This new feeling

I have been a Browns fan for my entire 28 years on this earth. Over that time, the Browns have a combined record of 132-271-1 and just two playoff appearances. And, the one appearance in 1994 I do not remember given that I was just four years old. Success as a Browns fan has always been a distant, almost urban legend that my father would tell me about the likes of the Kardiac Kids, the days of Bernie Kosar or his childhood days watching games with his dad, Jim. I would hear these things and then watch the Browns lose yet another game under the watchful eye of some of the coaching legends like Chris Palmer, Butch Davis, Mike Pettine, Eric Mangini, and Hue Jackson.

This team lost young fans because of the constant losing the franchise suffered through over the past 20 or so years. Who could blame them when they had no foundation of ever having sustained winning during their lifetime? I boast myself as a glass half full, hope-is-always-there type person. Through all of this losing and losing and losing, I always felt the next coach, the next quarterback, the next front office was the one to turn this ship around and return the franchise to its former proud status. This hope many times was not based on what I saw on the field but on the likes of winning press conferences or distant and short-term successes on the field. I tried to always look for the bright signs from the team. However, every year I seemed to have the same type of feelings. If this goes right and if this goes right and if this goes right, then maybe this team can succeed this season. But this year, 2019, I have a new feeling.

This new feeling is not some mystical optimism that I’ve had before where the coaches have impressed me in pressers or I saw two strong preseason performances from a player, making me believe he could be something. No, this feeling is based on expectations and the actual people who are in Berea driving this franchise. I expect the Browns to win and win a lot. I have seen our offensive and defensive playmakers succeed on the field whether it’s together in Cleveland or on another team in the NFL. We are coming off one of the best stretches of football I have seen in my lifetime. That may seem like a crazy statement, but it’s true. The Browns’ finish of 5-2 last year saw the offense produce under the direction of some youthful building blocks, along with an offensive mind who put together an offense that was not seen for quite some time in Cleveland. It looked like a team going in the right direction and quickly. That stretch started this new feeling. But, it has built to this extreme level because of the offseason that saw so many big additions and moves by the franchise.

I truly cannot wait for the home opener on Sunday. I have always been excited about the start of the season, but this year I feel a confidence that we will see a strong product on the field. I expect more and have fewer questions about what will happen this season. Every time I see a highlight or a tweet about the Browns, I feel the unbridled excitement and anticipation for Sunday.

This new feeling is not based on it just being a new season of football in Cleveland. It is a feeling that we are a team with expectations and hope that is not some fairytale but desired and attainable. I know we have the talent to match or exceed most rosters in the NFL. This feeling that we should compete for the playoffs is new. I had the hope in years past that maybe we can put things together and a few things go our way that we could win some games. This is different. I expect this roster to win. And, this feeling makes me so much more excited and anticipatory for the season than ever before.

Can things go wrong? Sure. But, I don’t have this dread feeling that things are on the razor’s edge from not going well. There is no trepidation or feeling of being on pins and needles for everything to hit on all cylinders in order for this team to succeed. This team has a collective group that can pick up each other where I have not seen before from this franchise.

Sunday cannot come soon enough. Writing this, I am already ready to run through a wall like the Kool-Aid guy. The preseason increased my excitement and anticipation because we never really got to see the entire cast together. I just can’t wait. This feeling of expectations is so new to me and I sure do love it. Is it Sunday, yet?