For athletes and fans alike, sports are all about that one crowning moment. It’s that one moment that, no matter how much heartbreak has occurred along the way, makes it all worthwhile.

Few communities know that better than Cleveland. Northeast Ohio is home to three professional sports franchises in the Cavaliers, Browns and Indians. Each team fallen short time and again.

“The Drive” saw legendary Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway lead a 98-yard, game-tying drive to force overtime in the 1987 AFC Championship game. The Broncos ended up winning the game, depriving the Browns of a trip to the Super Bowl.

“The Shot” saw another legend in Michael Jordan pull the rug out from beneath another Cleveland team. After Craig Ehlo gave the Cavaliers a lead with just three seconds to play, Jordan jumped over Ehlo to knock down the game-winning basket.

Then there are the Indians, which seem to be cursed enough to cover all three of the city’s organizations. They made the 1995 World Series only to lose to the Atlanta Braves in six games. Cleveland returned two years later and had the title within reach. Jose Mesa botched the save in the bottom of the ninth against the Florida Marlins in what has survived for nearly two decades as one of the most demoralizing moments in all of sports.

All these unfortunate events were recently chronicled in ESPN’s 30 for 30 special “Believeland.” Mere hours after the documentary aired, Stipe Miocic, fighting out of the Cleveland suburb of Euclid, won the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 198. The Lake Erie Monsters, the area’s American Hockey League team, won the Calder Cup on June 11.

While Miocic and the Monsters brought titles to northeast Ohio, all eyes were on Lebron James and the Cavaliers. Cleveland had assembled an all-star cast around a superstar in James, but the team once again ran into an all-time great squad in Golden State. The Warriors took a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals, poised to add on to the devastating championship history in Cleveland.

But this time was different. Facing elimination, James went on a historic tear in the fifth and sixth games of the series to force a decisive Game 7 in Oakland on Sunday. James posted a triple-double in Game 7 to help lead the Cavaliers to Cleveland’s first championship in 52 years.

With 53 second left in a tie game, Kyrie Irving hoisted up a 3-pointer over Stephen Curry to give the Cavaliers the lead. Cleveland fans were cautiously excited as they had been in this same hopeful scenario so many times before.

This time was different. There was no catastrophic meltdown this time. In fact, it was the opposite. The Cavaliers accomplished something no other NBA team had ever done by coming back from a 3-1 series deficit to win the championship.

No city was more overdue for such a moment. Some Cleveland fans had been waiting a lifetime to see what they saw on Sunday. The highlight of Irving’s final-minute dagger almost single-handedly makes up for “The Drive,” “The Shot,” and Mesa’s collapse.

The highs and lows experienced both playing and following sports it the biggest allure. Some of Washington’s teams know this all too well, also. The football team just barely came up short in the 2014 state championship, losing 14-13 to East Lincoln. The soccer team, too, fell short last fall in a 3-0 loss to Salisbury. Southside recently fell short of that defining moment, too, when the Seahawks lost in the regional championship against Plymouth.

It’s devastating for the athletes and the fans that are so emotionally invested in their teams. The lows are low, but there’s no sweeter feeling than finally ascending to the top of the proverbial mountain.

And that’s why we play and why we watch. Cleveland has taught us that 52 years of turmoil may be tough to endure, but that one shining moment makes it all worth it.