Happy Festivus! Cleveland Browns edition
If you are a fan of the sitcom Seinfeld and the Cleveland Browns, this article is just for you!
It is once again that time of the year where friends and family gather around, exchange stories, and have a meal together. Now, I’m sure you’re thinking of Christmas, and while you aren’t entirely wrong I’m referencing Festivus.
For those of you who do not know what Festivus is, let me explain it to you really quick. On the legendary sitcom Seinfeld, George Costanza’s father, Frank (played by the late Jerry Stiller, RIP) created a holiday to combat the commercialization of Christmas.
Instead of a Christmas tree, he had an aluminum pole with no decorations, known as the Festivus Pole. There was also the airing of grievances, Festivus miracles, and the feats of strength.
For this article, I will add the Cleveland Browns to all of the festivities of Festivus. Before I get into that, if you want to check out the show, the episode is called “The Strike” and is featured in season nine, episode 10. The show is available on Netflix.
Browns fans, players, and coaches are all invited to Festivus Dinner!
Airing of Grievances
“I got a lot of problems with you people!” – Frank Costanza
The biggest grievance I have with this team stems from the coaching staff and how conservative it can be with play calling.
Whether it’s head coach Kevin Stefanski or Mike Priefer, who has filled in as the head coach when Stefanski was sidelined with COVID-19, this staff often times coaches to not lose, rather than to win.
The most recent case of this came this past Monday when the Browns were in a position to take over first place in the AFC North. With the game seemingly in hand after Greedy Williams picked off Derek Carr with under three minutes left, Priefer went conservative.
After two straight Nick Chubb runs totaling seven yards, Las Vegas called their final timeout. A first down would have iced the game and we’d all be a lot happier. However, Priefer elected to run Chubb a third time, something the Raiders knew was coming. This would have been a perfect time to run a play-action bootleg and find an open receiver just across the sticks.
The Cleveland staff has done this often this year. There have been six games this year that the Browns have lost when they should have been able to put the game away. Too many times that has happened for a 7-7 team fighting to make the playoffs.
Next on the grievance list is Browns Twitter. If you are on there, you’ll know exactly what I am referring to. There are some pretty toxic people in that online community. There are some people who actively root for quarterback Baker Mayfield to fail so they can say “I told you so!” in terms of whether or not he is the franchise quarterback.
There has been a lot of criticism, and some of it is absolutely warranted, but other times it’s not. Nothing matters more in the NFL than winning football games, so however that happens, whether it’s from a total team effort or the defense picks up the offense and vice versa, there is always nitpicking.
One last thing about Browns Twitter, you can be critical of players and still be a fan. That is a huge part of being a fan!