Contending Cleveland Browns surprised to be booed by home fans

Why are Cleveland Browns fans booing a playoff contender and cheering for the Baltimore Ravens?

In a weird turn of events, Cleveland Browns fans -or people with tickets who we think ostensbly root for the Browns -were booing the home team and especially quarterback Baker Mayfield and cheering for the Baltimore Ravens. This is totally crazy but it’s pro sports.

Jedrick Wills got mad and suggested on social media that he might like to go to a grocery store and boo grocery store baggers. Well, you go ahead and do that, Jed, but just remember that one of those grocery store baggers made the Hall of Fame.

You can watch the movie about him on Christmas. Kurt Warner was pretty much okay with getting booed. It stuck with me all these years that, early on in Warner’s career, a reporter invited him to complain about how unfair it was to get blamed for everything that goes wrong, and he just shrugged, and smiled and replied, “oh, it’s always my fault. I’m the leader of the offense.”

It was very succinct, coming from a very hungry ballplayer who was literally bagging groceries earlier in his career. It was a price he was all too willing to pay to be a Pro Football player. Jed should pay it too, rather than booing the grocery bagger.

Gotta go see that movie, but no, we ain’t installing the Mike Martz Run ‘N Shoot offense (Chuck ‘N Duck) in Cleveland, so forget all about that. Just enjoy the movie.

You get booed in Pro Sports. Heck, Philadelphia Eagles fans are totally famous for epically booing Santa Claus back in the day. In fact, it was worse than that, as they awesomely bombarded him with snowballs, beer, hoagy sandwiches, and anything that could be thrown at him.

The Eagles were terrible back then and the fans were just really mad. It’s totally true, and, as Casey Stengel used to say, you can look it up.

This doesn’t mean that fans acted wisely, far from it. But if they boo Santa Claus, they are going to boo Jed Wills. If they booed Kurt Warner – if Jed WIlls wants to boo grocery baggers – they will boo Baker Mayfield. Of course, it’s nonsensical to boo, but it will happen.

We all get booed. Look at the comments section of the articles in Dawg Pound Daily. Every time DPD publishes articles defending Jed Wills and Baker Mayfield for playing hurt, we get booed. Outside of sports, if you’re a Democrat, Republicans boo you. If you’re a Republican, Democrats boo you. If you’re apolitical, both sides boo you. Everyone gets booed.

But let’s put things into perspective, shall we? In 58 Mayfield appearances since 2018, the Browns are 30-28. In the previous 58 games, the Browns went 6-50-1. Let’s see, which is better? 29-28 or 6-50-1? Gee that’s such a tough question.

Most Browns fans get it, but a loud minority of fans are utterly perplexed by this. Perhaps they didn’t do well in math class, but for whatever reason, they actually cannot distinguish any difference between 7-50-1 and 30-28. However, take it from a former math instructor that 30-28 is indeed better than 7-50-1, and there is no long-term answer on the Browns roster better than 30-28.

Case Keenum is 28-35-0, by the way, which is very good for a backup quarterback, but he’s older, slower, and smaller than Mayfield and it just doesn’t make any sense to think he should become the No. 1 guy for the long term.

Many fans are legitimately worried about Mayfield’s health, not to mention his performance, and believe Keenum needs to start in his place until such time as Mayfield gets that torn labrum repaired in his left shoulder and can throw without that restrictive brace.

Maybe that’s why they want to boo. Or maybe there are some fans who are brainwashed by Sashi Brown and want the Browns to lose more games to get good draft picks. Or maybe some fans had the Browns and three points versus the Ravens and they were losing money on the game even though the Browns were winning on the scoreboard.  Who knows?

Regardless, is it okay to boo the Browns while the team is winning the game and in contention? Longtime Cleveland fan Dennis Dice from Xenia, Ohio, isn’t buying it. “This is tough. I’ve known the feeling. I’ve experienced it on both ends. As a baseball player and a fan. I just think Sunday it wasn’t warranted. We won!”

A different viewpoint was expressed by Robert Baker from Gibsonburg, Ohio. “Don’t suck and you won’t get the boos! Look, that was embarrassing and sad.”

Watching from Beavercreek Browns Backers, fans were not exactly booing the TV, but there were some angry fans at the end of the game. That includes some rather knowledgeable fans. The team’s offense should never have taken their foot off the accelerator.

Also, many fans were upset at the coverage by the Joe Woods-led defense, though truthfully the Ravens have some awfully good receivers. The eyeball test says that backup quarterback, Tyler Hundley, looks like a sensational find. Why do the Ravens get guys like this? The rest of the NFL may have ignored him because, once again, they dislike quarterbacks who can run.

By the way, why don’t the Browns have a young developmental quarterback on the roster at all times? Are we still of the mindset that this would be a threat to the No. 1 quarterback, or what? Why do the Ravens play so well with so many star players missing?

What’s really bad is the anti-Mayfield crowd making noise when the Browns are trying to convert on third down. That has happened a few times this season. Booing may be insane, but the fans have a right to be insane.

However, a line should be drawn when the “12th man” actively campaigns to make the team lose. There’s no problem with a fan of the opposition who buys a ticket through legal means and is a guest of FirstEnergy Stadium and rooting against our team.

But don’t say that you are a Browns fan if you are trying to interfere with the Cleveland offensive signals being called, especially on third down. That is a bush league, loser mentality.

It doesn’t matter if the Browns have Atilla the Hun at quarterback and Tom Brady sitting on the bench. You are not a Browns fan if you boo the offense while they are trying to call signals. In fact, the Browns are totally within their rights to find out who you are and where you work, and they will send Jed Wills, all six-foot-four and 307 pounds of him, to your workplace to boo you while you work. You deserve it.