The D is Mightier: Cleveland Browns Film Room
December 11, 2014WFNY’s 12 Days of Christmas, 2014 Edition: Day Four
December 11, 2014Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year is an annual must-read. Sadly, that the national recognition rarely has anything to do with the teams or individuals whom we cover. In turn, WFNY will soon announce its choice for 2014’s Cleveland Sportsman of the Year. Here’s one of the nominations for that honor by an WFNY writer.
Let me start with an anecdote about Braylon Edwards. I am a gullible Cleveland Browns fan. Every year, the Browns draft a high profile player at the top of the first round, and I so desperately want to buy in. I want the Browns to draft a player who not only lives up to the incredible hype but also understands what it is about the Cleveland Browns that makes it special.
I wanted Braylon Edwards to be that guy. He’s a Michigan man, of course, and I am an alum of The Ohio State University. Braylon Edwards was never meant to be my guy, but that didn’t stop from being all in on him. When the Browns drafted the flashy Wide Receiver out of Michigan, I listened to his introductory press conference and I was sold. I went out and bought his jersey. I thought it was great when he would do the “O-H-I-O” motions when the Browns played “Hang On Sloopy” in the stadium. I gushed about the charities he was setting up. I thought he got it, and I wanted to be his No. 1 fan.
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But Braylon Edwards was a phony. His performance on the field began to decline, and that’s fine. I know a lot of fans root for a guy based almost entirely on their on-field performance. But not me. I can forgive a guy whose performance is lagging if he seems to be playing hard, shows that he cares, and says the right things off the field.
Maybe Browns fans were too harsh on Braylon for his struggles in games, but I don’t know about that. What I do know is that his comments about Cleveland after being traded were entirely uncalled for.
Of course, this has nothing to do with Joe Haden, really. It’s really more a story about me. Yet it’s important to provide context when I select my nomination for the 2014 Cleveland Sportsman of the Year. You see, when I watched Joe Haden’s introductory press conference, I had some of the same feelings I had when the Browns took Braylon. But this time, I didn’t want to be let down again. So I’ve always kept a bit of a safe distance from Haden. Well, I did at first, anyway. It only took me three years to buy his jersey this time around.
So when I gush about Joe Haden, I’d love to say I knew it all along. That I was right. But I was neither right nor wrong. I didn’t make a decision about Joe Haden, I’m simply a sucker for Cleveland Browns who know how to suck up to gullible fans like myself. But actions speak louder than words, and when it comes to both words and actions, is there really any other Cleveland athlete who is more “Cleveland” than Joe Haden?
Haden was born and raised in Maryland, and went to college at the University of Florida. He has no connection to Cleveland. He briefly considered Ohio State as an option for college, but beyond that, he knew nothing of Ohio prior to being drafted by the Browns. Which is part of what makes Haden’s love for Cleveland all the more impressive.
Professional athletes by nature make fans jaded. It’s hard for the hard core blue collar sports fan to relate to millionaire athletes who have spent their entire lives being “The Man” and having almost everything catered to them. But every once in a while there is an athlete who bucks the trend and makes himself relatable to every fan. Joe Haden is one such athlete.
If you were to ask me to draw up the ideal Cleveland Brown personality, I would describe Joe Haden.
Of course, that’s not to say 2014 wasn’t a good year for Haden. He began the year by being selected to his first Pro Bowl game as well as making Second Team All-Pro. Then there was the time Haden offered a Browns fan tickets and airfare to attend the Super Bowl, a gesture which the fan famously turned down so as to be able to wait for the Browns to play in the big game before attending. There was the time Haden jokingly refused to sign an autograph for a kid in a Hines Ward jersey (I mean, seriously, does Haden get us or what?). And oh yeah, he also signed a huge contract to stay in Cleveland through 2019.
But with Haden, it seems to be less about the individual moments and more about the day to day life of being a Cleveland Brown. Or, rather, perhaps it’s more about the day to day life of being a part of Cleveland society. Haden is no stranger to Cavs and Indians game. He is often seen enthusiastically cheering on the other Cleveland teams as if he was a lifelong Cleveland fan like the rest of us. Wearing jerseys (or wigs) to the games isn’t beneath him. Now he’s even opening up a shoe store in Cleveland. He has famously sponsored a local Little League team simply because someone asked him if he would. In everything he does, Haden seems to live and breathe Cleveland.
If you were to ask me to draw up the ideal Cleveland Brown personality, I would describe Joe Haden. If you were to ask me which Cleveland athlete does the most for the city of Cleveland and for the fans of its sports teams, instinct might make the name LeBron James reflexively jump to the top of my head, but Haden is probably the better answer.
Of course, perhaps the most important thing Haden does when it comes to recognition on a Cleveland sports site is, he makes the Cleveland Browns better. Being a top CB isn’t necessarily an easy job. You are ignored when you do your job, but the one or two times you get beat, everyone notices and scoffs. Haden has had his ups and downs this season. But the Browns are 8th in the NFL in passing yards allowed despite being 24th in sacks. In other words, their pass defense isn’t coming from the pass rush. It’s coming largely from an active, aggressive secondary anchored by Haden. If QB and Left Tackle are 1 and 1A in most important offensive positions, you could argue Pass Rusher and Shutdown Corner are 1 and 1A in most important defensive positions.
For me, my nominations for Cleveland Sportsman of the Year tend to go a little deeper than just on field success, though. Being a Cleveland Sportsman is a little deeper than that for me. I love what Joe Haden means to Cleveland and I love what Cleveland means to Haden. I would argue that he has been one of the most important guys the Browns could have drafted in the last 10 years. In good times and bad, Haden is always the first guy to be a cheerleader for the team and for the city.
I began this nomination with a story about one of many players who have disappointed me and let me down over the years. Joe Haden matters to me because Joe Haden is what those other players couldn’t be. He is an ambassador for the city and an integral part of the team on the field. 2014 has been the year of LeBron James for sure, but 2014 was also the year that Cleveland made sure that the most pro-Cleveland athlete in the city is sure to be around for years to come. It’s just funny that the most pro-Cleveland athlete isn’t the guy born in the area, though. It’s the guy who was drafted to play in Cleveland and has given all of his heart and soul to the team and to the city.
For these reasons and more, Joe Haden is my nomination for 2014 Cleveland Sportsman of the Year.
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