A City Reborn

The battle may be lost, but the war has just begun. I write to you, my fellow Clevelanders, to tell you that this is not the end. Yes, we're hurt, beaten, bruised and heartbroken, but we are not out for the count. We put our hopes and pride into one man, a human being. We've forgotten about ourselves, we've forgotten our own pride. As Clevelanders we will never forget, and this time we may never forgive, but we should also never fail. We should never fail ourselves and believe that one man can bring a city of one heartbeat to it's knees. The man we know as LeBron James, The King of Akron, has turned his back on us, on Cleveland, on his so-called "family". This is where we stand up, we remember who we are, and become stronger as a whole. Never before has one man become a stronger global icon, but also never before has one man brought so much shame. Not shame to himself, but shame to those who followed him. The shame he will endure will come when we renew our pride, and remind him that we were Cleveland before he came along, and we will damn sure STILL be Cleveland without him.

At approximately 9:30pm on July 8th, 2010, LeBron seemingly made Clevelands heart stop beating. However, this city is indestructible. Consider the history, consider the triumphs, and consider the hurt. We as Clevelanders have always come out stronger then when we went in. We will rebound, we will rebuild, and we WILL make it known that the flame on our torch has only been refueled. This dark cloud that looms over our city is but an illusion. Let your pride guide you, let it be your light. This is the day you step back, and remember where you're from. It's time to show those who don't believe and make them understand why we do believe, why we continue to fight. We've never given up before, why give up now? One man can make a scene, but a city banded together can make an impact. So I'm asking you, my fellow Clevelanders, do you have what it takes to revive this machine, to stand on your own two feet, and scream it from the bottom of your lungs, "I AM CLEVELAND!"? Do you have what it takes to look beyond the illusions of a disappearing act, of a betrayal, and remember that before he came along, that we were Cleveland? Do you have what it takes, to remember who we are, stand as one, and say "We're not giving up!"?

For those of you who were born and raised here, show your pride, let it shine through. Let it shine so bright that it drowns out the lights of any big city in this nation. Let it be known that together we are stronger than any city of individuals. This will not be our end, our demise. This will be our strength, our encouragement, and the start of something new. A broken heart can be fixed, a broken dream can be redrawn, and a broken city can re-unite. Show the non-believers that we are not just a population, that we are, and always will be, a city of one!

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