The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Randall surprised by reaction to jersey tweet
Damarious Randall couldn’t believe the amount of interest in his tweet offering to buy jerseys for fans if the Cavaliers win the NBA Finals. “I didn’t think the tweet would go as viral as it did,” he said.
Damarious Randall, new on the Cleveland sports scene as a safety for the Browns but hardly a neophyte when it comes to a rabid fan base, had no idea what he was getting himself into when he tweeted the following on May 28 before the Cavaliers beat the Celtics to advance to the NBA Finals:
“If the Cleveland Cavaliers win the 2018 NBA finals I’ll buy everyone who retweet’s this a jersey.”
As of 6 p.m. May 30, Randall’s offer had been retweeted 850,000 times. At $100 a jersey, he’s looking at spending more than $80 million if the Cavaliers upset the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals that begin May 31 at Oracle Arena in Oakland and he fulfills his promise. Even if he gets them from a discount store at $20 a jersey, he would have to spend $16 million.
“I didn’t think the tweet would go as viral as it did,” Randall said on May 30 after a Browns’ spring practice in Berea. “I didn’t think it get over 100 retweets.”
Randall was acquired by the Browns in March from the Packers for quarterback DeShone Kizer. Randall played three seasons in Green Bay, so he knows what rabid fans are like.
Randall will be to rooting for the Warriors in the Finals, and he doesn’t apologize for it. He has no connection to Golden State other than being a huge Steph Curry fan. He does not know Curry personally. And now he has a staggering financial interest in the Finals.
“Since he came out of Davidson College, I’ve been a real, real big Steph Curry fan,” Randall said. “Just his passion with what he’s been through with the injuries involving his ankles, what he’s overcome and who he is today.
“I’m not anti-LeBron. I’m actually a big LeBron fan, as well, but when he’s going against Steph, I would rather Steph over LeBron. At the end of the day, they’re both great, great players. I definitely respect everything that LeBron has done for this community and for this city and state. He’s one of the greatest players to ever touch a basketball, if you ask me.”
Randall said he regrets the tweet. He hasn’t figured out how he will deliver on his promise if it comes to that. The truth is he doesn’t seem worried the Cavaliers will upset the Warriors.
Still, he is looking on the bright side of being retweeted so many times.
“I’m definitely having fun,” he said. “That just kind of goes to show that this Cleveland fan base is great. I’m actually excited about it, just to know that the fan base is like this. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like when the Browns start winning a bunch of games.”
For better or worse, Randall is on his own. Coach Tyronn Lue isn’t going to help foot the bill if the Cavaliers win and neither are teammates who spoke with the media on May 30.
“Don’t hit send,” was the after-the-fact advice of quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
“Obviously it was a joke, but just knowing how passionate this fan base is is really encouraging,” Randall said. “It got the whole world excited about it and now I’m excited about it. It’s a very good opportunity to interact with the fans.
“We’re just going to watch the series and see how everything unfolds.”