Cleveland’s sports teams are on a pretty nice run right now (minus the Browns, obviously), but that hasn’t spared the city from the usual jokes hurled its way.
TBS was the latest to pile on Monday after the Cleveland Indians completed their three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. While previewing the Indians’ American League Championship Series matchup with the Toronto Blue Jays, the network displayed a graphic that didn’t exactly depict Cleveland in the best light.
The picture shows TBS’ baseball analysts superimposed over an altered photo of a “burning river,” a reference to the Cuyahoga River, which famously caught fire in 1969 due to overwhelming pollution.
But Clevelanders didn’t take this pot shot lying down, especially the folks at the city’s ABC News affiliate. In fact, Cleveland’s WEWS Channel 5 devoted a whole segment to ripping TBS for the graphic, led by anchor Leon Bibb.
Bibb does his best to extinguish TBS’ hot take by explaining how fine a city Cleveland is — especially the river, which has been cleaned up since the infamous fire.
“I want you to know that that phonied up picture really rankles my nerves,” Bibb says. “We Greater Clevelanders live on two great bodies of water — the Cuyahoga and Lake Erie.”
It’s true America long has had fun at Cleveland’s expense, but if the Indians can follow in the Cavaliers’ footsteps and bring another title to Northeast Ohio, they might be able to shut up the haters once and for all.
Thumbnail photo via David Richard/USA TODAY Sports Images
