A Special Comment: The State of the Cleveland Browns
Woe and 3 to start the season.
In 1995 our team was taken from us. Out of greed, our then owner moved the team to the city of Baltimore. In 1999, a substitute product was created in Cleveland. We even got to keep our team colors. That's where the similarities and differences between the old and new Browns end.
I don't even recognize the product on the field now. These are not the Browns I grew up with. And they certainly aren't the Browns that my father and grandfather knew either. The Orange and Brown used to be a proud franchise. A team who won 11 League Championships. An organization claiming some of the greatest to ever play the game in Jim Brown and Otto Graham. A team coached by the greatest the game has ever known in Paul Brown. Our old field of play (Municipal Stadium) was a place opposing teams absolutely dreaded playing. We were the home of the "Kardiac Kids." They played in a football city where fans had little else to root for and backed them 1,000%. This was a team with the greatest fans in the world. Google "Browns Backers". Our legion of fans runs across the nation. We're as die-hard as they come. Needless to say, that franchise would be embarrassed with the product on display now.
Since 1999, we've gone through 5 coaches, multiple GM's and THIRTEEN QB's. The only continuity this team has seen since '99 is owner Randy Lerner who continues to pull all of the wrong levers.
Sunday's loss, at the hands of our former club was the stake driven further into the hearts of woeful Browns fans everywhere. The reclamation project in Cleveland is apparently much greater than all of the new decision makers and coaches could've ever imagined. As Browns fans, we just want to see our old team back. We're sick of excuses. We're tire of the constant turnstile at QB and head coach. We just want to compete. We want to beat our rivals. Is that really too much to ask for?
I'm not sure what the solution is, but I will leave you with this old saying....
"The Fish rots from the head down." Ie. everything starts at the top. It's about time team owner Randy Lerner accepts responsibility and sells the team to a more competent football man. Him and his family are the one constant during the new Browns era. He clearly doesn't get it and continues to make the wrong decisions. Sell the team Randy. It's the least you can do for a fanbase so desperate for their old team back. Maybe, just maybe a more capable owner can return us to the days of old we used to be proud of. But until then, I just can't ever see winning under your rule.
