ANALYSIS/OPINION:
Did you notice during Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night that they mentioned former Washington Redskins running back Earnest Byner?
In several promos and spots, Byner’s name came up — well, his other name, at least.
The Fumble.
The story of the pain of Cleveland sports fans continued Tuesday night with the Cavaliers — otherwise known as LeBron James and the Little Sisters of the Poor — going down in defeat in six games to the Golden State Warriors.
This loss does not yet have a title to identify it, like so many other defeats for Cleveland, which has not won a professional sports championship since the Browns won the NFL title in 1964. Maybe it will wind up being called “The Kneecap”, after star point guard Kyrie Irving, already hobbled with tendonitis in his left knee, went down in game one of the series with a cracked kneecap.
There was “The Drive,” John Elway’s tying scoring drive in the final minute of the AFC championship game in 1987; “The Shot,” Michael Jordan’s game-winning shot over the Cavaliers in Game 5 of the 1989 Eastern Conference Finals; and “The Fumble” — Byner’s turnover while trying to tie the AFC title game against the Broncos with a minute left in 1986.
And now, “The Kneecap” — or maybe “The Shoulder,” referring to the Cavaliers’ other star player, Kevin Love, who dislocated his shoulder in the first round against the Boston Celtics.
“The Kneecap,” or “The Shoulder,” or whatever you want to call it — “The Fumble” wants Cleveland fans to know that he is hurting right along with them.
“Those fans are deserving as any sports town in the country,” Byner said. “I was rooting for them to win. I’ve been a Cavaliers fan ever since I played there. I wanted them to win a championship.
“Cleveland fans have been through hell. That’s enough suffering for one city.”
Of course, Byner helped provide that suffering with his fumble. He suffered carrying that symbol of defeat around for years — so much so that he left town, traded afterward to Washington, where, with the Redskins, Byner rebounded to become of the one franchise’s all-time leading rushers and help lead it to a Super Bowl title in 1991.
But he has long since come to grips with his role in Cleveland history. Byner has written a book called “Everybody Fumbles” — life lessons in football from the 52-year-old. A 10th-round pick out of East Carolina in 1984 who played 13 seasons in the league, Byner rushed for 8,261 yards before retiring in 1997. He has since worked on coaching staffs for Baltimore Ravens, Redskins, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“The book title — yes, it is about the fumble, but about so many other layers of the athletic life,” he said. “A lot of what is in the book starts off about the fumble and dealing with it, and the development of me as a man.”
Cleveland fans in turn have embraced Byner, who returned to the Browns in 1994 and then left again, this time with the whole team when the franchise moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens in 1996.
Last Saturday in Cleveland, Byner joined former Browns quarterback great Bernie Kosar in a Browns “Backer Bash” event.
“The line to sign autographs didn’t stop for three hours, and we could have stayed there all day,” Byner said. “That connection is strong. Once Browns fans embrace you, it’s there for life.”
It is a strange connection, though, since Byner is one of the symbols of the city’s sports futility.
“Cleveland fans have been good to me,” he said. “Yes, there were a lot of people back then who didn’t have empathy for me and hurled insults at me. Yes, that affected me. But overall, those fans understand football and knew it was not just one mistake that lost that game.
“It wore on me for a while,” Byner said. “I had to get away. When I was traded to Washington, that was the best thing for me. It rejuvenated me. When I went back to Cleveland, it seemed like there was more of an appreciation for me for what I had done as a Brown.”
Byner is a big fan of LeBron James and believes his return, despite falling short of the NBA title this year due to “The Kneecap” or “The Shoulder,” has been uplifting for beleaguered Cleveland fans.
“But the championship would have been special,” he said. “When they get one, it will not only be good for Cleveland, but for all of sports … Cleveland fans say, ‘Just one before I die.’”
It will be good for Earnest Byner as well, because he feels the pain.
• Thom Loverro is co-host of “The Sports Fix,” noon to 2 p.m. daily on ESPN 980 and espn980.com.
• Thom Loverro can be reached at tloverro@washingtontimes.com.
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