Because they’re our Cleveland Cavaliers, we sometimes forget that the players we root for are often from thousands of miles away. Some hail from NBA cities, and when the Wine and Gold travel there, a whole new set of challenges arise.
There’s the whole ticket conundrum. There are friends and family that are eagerly awaiting the player’s arrival and the expectation that they’ll play well while on their home turf. There’s enough pressure trying to get W’s against some of the greatest athletes on the planet; then add the pressure of mom, dad, brothers, sisters, cousins (and even some friends they never knew they had) looking on.
On Friday night, Tristan Thompson returns to his hometown of Toronto as the Cavaliers look run their win streak to six. It won’t be the circus it was when he first broke into the Association, but it’s still not easy. And in our most recent installment, Tristan explains the Art of … Returning Home.
The first thing guys mention when they return to their hometown is the ticket situation …
Tristan Thompson: I kind of tightened that up. My first year – actually my first game – was definitely stressful because I wanted to make sure that everybody got a ticket. But now, the way I’m doing it, it’s like a 48-hour cutoff before I go to Toronto. (Wednesday) is the last day if anyone wants tickets. After tonight, the phone lines are closed and tickets are no longer available.
Can the whole thing become a distraction?
Thompson: It’s tough; there’s mixed emotions. Because you want to go out there and play well and whenever you go home you want to look good for the crowd and the people who watched you play growing up. But at the same time, you have to understand that you’re here to win games and you have to do what your team needs you to do to get the win.
It might be a distraction just in terms of people in the stands that come to see you play – it’s personal to you. But at the same time, it’s a little bit of nervousness because it’s your first time coming home as an NBA player. It’s totally different than college and high school.
Do you feel pressure playing in front of friends and family?
Thompson: It’s not pressure. You just want to win so bad so that you can get the last laugh against the Raptors fans. And when we go play them on Friday, it’s going to be even bigger because of social media. When we lost to the Raptors , I just remember Twitter and Instagram – everyone talking a lot of smack. So I’ll remember that and that just fuels my fire.
So when we go to Toronto, let’s make sure we get this W so we can see who has the last laugh.
When you’re not playing in Canada, does your family watch your games?
Thompson: Yeah, my mom has League Pass, so she watches all my games. She actually watches basketball as much as me! She’s always watching basketball. At home, it’s called NBATV Canada, so she watches it all the time. She watches all our games, she watches Raptors games, Heat games. She watches all the games.
Does mom offer advice?
Thompson: No, she just tells me to play hard. Growing up as a kid playing basketball, I’d always tell my mom: ‘Just be supportive and just be there for me mentally. I don’t need you to coach me; I already get coached enough.’ I don’t want to come home to a house where I’m talking about basketball all day. I’m around it all day – let’s talk about something else.
When the Cavaliers aren’t playing the Raptors, does part of you still root for them?
Thompson: Oh yeah! For what the Raptors accomplished last year, I was definitely happy for them and the city of Toronto. I think, especially with the Leafs not having the best season last year, I think it really helped sports in Toronto and Canada for people to really take in basketball.
I wish it had been the Cavaliers last spring, but for Toronto and Canada, it just helped building the sport of basketball and building the popularity of it – that’s what’s most important to me. So for the Raptors to be successful and having “Jurassic Park” down on Maple Leaf Square and see all the fans outside and 20,000 fans inside – it was pretty amazing.
Is your younger brother, Dishawn, going to follow in your footsteps south of the border? And is there any truth to the rumor that Cleveland State might be one of his choices when he decides to move to Division I?
Thompson: (Laughs) Well, right now he’s at junior college in Nebraska. I don’t know where he’s going to go. But if he picks CSU, he’ll be at my place a lot. And I’ll have to charge him for rent.