BRECKSVILLE, Ohio -- Growing up as a kid in Gary, Indiana -- a blue-collar city that’s been historically dominated by major industrial activity, complete with the largest steel mill complex in North America -- Cavs point guard Darius Garland always dreamed about one day becoming an NBA star and having his face on something.
A box of cereal. A bottle of soda. Candy. Popcorn. Perhaps even a sandwich.
Garland doesn’t have to dream about it anymore.
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With his signature line of potato chips -- “Darius’ Crunchland Chips” -- getting released a few months ago, Garland spent part of his Saturday at a nearby Heinen’s to promote the tasty snack that’s available in sea salt, barbecue and salt and vinegar, and exclusively sold and Heinen’s locations in Greater Cleveland. The chips are also available online through his partnership with PLB Sports & Entertainment – a company that has created numerous other food products for athletes and entertainers.
“I’m a snack person. I’m always going to snack on something,” Garland said to a small group of reporters, including cleveland.com, on Saturday. “I eat chips almost every day. They have always been my favorite snack, so I was really excited when I was offered the opportunity to have my own line of chips. Then I got to pick my flavors of choice, so it was super cool. My favorite is barbecue. Salt and vinegar and sea salt are definitely the 1B and 1C. Always dreamed about this as a kid to have my face on anything. Super cool to have my face on a bag of chips.”
The bubbly Garland joked about teammates giving him a hard time because his smiling mug is now on a bag of chips -- even though they snack on them at the practice facility, in the locker room, on the plane or at home. Shortly after the chip release, Garland sent multiple bags to teammates. He said Lamar Stevens, Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley are the most frequent munchers.
“They’re always laughing. They always say it looks like me and the bag is super cool. Most importantly, they say they like them,” Garland said. “I think it’s been good feedback most of the time. So, I’m fine with it.”
As part of Darius Garland's appearance at Heinen's on Saturday, he bagged groceries for the first time.
During Garland’s near-one-hour visit to Heinen’s in Brecksville, he walked the aisles with a shopping cart, gave out free bags of chips, signed autographs and bagged groceries for the first time ever while interacting and posing for photos with adoring fans.
Some of the Cavs faithful showed up in Garland jerseys and wished him luck in the playoffs -- although Cleveland hasn’t yet officially secured a spot.
Saturday was just another way for Garland to continue building his connection with the city that he has called home the last four years.
Cavs guard Darius Garland posed for photos during his appearance at Heinen's on Saturday.
“Being able to put a smile on people’s faces is always a big thing for me,” he said. “I love to smile. You see me smile every day. Just trying to brighten everybody’s day. Even today, walking around with a cart and chips, just trying to put a smile on people’s faces. I try to be a good person at all times. Just be me, most importantly. I don’t want to be anyone else. I want to be the best version of myself. That’s what I try to do every day.”
Garland’s appearance ended around 5 p.m. -- plenty of time for him to get home, grab some dinner, relax and watch the Brooklyn-Miami matchup with a bag of chips in hand. That game has mammoth stakes for the Cavs. If Brooklyn loses, Cleveland will clinch a playoff berth for the first time without LeBron James since 1998 -- when Garland was just two years old.
“No watch party,” he said. “I know the group chat is going to be buzzing. My phone is going to be buzzing all night tonight. Can’t wait.”
Garland was drafted one year after LeBron joined the Los Angeles Lakers -- a free agency decision that changed the course of both franchises and sent Cleveland into another lengthy rebuild. The fifth pick in 2019, Garland was viewed as one of the cornerstone pieces expected to lead the turnaround. It’s a responsibility he doesn’t take lightly.
“My face is almost everywhere around this city, so just try to keep a good image, try to keep a smile on my face, try to talk to and take as many pictures as I can with fans. Just to show I’m here. I’m with them,” Garland said. “I’m a regular human. I wake up every morning and put the same socks on. This just reminds me of home. It’s a blue-collar city. I’m from a blue-collar city. It’s cool to have those similarities and everybody welcomed me in. On the basketball court, it wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be right away. I got a couple backlashes from that. But after that, everybody just kind of welcomed me in with open arms and that’s when I really started calling it home. Everything felt comfortable. My family felt comfortable. I felt comfortable. That’s when the real love started to begin.”
Garland’s gotten through the toughest part. Cleveland’s rebuild is over. The magic number is one. It’s all smiles now. Garland -- and this fan base -- is ready for a playoff run.
“It’s a long time,” Garland said. “I know everybody is super excited and super happy. The city has been waiting on it. It’s good to bring it back in a whole new revamped way without LeBron’s name on it.”
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Cavs’ Darius Garland continues building connection with city in Heinen’s visit to promote ‘Crunchland Chips’ - cleveland.com
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