Puskas: Basking in that title glow

Now what?

What do we do now that the Cavaliers have ended 52 years of Cleveland sports misery?

(Memo: If you’re from Ohio and root for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Pirates and Steelers, feel free to stop reading here, since you don’t know sports misery. You should also consider enrolling in a geography class.)

Back to the question. Now that all these years of self-identifying as frustrated losers are over, what do we do now?

I know — some of you are still celebrating like Johnny Manziel on a day that, well, ends in -day.

(Question: Are we still allowed to make fun of Johnny Football or is he now pathetic enough that we must simply sigh and shake our heads when his name comes up?)

But I digress.

As long as your celebrations haven’t included inflatable swans, rolled up $100 bills and hastily made rap videos on your buddies’ cell phones, you should celebrate.

The Cavaliers’ epic comeback and stunning victory over the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals was something Cleveland fans will be talking about for decades and perhaps beyond. So party on, Cavs fans, but remember one thing:

You’re not lovable losers anymore. LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and the rest of the Cavaliers are the reigning NBA champions. And you, too, will be looked at differently by people in other cities.

Social media was awash in non-Clevelanders rooting for the Cavaliers, especially against the increasingly insufferable Warriors. The general consensus was that people elsewhere (read: almost everywhere but northern California) wanted to see Cleveland finally win something.

Of course, after Golden State went up 2-0 and 3-1 in the series, most people figured it was another typical Cleveland ending.

The Warriors, more than most, appeared to think that was the case.

They should have known better.

Cleveland has been on a roll for while. The city landed next month’s Republican National Convention, Eastlake’s Stipe Miocic won an MMA championship and the Lake Erie Monsters won the AHL’s Calder Cup.

The Indians — winners of eight in a row — are looking more and more like the best team in the American League. Could another championship parade come this fall?

Cleveland fans could get used to this stuff, but let’s avoid becoming obnoxious about it.

Remember Boston Red Sox fans after their World Series drought ended in 2004? It was as if millions of smarmy Bill Simmons clones were unleashed on the world.

(Question: Is “smarmy Bill Simmons” redundant?)

Now that the Cleveland curse has ended, I have just one other desire. I want to be able to use the term “one for the thumb” the way Steelers fans did for so long.

Is that obnoxious? Never mind I already know the answer.

Write Vindicator Sports Editor Ed Puskas at epuskas@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @EdPuskas_Vindy.