Grandmothers Fan Club cooks up tribute to LeBron
By Jewell Cardwell
Beacon Journal columnist
POSTED: 01:20 p.m. EDT, Apr 30, 2010
Soup’s on.
Well, not so much these days!
Rather, members of the enormously popular LeBron James Grandmothers Fan Club respond much better to ”Game On!”
Seldom do they have time for home cooking anymore, as their plates are full cheering Akron’s homegrown superstar and the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA playoffs.
Individually and collectively, the grandmothers — who number 212 and range in age from mid-40s to late 90s — have reserved seats in front of the TV sets at their game-watching haunt, the newly named Sweet 23 restaurant (in honor of LeBron). The former Riverside is at 610 E. Cuyahoga Falls Ave., Akron. When resources allow, the grandmothers go to Quicken Loans Arena.
They keep late hours and burn up the phone lines, staying in touch with each other, talking about game stats. Make no mistake about it, these grannies score an understanding of the game and the terms associated with it — inside the paint, slam dunk, air ball, reach-in foul, pick-and-roll — on par with their male counterparts.
Since producing the just-released LeBron James Grandmothers Fan Club Cook Book, these die-hard fans are finding themselves doing more home cooking than usual. Just not on game night.
Oh, the temptation is there for this fun bunch to throw flour in the air when they do get together in the kitchen, like No. 23 tosses resin powder before each game, said club founder and President Alder Chapman. But the thought of cleaning up the mess cancels that action for the most part.
The cookbook, coordinated and designed by member Patricia Idley of Akron, is a compilation of favorite recipes supplied by the grandmothers. The dishes also pay homage to LeBron and the other players.
It’s divided into five categories — appetizers, soups/salads, pies/cakes/desserts, breads/cookies and main dishes/casseroles — but that doesn’t even begin to tell the story of the diverse mix of vittles inside.
On the menu
Here are a few of the recipe titles sure to whet your curiosity and your appetite:
• The Chosen One Smothered Chicken, Shaqtus Apple Pie, Green’s Perfect Two-Crust Pie Crust, and In the Paint Brownies — Idley.
• Jawad’s Peach Cobbler, Andy’s ”Wild Thing” Jumalia (that’s jambalaya with a twist) and King James Fried Pies — Chapman.
• Mo’s Breakfast Brunch Cobbler — Beverly Lee of Uniontown.
• Delonte’s Creamy Macaroni & Cheese — Betty Harris of Akron.
• Z’s Cheesy Spinach Burger — Charlotte Buzzelli of Akron.
• Jamison’s Corn Casserole — former Akron Deputy Mayor Dorothy Jackson.
• Jamario’s Black-Eyed Pea Casserole — Honey Bell of Akron.
• Technical Foul Seafood Salad — Annette Hammonds of Akron.
• LeBron’s the King Orange Punch — Donna Grimes of Copley.
• Triple Double Chitterlings — Magnolia Davis of Akron.
• Pick & Roll Heavenly White Cake — Ann Shaheen of Akron.
Chapman is buoyed by the club’s renown and how it’s grown since its 2007 inception — from 20 members to over 200 from as far away as Canton, Cleveland and Columbus — and its racial, religious and socioeconomic diversity.
Akron’s Vivian Lanier, at 97, is the oldest.
”It’s a fun group and it provides good therapy for all of us,” Chapman said.
Team comes first
A more enthusiastic and focused group you’ll never meet.
In fact, if the Cavs are playing on Mother’s Day, don’t look for these grannies to be front and center at any brunch, unless there’s a TV set nearby.
Surprisingly, the grannies in the group who are married prefer not to watch the game with their spouses. ”I’m too loud,” Idley declared.
”As for me, I like my private moments with LeBron,” Ruth Wine — a vegetarian who is the club’s poet — teased.
”We’re very excited about the playoffs,” Chapman said. ”We know we’re going to win, and that LeBron is going to stay with the team! Yeah!”
In other words, the LeBron James Grandmothers Fan Club believes strongly in the song that went to No. 1 on the Billboard charts in 1963 — Our Day Will Come.
The lead singer of the ’60s R&B group Ruby and the Romantics, which performed the song, is none other than fan club member and Akron resident Ruby Nash Garnett.
Like the others, Garnett is happy to sing the praises of Akron’s No. 23 on the court and through the cookbook.
The LeBron James Grandmothers Cook Book is on sale in time for Mother’s Day for $15, and the Granny’s Got a Brand New Bag tote is $12. For information, please call Alder Chapman at 330-329-8364 or 330-784-2544; Kattrice McGinnis, 940-224-0775; Patricia Idley, 330-867-8525; or Ruth Wine, 330-714-8883.
Proceeds go to the grandmothers’ projects, like Mentoring Mothers and an outreach for senior citizens who like line dancing.
By the way, these grannies have their own wardrobe of T-shirts honoring their adopted grandson (many of them provided by Nike) and their own license-plate frames.
They also have a cheer:
Grannies Rise Up.Grannies Rise Up.Grannies Rise Up for LBJ!
A few friends from New York have already asked me what the tone is in northeast Ohio, now that our best shot in the last 13 years to win a title has been crushed. My answer: somber, very somber. As fans of Cleveland sports teams, we are used to disappointment, but this might not be our only heartbreak of the year. Now, with no ring, and a contract that is up, will our beloved LeBron leave us? And for us, what are we going to do with all of these Cavs/LeBron shirts???
Tuesday night’s Game 5 was really, really depressing. I logged onto Facebook and everyone’s posts were of heartbreak, disappointment, and anger with the way the Cavs played. For LeBron to not score in the first half??? I would take a percentage of a fraction of what he was paid for that game & give the Cavs the same results. This isn’t the Browns- we’re supposed to look like we have a chance with the Cavs. If the Cavs lose Game 6, the future of sports in NEO looks very, very bleak. If he can’t win with the Cavs, is he off to New York? All of my friends in New York are waiting for LeBron with open arms. We need this win (and a few others till we’re the champs) to further convince LeBron that Cleveland/Akron/Ohio is the place to be. New York is great, but the Knicks suck- plus LeBron wouldn’t look right with a Patrick Ewing mustache. New York, you have the Yankees, great food, shopping, sites…let us keep LeBron.