The Browns and Expectations

Often times I wonder what early fall felt like in the mid-to-late 1980s. For better or worse, I didn’t see the light of the world until 1992, so I knew nothing of what passion, hope, or pain felt like in Cleveland, Ohio.

My cognition soon developed and my passion for football emerged in the late 90s. Some of my earliest pro football memories are of watching Tim Couch desperately try to will the Browns to victory. I remember Lee Suggs taking the Bengals to the woodshed and puking in a bucket on the sidelines.

I remember Bottlegate vividly, for that was the one year my aunt sent me a robot Christmas decoration (previously all trucks).  My mother was decorating the tree, while the Cleveland faithful was decorating the field and the referees with bottles. My personal favorite, Gus Johnson, was on the call as well. If only the referees would have taken their loss or if only Quincy Morgan could’ve decisively held onto the pass, then this would have never happened. Then with garbage strewn on the field, CBS Sports’ graphic scoreboard hit the bottom of the screen with its festive “Happy Holidays” text draped over it. If you could put a real-life sequence into an art gallery, this might be the one.

What I’m getting at here is that the Cleveland Browns have had zero expectations for the overwhelming majority of my life.

They made the playoffs in 2002, but Butch Davis’ indecisiveness on the QB position would lead to flip-flopping and zero chance of building on that season. From there, it’s been failed retool after failed retool. The Browns have churned through GMs and coaches. They even got new ownership for crying out loud.

The story of the past three years doesn’t resemble the story of the early 2000s Browns. Cleveland has decided on their Quarterback and they won a playoff game.

The QB situation is a lock. There are no questions moving forward and Cleveland has put a lot of stock in Baker Mayfield by building around him. From improving the offensive line to getting every necessary skill position filled along with providing necessary depth to the skill positions, Cleveland has invested heavily in the resources to assure their QB succeeds.

Going into the playoffs, the Browns weren’t expected to win, but the fact that they made it was enough for a lot of fans (me included). Then, they went and shellacked the Pittsburgh Steelers in one of the most memorable games in Browns history. A lot of demons were slain that night at the ketchup field.

Then the Browns nearly knocked off the Kansas City Chiefs despite flirting with being blown out. We even got an 80s-esque ending with the “Henne-thing is possible” being born. It stung, but it wasn’t the same sting of the Kosar years.

This team almost pulled it off as a massive underdog and with a defense that was patched together with bubblegum and duct tape. On paper, those problems have been fixed and Cleveland has added additional tools on the offensive side of the ball.

The heartbreak in the 80s was greater because those teams were truly Super Bowl contenders. Last year, the Browns were dark horses at best and it was a blast. This season will be the first where the Browns are touted as Super Bowl contenders since those magic years. The Browns now have expectations. I and many other younger Browns fans will finally know what Cleveland felt like in the mid-late 80s. Buckle up, kids.