As many dedicated sports fans know, the Cleveland Browns have been at the end of almost all losing sports jokes. Everything from “The Drive” to “The Fumble” to the infamous “Perfect Season Parade” (which I was in attendance for) clutters the 74 year history of the organization, which fails to include a Super Bowl trophy or a winning season since 2007.
I’m here, like many mainstream Cleveland journalists, to tell you that there is hope moving forward for this young squad led by a cocky, yet hardworking quarterback and an unproven head coach. Over winter break, my dad and I would sit and talk sports nearly every morning. We’d pick each other’s brains as we sipped our morning coffee and devoured our Belvita crackers and Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches. My father’s take on the Browns is, “Why support a team, which has lost for so long, after an almost .500 season when you can rally behind the playoff-contending Cleveland Indians and the 2016 champion Cleveland Cavaliers, both proving they can win on the biggest of stages?” I’m here to tell you not only why the Browns are going to win in the near future, but why you should support this Cleveland team moving forward.
1. John Dorsey. The Cleveland Browns and Jimmy Haslem made one of the smartest moves in hiring the ex-Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers executive John Dorsey to lead the Browns after one of the worst two-season stretches in NFL history. Dorsey comes with a pedigree of success, learning the intricacies of management from the late Ron Wolf in Green Bay and logging an impressive list of draft choices which includes rising star quarterback Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City. Dorsey is one of the best talent evaluators in the NFL and brings something that the Browns haven’t seen in a while: stability. With Dorsey leading this ship, Browns fans should be confident in a winning trend for many seasons to come.
2. Baker Mayfield. I’ll be honest. When the Browns drafted Baker Mayfield with the number one overall selection in the 2018 NFL draft, I was shook. I let the young Oklahoma quarterback’s antics overshadow his impressive college resume and hardworking attitude. Baker had a record-breaking 2018 campaign where he led the Browns to a 7-8-1 record and excited a sleeping fan base craving a winning team. As an un-recruited and walk-on college star, no one understands being an underdog more than Baker Mayfield, and he uses criticism as motivation to keep pushing himself and his teammates towards the coveted Lombardi trophy.
3. Believeland. Cleveland hasn’t had the most elegant sports past, but one thing that never changes is the support for each of the cities fan bases. Cleveland isn’t full of “73-9 bandwagon fans” or fans who only support in times of success. Cleveland is full of hardworking, gritty and loving fans who want to win more than anyone else. In my opinion, there hasn’t been a Browns team since their rededication in 1999 that mirrors the city of Cleveland more than the current overachieving Browns squad.
The excitement surrounding the 2019 NFL season is already starting to build and the most exciting team to watch as the season comes to a start might be the Cleveland Browns. With an exciting team and great leadership throughout the organization, Cleveland will definitely be feeling dangerous in 2019.
Gabe Wasylko, a Staff Writer for the Voice, can be reached for comment at GWasylko19@wooster.edu.