintained by the Cavaliers Dance Team, the Scream Team, the Q-Stix, and in-game announcer Ahmaad Crump, who was the emcee for the event. Despite the heat (it was about 86 degrees on the first day of Summer), the crowd was hyped and stuck it out throughout the day. 

Then, the Champs landed... And the crowd erupted with collective chants of "Let's Go Cavs!" and "MVP", for Akron's own LeBron James. 

As the mobile staircase rolled up to the plane and the door opened, one-by-one the Cavaliers players made their way to flat ground, back in The Land. 

In true fairytale fashion, LeBron was the last player to exit the plane, holding the Larry O'Brien Trophy high above his head, for every Cavs fan to witness. While donning an "Ultimate Warrior" T-shirt, no doubt a jab at the now second-best team in the country, the Golden State Warriors, LeBron swelled with pride as he was finally able to keep his promise and bring his hometown a World Championship.

"Just a kid from Akron." 

LeBron James will always be "a kid from Akron," but those who share his hometown feel differently. He's the kid from Akron who led his basketball team to an NBA title -- ending Cleveland's 52-year sports drought. 

Inside St. Vincent - St. Mary High School, hundreds of fans came out to watch LeBron and his teammates capture the NBA title inside the Lebron James Arena.

"I'm completely speechless. I love that he said he's bringing the trophy home," said Stacey Hentosz. 

Emotions were high inside the same court where LeBron made headlines as a young superstar. One man fell to his knees to reveal an emotional celebration following the win and LeBron being named Most Valuable Player. 

Willie McGee, SVSM athletic director and LeBron's former high school teammate, said it was only fitting to hold a watch party at LeBron's alma mater. McGee said LeBron has given back a lot to the community and it was the community's turn to offer support.