Perhaps the only thing more surprising than the Cleveland Cavaliers rallying in the NBA Finals to end the city’s title drought was the fact a 23-year-old candy bar eaten afterward “tasted a lot better” than expected.
Tim Brady, 49, of Valencia, Calif., vowed during the 2015 NBA Finals to eat a Mark Price Bar (named after Cleveland’s former All-Star guard) if the Cavaliers won the city’s first major sports championship in more than 50 years.
Brady tweeted a photo of the bar with the caption, “In my freezer for over 18 years. If @cavs win the #NBAFinals I’ll eat it.”
It was retweeted more than 1,000 times, landing Brady in numerous articles across the internet.
A 1993 Deseret News story said Mark Price Bars — promoted as “A 3-point play of caramel, pecans and chocolate” — were distributed mostly for school and community fundraising and were sold at certain Cleveland-area convenience stores.
Brady can’t remember how he got one, but it remained in his freezer until last year when he saw something on Twitter during the NBA Finals.
A woman pledged to wear a Price jersey to a game, and Brady thought he’d one up her. So he tweeted a photo of the candy bar and his declaration of eating it after the Cavaliers won a championship.
Price responded a day later, “The taste was built to last. I hope you get to eat it!”
As the Cavaliers rolled through the Eastern Conference playoffs this season, family, friends and strangers asked him about the promise.
After a 93-89 Cavaliers victory in Game 7 over Golden State on Sunday, he found his way to the dinner table Monday night.
Broadcast on Periscope and Facebook Live, he picked the Mark Price Bar up off a white plate, unwrapped it, and over the next 6½ minutes downed the bar described as “coated in a greasy sheen” by Deadspin during a 2013 taste test of decades-old athlete candy bars.
“It surprisingly tasted a lot better than I thought it was going to,” said Brady, whose video has received more than 4,000 views, including one from Price himself.
Brady has been asked repeatedly whether he feels OK after digesting the bar.
“A lifetime of eating garbage food prepared me for this moment,” he replied.
And what if the Cavaliers win the title again next season?
“I’ll just enjoy it like a normal fan hopefully,” Brady said.
Gun night at ballpark
Fans were encouraged to bring their guns to a Michigan ballpark Friday night as part of a promotional event by a collegiate summer league baseball team.
“2nd Amendment Education Night” was held at C.O. Brown Stadium in Battle Creek, Mich., where the Battle Creek Bombers hosted the Rochester (Minn.) Honkers.
Bombers General Manager Tony Lovieno told the Battle Creek Enquirer the event is a way to promote gun safety and to showcase Freedom Firearms, the area business sponsoring the event.
Lovieno told WOOD-TV of Grand Rapids, Mich., that extra security was planned. Those with guns received a wristband and were not allowed to purchase alcohol.
The Bombers, part of the Northwoods League, provided free trigger locks to fans.