Released a couple of hours after James’s decision (I’m trying to be professional here and keep the opinions to myself. No promises), Gilbert’s letter was exactly what a devastated Cavaliers fan base needed to here. When the remaining people at the place where I work noticed the letter on the TV, there was applause and cheers. I don’t think any one of us believed his guarantee that the Cavs would win a title before LeBron wins one with the Heat, but it felt good to have someone stick up for us after this betrayal.

At the time, I wished the Dolan family was more like Gilbert: vocal, aggressive, and willing to risk it all to win.

Then, Gilbert started running his mouth, calling James a quitter. I thought it was a little unnecessary and I kinda wished Gilbert had acted more like the Dolan family and had just let his basketball people doing the talking.

While I would like the Dolan family to be more vocal and less of a “behind the scenes” owner, I can appreciate that they prefer to let the baseball experts do the talking. They obviously don’t have the pockets that Gilbert has, and baseball is probably the worst sport to be a small market team, nor have they ever lost a superstar on the level LeBron James was. And while James’s punk job on the Cavs was probably worse, the Indians having to trade Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez a year and a half away from free agency was pretty bitter.

So why did I feel more confident in Gilbert’s words of comfort, even though James’s betrayal was more devastating to the franchise? Because Gilbert has always been public in the five years of ownership, he’s always done everything he could to win, and he’s always been vocal.

Gilbert has one more thing going for him. The Cavs, unlike the Indians, have been able to fix their mistakes. Granted, a lot  of this has to do with the salary cap in the NBA works. One bad contract doesn’t handcuff them.

This is where Cavs fans will find out if Gilbert can make good on his promises, or if it’s just more empty words. Gilbert swallowed his pride and did a sign-and-trade with the Heat – for the betterment of the team. It’s a good start, but we shall see.

As for the Dolans, I think they could learn to be more vocal like Gilbert. There’s a difference between whining and stating a fact. There is an economic imbalance in baseball, and the Dolans need to speak up and start being noticed. Make some noise, you’re a textbook example of everything that’s unfair in baseball. Or, they could speak up on smaller issues, such as instant replay, when Armando Galarraga missed his perfect game versus the Indians on a bad call.

I’m not a Dolan-hater. I think the Dolans are one of the biggest reasons the Indians are still in Cleveland, and that is commendable. I just want to know they exist. We want to know you’re making a stand for our team.

You learn a lot about your team’s owner when times are tough. Now, we find out who Dan Gilbert and Larry Dolan really are.

That being said, if the rumors are true, that means Cleveland will most likely have three mediocre sports teams. Here are five reasons why the Indians should become your new favorite team.

1. Need A Superstar? Meet Carlos “Supernatural” Santana

Ok, so I am putting a lot of weight on this kid’s shoulders. And no, Santana will never become the type of superstar LeBron is. But he’s already mashing the ball, and figures to get only better. If Santana continues to develop as pretty much every scout and analysist thinks he will, the Indians will have a perennial All-Star. As of today, Santana has a .422 OBP and a 1.014 OPS with 5 home runs in only 81 ABs. This guy’s a rookie, folks. He’s only gonna get better.

2. It’s cheaper than an NBA game.

You’re paying at least $20 a ticket for the worst seats at Quicken Loans Arena for a Cavs game. To most games, that ticket price for the same quality of seat is only $9 at Progressive Field. Which leaves you more money to spend on beer and food, and let’s not forget the Indians have promotions out the wazoo to save you money (such as the brilliant dollar dog nights). Besides, if you don’t like your seat, you can always move – right now there’s about 30,000 open seats!

3. Be a proud parent

Why jump on a bandwagon? Stick around and watch this Indians team grow. Yeah, there’s gonna be bumps along the road, but how cool will it be if the Indians return to respectability and you were able to say you watched these kids learn how to play baseball? I know I’ll be telling youngsters about Matt LaPorta’s horrible sophomore slump, and how Michael Brantley couldn’t hit a lick when he first came up. Hopefully I won’t have to tell the youngsters any more because guys like LaPorta and Brantley will be established major leaguers by then, but even if they aren’t, there are still some good stories to tell about this team.

4. The Indians won’t trade EVERYBODY

Realistically, Jake Westbrook is the only Indian that could be traded this season that has any kind of tenure with the Tribe. And while the small market economics are a reality in baseball and especially in Cleveland, the Indians figure to be able to hold onto this pack of kids for at least a few years. And besides, the Cavs apparently can’t keep their players and the Browns never get anyone good anyways.

5. Don’t you want to be different?

Everyone has a LeBron James jersey. Hell, even I do (albeit a baseball jersey). But how cool and original will you be if you’re strolling down the street in a Matt LaPorta jersey? Carlos Santana? Shin-Soo Choo? Who wears those jerseys, except to Tribe games? Be a trendsetter.  Join the Tribe.

I hope this post turns out to be moot, and LeBron stays with the Cavs. But even if he does, you really should give this Cleveland Indians team a second look. There’s talent here, even if it’s not ready yet. As the sun sets on the Cavaliers run of good teams, the sun begins to rise on this Indians’ team. The sun hasn’t risen yet, but it will soon.

Yes, I’m referring to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who were blown out by the Boston Celtics. At home. With the series tied at 2, in arguably the most important game in franchise history. Biggest game in franchise history = worst playoff loss in franchise history.

While this is not a basketball blog, I do feel that DLF is a Cleveland blog at heart, and that’s why I’m waxing poetic about this.

I also recall the last time I felt I had to write about my hometown, when I was the Arts and Life editor for The Independent Collegian at the University of Toledo. I wrote a column about the Indians 2007 playoff collapse, and more importantly, Cleveland being a city of survivors. It was cheesy, yet heartfelt. I honestly wrote it more for myself, to give myself closure on the season, and ultimately, the window of contention the Indians had. It got a great response from all the Clevelanders in Toledo.

As I woke up this afternoon, I found myself trying to avoid closure, because I don’t want the LeBron James era to end in Cleveland.

And I find myself fighting the Cleveland mentality – that nothing ever goes Cleveland’s way, Cleveland is a bunch of losers, Cleveland has no class, etc.

A quick note to all the haters who didn’t like how Cavs fans booed their team last night: you would have booed too. That was terrible basketball, from LeBron down. I’ve never been one to say that you can’t boo the home team if the home team is deserving of it.  Heck, I booed CC Sabathia in Game 5 of the ALCS when he left with a 7-1 deficit. It’s our right as paying fans to boo.

But it’s not right for fans to always feel like the losers. And right now it sure seems like that.

So what can a Cleveland fan do, in the face of all this losing? The only think we can do: hope. Yeah, it’s not tangible, but hope can keep you going, and that’s what Cleveland fans need to do: they need to keep going. Keep fighting, not just in sports but in life. You never know what is going to happen.

I can’t sit here and tell you the Cavs are going to win Games 6 and 7, make everything better, and win a championship. I don’t know that. What I can tell you is that while the Indians may suck right now, they will be relevant again, probably sooner than you think. I know, that’s coming out of deep left field (get it?) but it’s the truth. There is always hope, and while I can’t sit back and look at my trophy case full of hope, I can tell you when a Cleveland team finally wins it all, be it the Cavs, Browns or (god willing) the Indians, the victory will be that much sweeter due to all the tears we’ve shed.

Cleveland has been here before, and probably will again. So I’d like to end this self-serving post with how I ended my column in Toledo:

No matter what it’s dealing with, Cleveland is always the underdog. No matter how many times this city is beaten down, it always gets up and comes roaring back for more. Call us stupid for that, but you cannot call us weak.

This city has never given up hope, and that’s an admirable quality.

Call us losers. Call us trash. Call us whatever you want. We’ve heard it all before. It stings, but we get over it. We’re tough.

I love my city, and I’m so proud to call it my home. The Indians, Cavaliers and yes, even the Browns reaffirm my love for this city, and instill pride for my hometown in me.

I’m from Cleveland. We’re survivors