One last look at all the Cleveland sports suffering the Cavs ended

Cleveland sports have been synonymous with heartbreak and sorrow for as long as a lot of people can remember. Since 1964 when the Cleveland Browns won the NFL championship, the city hasn't been able to celebrate a title and their chances have often slipped through in torturous fashion. They made movies -- one of the great sports movies ever, actually, with Major League -- about their bumbling ways. The whole thing became a punchline.

Well, not anymore. LeBron James and the Cavs ended all the suffering with their Game 7 victory over the Golden State Warriors to claim the 2016 NBA title. It's all over, Cleveland. Finally. So for old time's sake, let's take on last spin down heartbreak lane, Cleveland, and then your time in sports purgatory will be officially done.

1. "The Drive"

These days in the NFL, 5 minutes, 32 seconds might as well be a lifetime. But in 1987, the game was all but over. Or at least that's how it felt when the Cleveland Browns went ahead of the Denver Broncos 20-13 late in the '87 AFC Championship, particularly when the ensuing kickoff took a friendly enough bounce to leave the Broncos pinned on their own two-yard line backed right up against the famous "Dawg Pound" section of old Municipal Stadium.

Even in Cleveland, where cynicism already flowed through the veins of every sports fan, things were looking good. But out trotted John Elway. The 'ol gunslinger who would, in time, become as synonymous with fourth-quarter comebacks as Cleveland was with losing.

People around the country remember the 5-yard touchdown pass to Mark Jackson to tie the game at 20 with 39 seconds to play, but in Cleveland, they remember a different pass to Jackson. With less that two minutes to go, the Browns had the Broncos pinned at 3rd and 18, only to watch Elway scramble around like he was in a schoolyard and find Jackson for 20 yards and a first down out of nowhere.

This one was brutal. A Rich Karlis field goal in overtime sealed it.

Broncos, 23, Browns 20.

2. "The Fumble"

The only solace the Browns, and the city of Cleveland, took in that loss in 1987 was that they had the same team coming back next year, and they were right on the cusp of the Super Bowl. Bernie Kosar and company met the Broncos again in the AFC title game, only this time the game was at Mile High Stadium in Denver. Again the Browns were right there at the end.

Down 38-31, the Browns marched the ball up the field and had it on the eight-yard with 1:12 left in the fourth quarter. Cleveland fans know what happened next. In absolutely gut-wrenching fashion, Earnest Byner, whom the Browns had been riding all game, looked like he had seam to the end zone only to be stripped of the ball as he was going in. The indelible image of Byner laying on the turf in utter shock when the Broncos recovered the fumble is an image few Cleveland fans will ever get out of their head.

In ESPN's recent "30 for 30" documentary Believeland, which chronicles all this Cleveland heartbreak, Byner laid all his emotions on the line, apologizing to the city again and again for letting them down.

This one stung a lot of people very deep.

3. Michael Jordan's shot over Craig Ehlo

Game 5 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The Cleveland Cavaliers were having an epic back-and-forth with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. The Cavs had lost home-court advantage in the first game of the series when Jordan went for 31 points and 11 rebounds on Cleveland's home floor. The Cavs fought back to take Game 2, then lost Game 3 before winning an elimination game in Chicago in Game 4. That set the stage for Game 5 and the Cavs had victory in their hands.

Craig Ehlo scored a layup with about three seconds left in the game to put Cleveland up 100-99. All they needed to do was stop Jordan from burying a dagger in their hearts to win the series and move on to the second round, where they'd face the New York Knicks. One problem with this: Jordan was lighting them up and already had 42 points in the game.

Everybody knew the ball was going to MJ. Everybody knew MJ was going to shoot it. And everybody knew what that meant for the Cavs. They tried to deny him the ball, face-guarding him with Larry Nance while Craig Ehlo hawked any potential lob pass over Nance. Jordan broke free of his defenders going toward the right side of the court, brought the ball back to his left with two dribbles, and then jumped just above the free throw line for the shot.

He hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity. The clock should've expired long before he released the shot, or so it seemed as he just levitated. Ehlo came back down to the ground as Jordan released the shot right into the hearts of everybody in that arena.

It became known as "The Shot." It was the burial of a very good Cavs team as the Bulls continued to ascend toward their eventual fate as one of the greatest dynasties ever. Two years later, they'd begin a run of six titles in eight years, while the Cavs eventually crumbled apart. This Cavs team deserved better than to be forced to beat Jordan in the playoffs, but that's just how it goes sometimes.

4. Edgar Renteria comes through against the Indians

Fast-forward eight years, and the Cleveland Indians are three outs from their first World Series championship since 1948. Game 7 against the Florida Marlins and they just needed Jose Mesa to shut the door like he had done 16 times that season, four times in the postseason, and over 100 times over a three-year run that saw two World Series appearances by The Tribe. With a 2-1 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Indians' win probability was hovering around 90 percent.

Mesa gave up a lead-off single to Moises Alou. He struck out Bobby Bonilla for the first out in the inning. Then gave up a base hit to right, which moved Alou over to third base. Craig Counsell then flied out to deep right field, which was enough to get Alou home to score the tying run. The save was blown.

Cleveland couldn't get anything going in the top of the 10th and Mesa combined with Charles Nagy to get out of a bit of a jam in the bottom of the extra frame. After the Indians went down in order in the top of the 11th, pain came back to Cleveland sports. In the bottom of the inning, Bonilla led off with a single. After a failed bunt attempt by Greg Zaun, Craig Counsell reached on an error that moved Bonilla to third base. The Indians intentionally walked Jim Eisenreich to load the bases and have a force at any base.

It worked against Devon White, as he grounded out to second base, which resulted in a force out at home plate. Bases loaded. Two outs. Nagy needed to just get 21-year old Edgar Renteria, a shortstop in his second season to get that third out. Instead, Renteria lined a pitch up the middle, just glancing off of Nagy's glove, and into center field for the heartbreak once again.

Three outs away and once again, it wasn't meant to be.

5. The Decision

This one was probably the worst, and it didn't even happen on the field or court. It happened at a Boys and Girls Club, and it tore the heart out of the entire city. First, let's go back to 2002. The Cleveland Cavaliers had purposely put together a horrendous team built around Ricky Davis in order to have the best opportunity to land a kid from nearby Akron, Ohio with the first pick in the draft. The man-child named LeBron James coming out of St. Vincent-St. Mary's High School was supposed to be the next everything. The next Magic Johnson. The next Michael Jordan. The next great star in the NBA.

And he was. He was everything we expected him to be, everything he had been hyped as from the age of 15. He was a monster on the court. A physical specimen like we'd never seen. LeBron, unfortunately, was also just not capable of carrying some poorly constructed Cavs' rosters all by himself. He was great -- winning two MVPs and making six All-NBA teams -- but not quite great enough to deliver a title. They got there in 2007 and lost to the Spurs, and could never get back.

After an embarrassing exit in the 2010 playoffs, James headed into free agency. In a nationally televised special to announce his decision, he broke the heart of Cleveland basketball by announcing he would be taking his talents to South Beach to sign with the Miami Heat.

He goes on to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. Within two years, they're champions. They repeat in 2013. It looks like LeBron's legacy is tied to the Heat and maybe it will be the place he stays forever. The feel-good story about the Akron kid finally bringing professional sports glory to Ohio seems to be dead forever, and the betrayal the city feels for his leaving seems irreparable.

And then comes June 19, 2016

This is the day it all ends. All the heartbreak and suffering, all that burden LeBron was carrying on his shoulders, it's gone. It goes down like this:

In 2014, James shocks the world again. He leaves the Heat after two rings and four straight Finals appearances. He returns to the city of Cleveland, writing a letter than he's coming home, asking them to embrace him as he tries to right the wrongs of how he left. He puts together a team that has serious questions about what their potential can be, and seems to do it in a time in which the Golden State Warriors appear out of nowhere as the new historic standard of basketball.

Injuries, trades, coaching drama, subtweets, and more distractions seem to pile up. LeBron and company lose in the 2015 NBA Finals, as the Warriors leave the opposing locker room in Quicken Loans arena soaked with champagne that would never touch the lips of the Cavaliers. A year later, they're on a collision course with the Warriors again, only this time the Warriors are trying to stake claim to the greatest team in NBA history.

Everything is against them. The Cavs are down 3-1 in the Finals and look completely despondent. They need an insane level of play from their leader in order to make the greatest comeback in NBA history happen. Over the final three games, LeBron James does just that, leading his team by putting up 36.3 points, 11.7 rebounds, 9.7 assists, 3.0 steals, and 3.0 blocks while playing relentless and timely defense at every integral turn.

And when the buzzer sounds in Oracle Arena, James is collapsed on the court, unleashing emotions of 52 years of Cleveland misery that has now made all the pain worth enduring.

Worth the frustration. Worth the anger. Worth the abandonment. Worth the heartbreak. Worth the forgiveness.

"You know, just knowing what our city has been through, Northeast Ohio has been through as far as our sports and everything for the last 50-plus years," LeBron explained in his post-game press conference, "you can look back to the Ernest Byner fumble, Elway going 99 yards to Jose Mesa not being able to close out the bottom of the ninth, to the Cavs going to the Finals, I was on that team in 2007, us getting swept and then last year us losing 4-2 and so many more stories.

"And our fans, they ride or die no matter what's been going on. No matter. The Browns, the Indians, the Cavs and so on, and all the other sports teams, they continue to support us. And for us to be able to end this, end this drought, our fans deserve it. They deserve it. It was for them."

So there you have it, Cleveland. Your time in championship purgatory is done.