Not too long ago, I got another email contribution from a long-suffering Browns fan. Let's call him "John" since that's, er, his name. John has been a Cleveland Browns fan since he was ten years old, and spent over a decade living in our town. He remembers Cleveland fondly.
Like all of us, John has ridden the rollercoaster up and (mostly) down over the years, and at one point last year poured out his frustration with "Cleveland Browns - A Chronology of Disaster".
If you'll excuse the all-caps, you'll find underneath the tale of a Cleveland Browns fan who, like ourselves, has suffered from a lot of disappointment over the last forty years. I think he sums up the missteps and near-misses pretty well and, like most Browns fans, refuses to give up.
IT IS KNOWN BY FEW PEOPLE OUTSIDE THE NORTHEAST OHIO REGION OF THIS COUNTRY, THAT THE CLEVELAND BROWNS HAD A MARVELOUS WINNING TRADITION IN THE NFL THAT ENCOMPASSED THE PERIOD FROM 1950 THROUGH 1965. HEAD COACH AND GENERAL MANAGER PAUL BROWN HAD CONSTRUCTED A DISCIPLINED TEAM BY TAPPING THE COLLEGE DRAFT AND STRATEGICALLY TRADING FOR PLAYERS WHO KNEW HOW TO WIN AND WERE WILLING TO ADHERE TO HIS STRICT COACHING PRINCIPLES.
PLAYERS LIKE “AUTOMATIC” OTTO GRAHAM, MARION MOTLEY, DANTE LAVELLI, LOU GROZA, JIM BROWN, BOBBY MITCHELL, GARY COLLINS, FRANK RYAN, RAY RENFRO, PAUL WARFIELD, AND LEROY KELLY WERE THE MAINSTAYS OF A PROUD AND WINNING TRADITION.
IN 1961 A YOUNG TV ADVERTISING MOGUL NAMED ART MODELL BOUGHT THE BROWNS AND IN 1963 HE FIRED PAUL BROWN AND REPLACED HIM WITH BLANTON COLLIER, PAUL BROWN’S LOYAL ASSISTANT. MODELL SEEMED TO HAVE THE GOLDEN TOUCH, AS ONE YEAR LATER IN 1964, THE BROWNS WON ANOTHER NFL CHAMPIONSHIP DEFEATING JOHNNY UNITAS AND THE BALTIMORE COLTS WITH A STUNNING 27-0 VICTORY.
OMEN OF THINGS TO COME
IN 1970 THE BROWNS SHOCKED THE NFL BY TRADING PERENNIAL PRO BOWL RECEIVER PAUL WARFIELD TO THE MIAMI DOLPHINS FOR THEIR #1 DRAFT CHOICE AND FIRST PICK IN THE DRAFT. THEY SELECTED MIKE PHIPPS, AN ALL-AMERICAN QUARTERBACK FROM PURDUE. IN 1973 WARFIELD HELPED THE DOLPHINS TO A SUPER BOWL WIN AND THE ONLY UNDEFEATED SEASON IN HISTORY OF THE NFL. THE BROWNS BECAME A MEDIOCRE TEAM FOR MOST OF THE 1970s, WAITING FOR MIKE PHIPPS TO DEVELOP INTO A TERRY BRADSHAW, KEN STABLER, DAN PASTORINI, BOB GRIESE, ROGER STAUBAUCH OR DAN FOUTS. HE NEVER CAME CLOSE. THE BROWNS FINALLY CUT THEIR LOSSES (THE DAMAGE HAD ALREADY BEEN DONE) AND RELEASED PHIPPS IN 1976.
FALSE HOPE
A RAY OF HOPE APPEARED IN 1979 AND1980 IN THE FORM OF THE KARDIAC KIDS, AN EXCITING BUNCH OF OVERACHIEVERS LED BY BRIAN SIPE, OZZIE NEWSOME, GREG AND MIKE PRUITT,AND DAVE LOGAN. SIPE, WHO WAS PHIPPS’ UNDERSTUDY FOR THREE YEARS, WAS THE LEAGUE MVP IN 1980 AND PASSED FOR NEARLY 12,000 YARDS OVER THREE SEASONS. THE BROWNS ADVANCED TO THE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME IN JANUARY 1981 AND LOST TO OAKLAND ON A SIPE INTERCEPTION IN THE END ZONE WITH 14 SECONDS LEFT IN THE GAME . THE PLAY, KNOWN FOREVER AS “RED RIGHT 88,” WAS A RUNNING PLAY INTENDED TO SET UP THE POTENTIAL GAME-WINNING FIELD GOAL. SIPE AUDIBLIZED AND CHANGED THE PLAY AT THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE. THE RAIDERS WON 14-12 AND WENT ON TO WIN THE SUPER BOWL.
ANOTHER CHANCE
IN 1986 UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF BERNIE KOSAR, THE BROWNS GO 12-4 AND ADVANCE TO BEAT THE JETS IN A DOUBLE OVERTIME THRILLER IN CLEVELAND STADIUM. KOSAR THROWS FOR 487 YARDS IN A 23-20 COMEBACK VICTORY. ONE WEEK LATER THE BROWNS HAVE A 20-13 LEAD WITH UNDER TWO MINUTES REMAINING AND THE BRONCOS HAVE THE BALL ON THEIR OWN 2 YARD LINE. JOHN ELWAYS DIRECTS A 98 YARD SCORING DRIVE SENDING THE GAME INTO OVERTIME. THE BROWNS EVENTUALLY LOSE THIS AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME TO DENVER, BY THE SCORE OF 23-20. THIS DENVER RALLY IS FOREVER KNOWN AS “THE DRIVE”.
SNAKEBIT
IN 1987 THE BROWNS DEFEAT THE COLTS TO EARN A SPOT IN THE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, ONCE AGAIN FACING THE DENVER BRONCOS. DESPITE A COMEBACK EFFORT THAT SAW THEM SCORE 30 SECOND-HALF POINTS, THEY LOSE AGAIN TO THE BRONCOS, THIS TIME AT MILE HIGH STADIUM, 38-33. THE BROWNS BLOW AN OPPORTUNITY TO SCORE WITH SECONDS REMAINING AS EARNEST BYNER FUMBLES THE BALL ON THE DENVER 3 YARD LINE. THIS PLAY IN KNOWN SIMPLY AS “THE FUMBLE.”
THREE’S NOT THE CHARM
IN 1989 THE BROWNS ADVANCE TO THEIR THIRD AFC TITLE GAME IN FOUR YEARS, BEATING BUFFALO 34-30. AGAIN THEY FACE THEIR NEMESIS, THE DENVER BRONCOS AND FOR A THIRD TIME THEY LOSE 37-21.
THE NOT SO NICE NINETIES
AFTER FOUR STRAIGHT LOSING SEASONS, THE 1994 BROWNS UNDER HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK MAKE THE PLAYOFFS AND BEAT THE PATRIOTS 20-13 IN THE AFC WILD CARD GAME AT MUNICIPAL STADIUM.
THE ENTHUSIASM IS SHORT-LIVED AS THE BROWNS ARE CRUSHED BY PITTSBURGH THE FOLLOWING WEEK 29-9.
THE WORST CASE SCENARIO
THE BROWNS BEGIN THE 1995 SEASON WITH A MEDIOCRE PERFORMANCE HOVERING AROUND THE .500 MARK, WHEN BILL BELICHICK SPONTANEOUSLY RELEASES QUARTERBACK ICON BERNIE KOSAR FROM THE TEAM. KOSAR WAS THE CAPABLE BACKUP TO VINNY TESTAVERDE AT THIS POINT IN HIS CAREER, AND WAS IMMEDIATELY SIGNED BY THE DALLAS COWBOYS.(KOSAR WON A SUPER BOWL WITH DALLAS). FANS REACTED WITH DISBELIEF AND RAGE BUT THIS NEWS WAS NOTHING COMPARED TO WHAT WOULD ULTIMATELY OCCUR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 1995 SEASON. ART MODELL, UPSET WITH CLEVELAND’S CITY OFFICIALS’ PROCRASTINATION OF THE DECISION TO BUILD A NEW STADIUM, ANNOUNCED THAT HE WOULD RELOCATE THE TEAM TO BALTIMORE AT THE END OF THE SEASON. AFTER 46 SEASONS, CLEVELAND WOULD BE WITHOUT AN NFL FRANCHISE.
KEEPING HOPE ALIVE
IN 1996, IN AN ACTION UNPRECEDENTED IN ANY SPORT, THE CITY OF CLEVELAND AND THE NFL SECURED A DEAL TO RETURN THE CLEVELAND BROWNS TO THE PLAYING FIELD IN 1999. THE DEAL STIPULATED THAT THE NAME, COLORS AND HERITAGE OF THE CLEVELAND BROWNS REMAIN IN CLEVELAND.
THE NEW BROWNS ERA
THE NEW BROWNS ERA, WHICH BEGAN IN 1999, HAS CONTINUED WITH DISAPPOINTMENT AND FRUSTRATION THAT HAS PLAGUED THE FRANCHISE FOR OVER THREE DECADES. HIGH DRAFT CHOICE OPPORTUNITIES HAVE LED TO POOR DRAFT DAY DECISIONS SINCE 1999. FIRST ROUND PICKS SUCH AS TIM COUCH, COURTNEY BROWN, GERARD WARREN, AND WILLIAM GREEN HAVE ALL UNDERPERFORMED AND THE RESULT HAS BEEN A STRING OF LOSING SEASONS. THEIR LONE PLAYOFF APPEARANCE IN 2003 RESULTED IN ANOTHER HEART-BREAKING LOSS TO THE STEELERS, WHEN PITTSBURGH’S COME-FROM BEHIND VICTORY OVERSHADOWED A CAREER-DAY BY CLEVELAND QUARTERBACK KELLY HOLCOMB.
SUMMARY
DESPITE ALL THE BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT, THERE IS NO OTHER TEAM IN ANY SPORT THAT HAS A MORE LOYAL FAN BASE THAN THE CLEVELAND BROWNS. EACH SEASON THE SLATE STARTS CLEAN AND WE HAVE HOPE THAT OUR DESTINY WILL BEGIN TO CHANGE AND WE WILL RESTORE PRIDE BACK TO THIS FRANCHISE. AND IT WILL HAPPEN IN MY LIFETIME – THE BROWNS WILL WIN A SUPER BOWL …….AND I WILL LIVE TO SEE IT!