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Cleveland. Located on the southern shore of Lake Erie. Home of the Browns, Cavaliers and Indians and numerous colleges. Home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Home to nearly 400,000 people. Immortalized in films such as Major League, Howard the Duck, Detroit Rock City, American Splendor; TV shows like the Drew Carey Show, Hope & Faith, and Hot in Cleveland; songs like the Pretenders' My City Was Gone, Ian Hunter's Cleveland Rocks, REM's Cuyahoga, and Gordon Lightfoot's Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. The movie A Christmas Story, although set elsewhere, was filmed in Cleveland and you can visit Ralphie's house as a museum.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Photo by Rebecca Corman.
The Raiders boarded a plane at the Oakland International Airport Friday afternoon and embarked on a four-and-a-half hour flight to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The team settled into the team hotel in downtown Cleveland and took part in meetings throughout the afternoon Saturday, with more scheduled for the evening.
As a kid growing up in Western New York along Lake Ontario, Lightfoot's Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald resonated because of the local geography and municipalities mentioned. Later, I realized the significance of the song and the event itself. Approximately 10-12 years ago, the Discovery Channel produced a documentary about the shipwreck, (the Great Lakes are infamous for shipwrecks), and used Lightfoot's haunting composition as the soundtrack. A crew dived the wreck, raised the bell, and rang it 29 times for the 29 souls lost in that tragedy on Lake Superior in 1975. The family members were present for the ceremony.
The Great Lakes are comprised of the most fresh water in one place on the planet and Cleveland has long been a hub of shipping and industry. Architecture here is very similar to that which I described in Providence, Rhode Island, where we stayed prior to playing the New England Patriots.
The city went through well-documented urban renewal that included the construction of the current Indians, Cavaliers and Browns facilities during the 1990s into the early 2000s.
The area features varied dining and nightlife options as well.
The bulk of the Raiders history in Cleveland involved games at Municipal Stadium, the former home of the Browns and the Rams. The building hosted its last Browns game in 1995. The Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens and the NFL granted Cleveland an expansion team, which began play in 1999.
This will be the Raiders third appearance at FirstEnergy Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1:25 p.m. PT on CBS.
