Jun 16, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors fans celebrate during a watch party as Warriors win game 6 of the NBA Finals against Cleveland Cavaliers at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
After years of covering games at Oracle, the last week provided the opportunity to experience the playoff atmosphere in a different arena and city.
First things first, the Cleveland fans were fantastic. Loud when they needed to be without needing prompting (more on that later) with a good sense of the ebb and flow of the game. I did not love some choosing to leave Games Four and Six early when it looked like the Cavs were going to lose but choose not to dwell on that.
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One major difference was apparent throughout: while Cleveland fans got to a volume that felt about the same as Oracle’s largest this season at big moments, the average volume was substantially lower. Each arena could get to a 9.5 (I never experienced an Oracle 10 this playoffs to parallel the We Believe team or when I lost hearing during Game Six against the Nuggets in 2013) but the Q stuck around a 5 or 6 for the less engaging moments where Oracle sits around an 8. Interestingly, that disparity in the ambient volume made the loud moments actually feel much bigger in Cleveland. Not better, just bigger.
Jun 16, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Another contrasting element that could change when the Warriors head to San Francisco eventually is the atmosphere outside of the arena. Quicken Loans Arena is within walking distance of downtown and the whole area was decked out for the Finals, including signs and banners on almost every storefront and public area. The arena being that close also meant that there were lots of people not going to the game in the area, more like Pac Bell Park for a big Giants game. That also provided a great opportunity to people watch and jersey hunt, with this being my absolute favorite. Before both games (the fans were gone by the time media leaves the arena), having so many people around changed the dynamic of the area and made it feel like it was more of a citywide thing.
An aspect that struck those of us from other markets was Cleveland’s game operations people treating their fans as if they were far more casual than they appeared to be. While the Warriors’ crew uses general prompts and the fans do most of the heavy lifting, the Cavs did tricks like showing rival team’s logos (Steelers, University of Michigan, etc) on the video board to inspire boos during Golden State free throws. As I said above, the Cleveland fans present for the Finals did not need that kind of prompting and it was somewhat disconcerting to see it. The other part that got some of us was their hype man telling the fans not to panic as early as the second quarter during Game Four. Remember that the Cavs were ahead in the series at the time and never trailed by that much early in that game. In a way, it felt like the Cleveland crew thought their fans were more similar to LeBron’s last team, which they were not. Heck, they tried to teach them how to do the Seven Nation Army cheer!
One other thing: the sound of everything but the crowd was far too loud. Even though the fans themselves were great and did not need the prompting (especially not that loudly), I considered using earplugs for the game ops stuff- it was ridiculous.
Even though the Q expected very little of their fans who totally delivered, it was very satisfying to attend games in a different and still passionate atmosphere. While Cleveland did not carry Oracle’s almost irrepressible energy, they got loud when warranted and strongly supported their team inside and outside the arena. That dynamic ensured that every Finals game had the “big fight feel” this series so desperately deserved.