Thursday, June 2, 2011

Cavs/Mavs T-Shirt Scores With Local Fans

George and Greg Vlosich have Clevelanders' backs. The designers of the Cleve Land That I Love and Lyin' King shirts, which expressed our vitriol at LeBron James, have come up with a new design for the NBA Finals. As the Dallas Mavericks face off against the Miami Heat, the Vlosiches have superimposed a cowboy hat and the Dallas Mavericks' "M" over a Cavs logo to create a Let's Go Mavs T-shirt.

In anticipation of Game 2 tonight, we spoke with Greg Vlosich, co-owner of GV Art & Design, about the company, the T-shirt and Dallas' chances of winning their first ring before LeBron does.

CM: What do you think LeBron [James] would think or say if he saw the Let's Go Mavs T-shirt?
GV:
I think he’d get a kick out of it. Hopefully, he realizes you have to have a sense of humor about it. ... I think [the Miami Heat] know they’ve been the enemy the whole year.

CM: Have you sold many of the Let's Go Mavs T-shirts?
GV: Yes, the response has been really good. We wanted to do something that Cleveland could really rally around, and we wanted to do something because we didn’t have a whole lot to cheer for in the playoffs this year. So far it’s done really well, and everybody has really embraced it. It’s kind of funny, too, because it was in the Dallas Morning Journal today [as well as on] ESPN, ESPN's blog and CNN. Also, the woman on ESPN's SportsNation is going to be wearing it today. So it’s cool that it’s kind of putting Cleveland back in the spotlight when they’re not even in it. It’s bringing a lot of positive attention to Cleveland.

CM: What kind of feeling do you hope to promote among Cleveland fans?
GV:
We started the Cleve Land That I Love T-shirt about a year and a half ago, and we wanted something that Clevelanders could wear and be proud of it. ... We’re getting pictures of people wearing [our apparel] [in places such as] the Great Wall of China and Australia. It shows that there are other people out there who are proud of Cleveland like we are, who don’t hate it.

CM: What else does GV Art & Design sell?
GV:
[My brother George] does Etch A Sketch artwork, and we have sports art too. I’ve done a couple of pieces for some of the Browns players.

CM: Do you think the Mavs will win the Finals, and if so, how certain are you?
GV:
[Laughs] I’m not extremely certain. If I had to bet my life on it, I don't know if I’d do it. I think Dallas has a shot. My only fear is that they’ve been hot during all the playoffs, so I figured they’d hit a cold streak at some point. But I’m hoping they don’t hit the cold streak now.

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