Mike “Super pimp” Toth understands the gravity of the situation. With 50,000 people flocking to Cleveland this month, showing them a good time is akin to a sports championship for the city. So be Joe Haden instead of Johnny Manziel, says the pink-suited Cleveland nightlife regular. The first thing out of your mouth no matter the situation should be “Welcome to Cleveland.” “You are putting them at ease,” Toth says. “They immediately have an impression about what our city is all about.” Here are a few more tips about how not to be a jackass in almost any situation.
If there are cameras around: The media will be here, y’all. Like, all of them. And they will be doing more live shots than all the NBA Finals games combined. So when you’re inevitably in the background on live TV, act like you’ve been there before, says WKYC anchor Russ Mitchell. “Be classy about it,” he says. “Jumping up and down behind live shots — you look dumb, everybody looks dumb.”
If someone brings up our sports woes: With visitors arriving from San Francisco to Boston to Guam, you will run into someone whose baseball, basketball, football, soccer, cricket and water polo team has beaten a Cleveland club. Fresh Brewed Tees owner and sports fan Tony Madalone says to avoid the trash talk. “You can’t say anything that’s going to give us a championship,” he says.
If someone bashes Cleveland on Twitter: Bet the bank that there will be some Twitter and blog hate for our dear city, ranging from bad customer service to more than a couple snaps of the Cuyahoga River with 30 fire emojis as a caption. “Don’t take that too personally,” says Andrew Rafferty, NBC News political reporter and Northeast Ohio native. “It was going to happen no matter where this convention’s happening. Not everyone has to respond to every snarky comment.”
If you see a famous person: Resist the urge to ask them for a selfie. This week isn’t about you, it’s about Cleveland. If Katie Couric and Matt Lauer are sitting next to you at Nano Brew looking befuddled at the beer list, Madalone suggests buying them your favorite beer and recommending Mitchell’s Homemade Ice Cream next door. “They’re no different than Joe Schmoe waiting for the bus,” he says. “They still like beer and they still like ice cream. Show them how cool your city is by actually showing them.”
If you want to talk politics: Before you get all preachy, think about your audience, says Mitchell. If it’s someone like Chris Matthews from MSNBC, a healthy policy discussion is fair game as long as you keep it respectful. Otherwise it may be best to check your beliefs at the door when encountering a politician or media personality. “Acknowledge their work and say, ‘Hey, I’m a fan of yours,’ ” Mitchell says. And absolutely do not launch into a diatribe about the evil media. “It’s just not cool,” Mitchell says. “These people are here to do a job.”