It’s Just Too Hard to Say No Sometimes
In Cleveland, sometimes the fans just don’t know when to say no. With the Browns, ten seasons of mostly underachieving football since the 1999 return has been met largely with no less enthusiasm in the fan base. Coming off one of their most disappointing campaigns yet, the Browns opened training camp last weekend and were greeted by a fan who was so excited he decided to camp out in anticipation. When the gates opened the next morning, many more people poured through to take in the first official practice of the 2009 edition of the Cleveland Browns. While there were not any knuckleheads chanting “Super Bowl” on the first day of camp this year, the hope and enthusiasm for the Browns was still quite palpable amongst the fans.
The love for the Browns is deep and unquestioned in this part of the state, but with all the losing, public relations nightmares, and revolving doors to the locker room, the fans have always had some sliver of hope with the Browns because they play in the NFL. The fans have seen teams go from worst to first on an annual basis, and know a winning season can sprout up out of nowhere at any given time given the right circumstances. Add to that, an ownership group which has not done anything major to alienate its fan base and you have a recipe for a team that will always maintain a loyal following. Fans have also seen this ownership go out and spend money on players that are seen to be the final piece of the contention puzzle. The willingness to try and improve is quite endearing to fans in this town (see Gilbert, Dan) and is another important factor in keeping your fans enamored.
The love for the Cleveland Indians goes farther back than the Browns as they are Cleveland’s longest running professional sports franchise. The passion of the fans may not be as great as it currently is for the Cavaliers, or as sustainable as it is for the Browns, but the fans still care. In fact, I cannot comprehend how much they still care. The moves the team has made recently have been well documented, and for the most part, not well received. Attendance has already been down throughout this season as fans seemingly responded with apathy towards a team afraid of management changes in a sport where it can sometimes make all the difference (see Rockies, Colorado). This is why I was shocked to see so many people in attendance and read the box score attendance figures which added up to over 90,000 fans this weekend. I deduced that this was a poor way to send a message to the ownership that I had been under the impression fans were none too pleased with. Apparently, the promise of a fireworks display (which could be seen for free by anyone wishing to be downtown Friday night), a bobble head doll of a player that is currently slotted into the Red Sox line-up, or the induction of fan favorite Sandy Alomar into the team’s Hall of Fame (which at this point, seeing him on the field is truly a cruel tease) were enough for the fans to forget about everything that was eating at them earlier in the week.
I could be wrong though. The fans may have just wanted to take advantage of a nice weekend. The Detroit fans certainly accounted for a few. The upcoming three game set against the Twins could draw record low numbers, although I would not count on it. The fans should know that unless they practice hard love on the Indians now, they will continue to get walked on with salary dumps and beloved player trades. At least the Browns attempt to do right by the fans, and the Cavs are the paragon of virtue in this town. Please, for the good of the team, when it comes to the Indians, just say no!
Comments
I honestly don't get your article. The Browns owner is an asshole who is more concerned about running his faggy soccer franchise in England. He gives us shit teams year in and year out and you are happy to follow them. You write:
Umm, who would that be?
The Indians, on the other hand, have easilly been the most succesfull franchise in this city for a decade and half. The just traded away over 25% of their team but don't forget that they added Carl Pavano in free agency and looked to be a contending team. They blew the team up when their plans didn't work. Their future, however, looks pretty solid and have a solid nucleolus in place.
The Browns are the team that doesn't deserve a free pass in this town and Clevelanders should be patient with the Tribe as they are looking pretty good in the not so distant future.
..."faggy soccer franchise"...
Knock it off.
You asked, "Umm, who would that be?"
Are you for real? Umm, did you forget about that building that stands right next to Progressive Field? There's a team that played there called the Cleveland Cavaliers -- there's this guy that owns the team, goes by the name DAN GILBERT. You may have heard of him...
You know, the guy who publicly stated he will spend whatever dollar amount needed to bring the city of Cleveland a championship and has paid the NBA luxury tax since becoming an owner?
He's the same guy that also spent the money to completely revamp the former Gund Arena in addition to building a state-of-the-art practice facility for the team he paid TOP DOLLAR for in the first place.
You also may recall him selling a share of the team to top-tier financial investors to give the Cavaliers and Lebron James international recognition as another move to protect his investment in hopes to keep his Cleveland team, at the very least, a contender.
Yeah, THAT guy.