Should Jimmy Haslam have opposed Oakland’s relocation bid?

Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam voted to approve Oakland’s move to Las Vegas. While it may have made some happy if he opposed the move, it would not have mattered.

It has been more than two decades but the pain is still very real for Cleveland Browns fans of a certain age.

This week, that pain throbbed a little harder.

On Monday, NFL owners voted 31-1 to approve the Oakland Raiders proposal to move to Las Vegas. Starting in 2019 the Raiders, after 60 (almost) continuous years in Oakland, will be the latest NFL team on the move.

Seeing as how Cleveland was in a similar situation in 1995, when Art Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore, it is fair to wonder if owner Jimmy Haslam should have joined Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross in voting against the Raiders relocating. (Although Ross’ motives may have been less than honorable.)

From a winning the hearts and minds standpoint, a “no” vote from Haslam would have shown Browns fans that he feels their pain. And despite what the late David Modell believed, the pain is real.

Sure, the Browns came back, but it has never really been the same. Much of that has to do with the continual losing, but something has always felt just a bit off about the “new” Browns – almost like a picture that is just out of focus.

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It is most notable when you see highlights of Bernie Kosar hitting Webster Slaughter with a deep pass, Gerald McNeil or Eric Metcalf returning a punt, or Clay Matthews bringing down a quarterback. The teams were better, the uniforms were better, and even though Municipal Stadium was a dump, it was our dump and it was filled with positive memories.

But that doesn’t mean that Haslam was wrong – or at least no more wrong – than his other owners in approving the latest franchise relocation.

Much like it is not fair to blame executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown and head coach Hue Jackson for all the problems that have plagued this team over the years, it wasn’t Haslam’s fault that Modell was a lousy businessman.

From a practical standpoint, Haslam’s vote would have been nothing more than symbolic as the relocation still would have passed. And while symbolism is nice, the reality is that the owners are going to work together for their collective good.

It is also in their financial best interests to let teams move, as the Browns will collect somewhere near an estimated $53 million in relocation fees from the moves of the Raiders to Las Vegas, and the Rams and Charges to Los Angeles.

In the face of that kind of money, pragmatism will win out over sentimentality every time.

While it would have been nice if Haslam had thrown Browns fans a proverbial bone with a “no” vote against the Raiders, we’ve reached the point where that kind of move doesn’t carry much emotional weight.

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We’re far more concerned with the Browns actually winning games at this point than we are about Haslam making a PR move.

Because, as someone who is old enough to remember when the Browns were good, winning makes everything better.