Slight coincidence there.
"So, Jeff," you might be wondering, "how the heck did you get the gig for Senior Browns Columnist?" Well, it's an easier answer knowing that MTAF:C is more of an opinions site than a news site, and frankly that runs right up my alley.
Just ask my wife. She'll tell you about my opinionations!
Anyway, I'm going to share the writing sample I had to submit to get me in the door. It describes why we are (or maybe more specifically, why I am) a Browns fan. Maybe that'll answer some questions. :)
So... The Browns.
Yeah, we know they're mired in probably one of the most
miserable and inept periods that a professional sports team could be locked in.
Our head coach of one year was canned within hours of the last game of the
season, and the search continues with seemingly no end. We've been looking at a
possible hemorrhaging of other coaching talent if the interviewing process is
any indication. We just had a wide receiver arrested in Miami. Needless to say
this postseason hasn't gone too well.
Oh, should we mention our owner being under Federal
investigation, having no answers at quarterback for yet another offseason,
having questions with outgoing free agents, who can we sign, who can we
draft... Heck, how are we going to even DECIDE all that with a coaching staff
that's going to be basically built from scratch?
Should I go on?
With all this uncertainty, head-scratching, and (let's be
frank here) seeming utter buffoonery, you would probably ask, “What's the
point? Why don't I just go cheer for another team, a GOOD team?” Oh, trust me.
I say the same thing; my wife's a Green Bay fan, and it's nice to see them
(usually) win. But I always gravitate back to the Browns, much to my wife's
chagrin.
So why do we follow the orange and brown, given their unerring
ability to make us shake our heads, reach for the antacids, cry, or get us into
screaming fits that would make Michael Myers actually pause?
The Browns ARE Cleveland, or at least an emotional microcosm
thereof.
This team is as much of the fabric of this city as rock 'n
roll. When they left to become the Ratbi... Err... The Ravens, the city
suffered a blow like the shuttering of the steel industry. Every loss to a
rival is like the Cuyahoga caught fire again.
And you might be saying, “Well no ****, Jeff... But I'm
tired of big steel going away and the river burning week after week, season
after season. So what's my motivation for keeping on with this lot?” And my
answer right at this moment would be an honest one.
“Right now, not much.”
What I CAN tell you, however, is that this city has fight,
tenacity, grit, and heart. This is a blue collar city, and it's showed in our
sports teams, though like any blue collar job the final results took a long
time to manifest. But think about this:
The Indians, a team that was such a laughing stock for years
that Charlie Sheen was our best pitcher, has been in the playoffs 7 times in
the last 18 seasons. This after a 41 year drought.
The Cavaliers, a notoriously up and down team, has had the
same playoffs 'success' in the same timeframe.
The Lake Erie Monsters, though they've not been around long,
were preceded by the Cleveland Barons and the Cleveland Lumberjacks. The
Monsters and Barons only had one playoff appearance each in their respective
'lives' (so far for the Monsters), but the Lumberjacks were near perennial
playoff contenders. The total in 18 seasons? 8 playoff trips.
As hard as it might be to see (for Browns fans), there is
indeed a pattern of winning here. While it's true that the Browns haven't caught
this flame, it took all those other teams previously mentioned time and some
luck to get there. The Indians... Again, it was 41 years since their last
playoff stint. It took a strike-shortened season, a new stadium, reinvigorated
fan base, and a cadre of plucky players to pull it off. The Cavs... After the
mid-90's successes with a blue-collar team that “worked real hard”, it took a
single local 'Superman' to bounce us back into relevance. The Monsters... They
might not have the pedigree (or the pure unadulterated good fortune) as their
Lumberjack predecessors, but the winning history is there.
These new Browns may have the old name, the old history, but
they're a new team. They might not be shaking off “The Drive”, “The Fumble”,
and “Red Right 88” from their psyche, but they ARE trying to shake off a lot of
bad taste from “The Move”, because this particular team really doesn't HAVE a
history of their own.
We ARE an expansion team. And as such, we're no going to see
much success until there's a solid foundation in place. Yes, even 15 years
later. They're coming into their own, but in pieces. We saw a flash from Hoyer
here, flashes from Gordon and Cameron there. Whether or not we need a few good
pieces more, or one excellent piece, is not for me to decide, though I have
some opinion.
Jimmy Haslam, an embattled and beleaguered owner, has
preached patience. And yes, our patience has worn thin. But we have the chance
now to effect change. We have more venues and platforms to speak up and speak
out now than we ever did when our team was taken. The likelihood of the front
office listening to us is slim to none, but if Haslam felt the need to send a
letter to the fans... We have to be doing something right.
We ARE the Browns in this day and age as much as anyone on
staff is, and we need to make our voices heard. If we want a good team, one we
can cheer for and be proud of, we have to set the tone. If we sit on our hands,
the front office has no idea which direction to go. They NEED us.
So, what's your motivation to keep on with this lot? Our
voices can move mountains and make monument to our greatness.
Commentary welcome, of course!
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