We dig into the different types of Cleveland Browns fans and how they react to the offseason. Which camp do you fall into?
Now that all the smoke and some of the cap space has cleared after the player acquisition portion of the Cleveland Browns’ offseason, it might be a decent time to size up the ever-fluctuating bucket of Browns’ offseason hope.
You know the bucket.
It’s the one Browns fans do their sincere best to fill every offseason with anything that brings their win-challenged team even the slightest bit of hope. Fistfuls of what-if’s and could-be’s get tossed into this fragile pail and the total weight of it helps determine what type of ‘offseason Browns fan’ they’ll be most comfortable being.
Here’s a brief look at some of the sweet goodies that have gone into the Browns’ hope-bucket this offseason:
- The satisfaction achieved from the excellent free agency and draft pickups made by John Dorsey’s front office;
- The buzz from powerful old and new names like Tyrod Taylor, Baker Mayfield, Jarvis Landry, David Njoku, Damarious Randall, Nick Chubb, Antonio Callaway and all the others;
- The successful game strategies, insightful play calling and player development skills that new offensive coordinator Todd Haley brings with him;
- The endless potential of Gregg Williams’ newly beefed up defense;
- The encouragement and wise advice head coach Hue Jackson can bring now that he no longer has to micromanage the offense;
- The confidence that comes from finally having a playoff-proven quarterback and a seasoned back-up with a young franchise quarterback clip-boarding in the wings;
- The fact that the Browns start out 0-0 in 2018 just like every other team;
- And so on…
Sploosh, that’s a lot of team hope right there, Browns fans.
Here comes the doubt kettle
But when we hang this Browns bucket-of-hope up on the fair scale of possibilities, its automatic counter-weight is the cask-of-all-doubts.
And the Browns’ cask-of-doubts is a doosie.
Every team has one, but Cleveland’s doubt-kettle is currently (for now) the bulkiest.
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It’s no fun to see what’s inside:
- Zero wins last season and only one the season before;
- Since 1999, the Browns have said things would be different next season every season and yet since then their record has been a dismal 88-216;
- Since 1999, the Browns have only been to one playoff game;
- Since 1999, the Browns have had a string of 24 failed quarterbacks;
- Every year the Browns draft a stellar rookie quarterback, they fail to let him develop, start him too soon and he either gets injured or loses confidence;
- The fans are so used to losing in the fourth quarter and witnessing each new head coach’s tired old bag of tricks that to believe it will be different next season is simply naive;
- The Browns 2018 schedule is tied for the fifth toughest according to CBSSports.com;
- And so on…
Geesh, this team’s got some serious baggage, Browns fans.
These two opposing forces (the bucket-of-hope and that cask-of-doubt) weigh against each other every offseason, and whichever bucket a Browns fan thinks is more substantial affects their attitude towards the next season.
And which type of offseason Browns fan they become…
PART TWO – The fan camps
For the sake of this ridiculous yet oddly philosophical argument, let’s say there are three camps of offseason Browns fans.
Camp 1 – These fans are hopeful and optimistic about the Browns chances next season.
- Why? Maybe they’re newer fans, or maybe they’re just ‘glass half full’ kinds of people, but either way, every offseason they are confident that this time the Browns will raise their sinking ship;
- They like to say, “We can do this!” even in the fourth quarter;
- They see the merit in every front office move and still believe head coach Jackson still has what it takes;
- They believe Taylor will start and Mayfield will learn all season and believe that this team could win at least six to eight games, maybe more, maybe even playoffs or Super Bowl, by Dorsey. “Can you imagine?”
Their bucket-of-hope is obviously humongous, unlike:
Camp 2 – These fans are always pessimistically realistic.
- This isn’t their first Browns’ rodeo and they’ve been burned by false optimism so many times that they’ll be Modell-ed if they’ll fall for it once again;
- They’re the first ones to point out missteps and say, “See? I told you (list too large to include) wouldn’t work!”;
- Even when good things happen for the Browns, they’ll tell you why those things aren’t as g.d. cheery as they’re being painted;
- They’re confident that the coaches will panic and bench Taylor and put Mayfield in too early and ruin him forever like they did with (list too large to include);
- They say the Browns will be lucky if they win anything over four games next season, but three or less is much more likely. Playoffs? “You’re high, dude.”
And their cask-of-doubt weighs the heaviest, unlike:
Camp 3 – These fans have no interest in taking a side this early on.
- The Browns could go either way, how would I know which?;
- Their battle cry is “Meh, let’s wait and see!”;
- They’re basically positive thinkers who can see the merit in some of the offseason moves but they’re smart and cautious enough to learn from the Brown’s questionable past;
- Taylor will probably start, but Mayfield’s a real competitor and what about (Dorsey forbid) injuries?;
- How many wins? Playoffs? “Meh – let’s wait and see.”
Somehow they balance their buckets out evenly, probably with beer.
Of course, there’s always a Camp 4.
These are bandwagoners bringing in buckets-of-leeches and alcohol. They suddenly pop along for the fun part of this Browns turnaround but will bail if the losses begin.
To these fair-weather fans,
Camp 1 fans say, “Welcome aboard, the more the merrier, Go Browns!”
Camp 2 fans say, “Not welcome here, you’re weak fans at best, Go Away! And Go Browns.”
Camp 3 fans say, “They could be all right, they could be annoying, meh – at least they brought beers.”
Browns fans, most NFL fans, measure their team’s hopes and doubts against each other every offseason, and that’s half the fun of football.
The hope feels way heavier this Browns’ offseason because (list too large to include), but the doubts are tough to ignore without wins.
And by Dorsey, the fans love it.
Next: Veterans whose roster spot is in question
American football is a tremendous sport to watch and the Cleveland Browns are an exciting (and frustrating) team to root for, no matter which camp you happen to be in.