The Whore of Akron, a Review

Scott Raab sums up one of the worst break up stories in sports history with his new book “The Whore of Akron.”

Above:  The cover of the book.  Don't judge a book by it's cover because I liked the cover but loved the book.

If you know me you know that I am loyal to my sports teams despite their inabilities to win at times.  I am all Ohio when it comes to who I root for; The Cincinnati Reds in baseball, the Cleveland Browns in football, the Blue Jackets in hockey, and the Cleveland Cavaliers in basketball.  Much to my surprise this Christmas my mother got me a book by the writer Scott Raab, “The Whore of Akron.”  Being a Cavs fan when you see the cover of this book you see the self-appointed King James on the cover in all of his glory and a rush of emotions come to mind.  Some of the different emotions I felt were:

Rage:  I hate this guy (LeBron or LeBrick as I like to call him,) he pissed on me, my team, and the entire City of Cleveland

Sorrow:   Damn the Cavaliers sucked last year

Pride (what is left of it):  I can’t bail on my team just because they played like 12 year olds against superheroes

Optimism:  We’ll be better this year; hell, we can’t get much worse

Joy:  Hehe, he called LeBron a whore

                So back to the book; before I started reading it I was hoping it wasn’t going to be a 300 page “hate fest” on LeBron.  I was trying to move past that stage in my life and look towards the future like most Ohio sports fans do because the future is always our best bet even though tomorrow never seems to come.  As I started to read the book I realized that Mr. Raab was a lot like me and the majority of Cleveland sports fans when it comes to the different stages and extremes of our/his mourning.  The book is a must read and not a “hate fest” like some who read the title would assume.  Mr. Raab gives credit where credit is due and isn’t shy about pointing out the faults of “The Chosen One,” himself, or any other Cleveland fan for that matter.  It was refreshing to see how the author progressed through his feelings during LeBron’s last season in Cleveland and throughout the following season with James in Miami while the Cav’s where on their abysmal road to ruin.

                The book kind of reminded me of “Faithfull” by Steven King and Stewart O’ Nan except there wasn’t the fairy tale ending where the pious home team wins it all in the face of adversity; it was almost like the bizzarro to “Faithful.”  I’m sure Mr. Raab would agree that it wasn’t his intent to make it feel this way but in Cleveland sports, how else was it supposed to end?

Above:  The author Scott Raab

                The book jumps around a great deal between the present and the past.  Mr. Raab talks about his life growing up in Cleveland, the History of Cleveland sports and his career as a writer.  At first I was kind of lost by this but as I kept reading the book I realized that I am / was a lot like Mr. Raab (I’m still nowhere near as successful) and his story is a lot like the story of Cleveland.  In the end though Mr. Raab has turned out to be a successful writer but Cleveland sports is the same sad affair it has been for several decades now, only to show some signs of life before it gets washed away by the inevitable erosion of Lake Erie herself.  I’m not going to go into great detail about the content of the book because I feel that my synopsis cannot do it justice.  I like most of the likely readers already knew part of the story but I did feel when I was reading it that I was an NBA insider there for a little bit.  I remember things going down in the media and the book helped give a back story to what was going on behind the scenes that an average outsider didn’t know.

                   If you are a fan of Cleveland sports; read this book! If you are a fan of any teams who have fallen on hard times; read this book!  Hell, if you’re a fan of sports period you need to read this book!  If you think that LeBron is a saint and “The Decision” wasn’t the worst break up of all time; then don’t read this book and as a matter of fact go play in traffic somewhere!  This is one of the best books on sports I have ever read because it was real, gritty, and it showed the true colors of a lot of the athletes we put on pedestals whether they deserve it or not.  Thank you Scott Raab for helping me with this break up, you have made the fandom of the Indian’s, Brown’s, and Cavaliers proud and we are blessed to call you one of our own!    

 William Balzer