Well, the followers of The Revolution have spoken and it appears that The Revolution’s new NFL team is none other than your Cleveland Browns. The Revolution posted a poll about which NFL team should be The Revolution’s new NFL team. There were a total of 191 votes. The results were:
Cleveland Browns: 38 votes (19%)
New England Patriots: 35 votes (18%)
Green Bay Packers: 31 votes (16%)
Indianapolis Colts: 31 votes (16%)
Miami Dolphins: 24 votes (12%)
Chicago Bears: 18 votes (9%)
Pittsburgh Steelers: 14 votes (7%)
I have to say that I am a bit surprised that Cleveland won the poll. Now, I know that their fans are renowned for being fiercely loyal. But, I really expected a much stronger showing from the Pittsburgh Steelers. And just like in the Super Bowl, the Patriots had to settle for a close second place in this poll. All right, let’s post a quick review of The Revolution’s new NFL football club.
The Good: The Browns are an old franchise with a storied history. That is huge for me. They were founded in 1946 and played in the All-American Football Conference. They won 4 AAFC championships. The Browns joined the NFL in 1950. They went on to win 4 NFL championships between 1950-1964.
The Cleveland Browns have a total of sixteen members in the NFL Hall of Fame. Only five NFL teams have more Hall of Fame members than the Browns. And of course, the Cleveland Browns boasts the greatest running back to ever play in the NFL in one big Jim Brown.
The 2007 season was a huge improvement for the Browns as they finished 10-6, their best record since 1994, and sent four players to the Pro Bowl as well as three alternates. The Browns have a good young quarterback in Derek Anderson otherwise known as the Moose from Scappoose (at least while at Oregon State) with Brady Quinn in the wings ready to create some competition for starting quarterback job.
They have three Miami Hurricanes on their roster. That is important to me. I can’t root for an NFL team that doesn’t have any Hurricanes at all. Of course, since the Hurricanes have more players in the NFL than any other college program it isn’t too hard to find a ‘Cane on an NFL roster. I also liked the Browns as a kid since University of Miami legend and icon in South Florida, Bernie Kosar, was the Browns quarterback for many years.
A 2006 study conducted by American City Business Journals, Inc. determined that Browns fans are the most loyal fans in the NFL. The study was largely based on fan loyalty during winning and losing seasons (however, it does not account for the ratio of winning to losing seasons by a team), attendance at games, and challenges confronting fans (such as inclement weather or long-term poor performance of their team). The study noted that Browns fans filled 99.8% of the seats at Cleveland Browns Stadium during the last seven seasons, despite a combined record of 36 wins and 76 losses over that span.
The most prominent organization of Browns fans is the Browns Backers Worldwide (BBW). The organization has approximately 79,000 members and is considered one of the largest sports-fan organizations in the USA. And the Browns have plenty of rabid fans at every game including the crazies that sit in the east zone of the stadium that is known as the Dawg Pound.
What is also cool is that the Browns play in a stadium named Cleveland Browns Stadium. Imagine that! A stadium not named after a bank or an investment firm or a shipping company. What a refreshing change of pace.
Also interesting is that the owner of the Browns, Randy Lerner, also owns 89% of Premiership club Aston Villa and is the Chairman of the Board for Aston Villa. That is pretty cool. And from what I have read the supporters of Aston Villa have been happy with Lerner taking over their club. Lerner is a low key owner in the NFL and after having to deal with an overblown idiot like Dan Snyder for an owner this comes as quite a bonus. Hopefully, this means that Lerner stays out of the way and lets the football people run the team.
It is also nice that the Browns actually have a general manager in Phil Savage. And evidently, Phil Savage is a pretty solid general manager. I’m sure most people reading this are thinking, “Ummm, yeah…every team in the NFL has a general manager.” Nope. Not every team. Luckily for the Redskins, the team has no general manager. Instead it is little Danny Snyder that runs the team.
The Bad: Not only have the Browns not won a Super Bowl, they have never even made it to a Super Bowl. The Cleveland Browns along with the Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints are the only NFL teams to never play in a Super Bowl. That ain’t good.
The Browns also unfortunately play in the much more difficult AFC along with the New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers and San Diego Chargers which pretty much means that our chances of making a Super Bowl any time soon is slim to none.
Evidently, the Cleveland Browns don’t have cheerleaders!! What the hell? I’m from Miami, baby. We don’t do anything in the 305 without booty bass and scantily clad women involved in some form or fashion. I think that the only other franchise that doesn’t have cheerleaders is the Bears. Maybe I’m wrong. You really can’t underestimate the importance of quality cheerleaders. Since I became a Redskins season ticket holder, the fine looking Redskinettes were just about the only thing I have found interesting at Redskins games. At any rate, no cheerleaders is a huge negative. C’mon, Cleveland, you gotta get some ladies out there doing the Tootsee Roll during halftime!
The Cleveland Browns have quite possibly the ugliest and most boring helmets. They are simply a blank orange helmet with one middle white stripe and two outer brown stripes running down the middle of the helmet. The Browns are the only NFL team that has no logo or design of some type on their helmet. The uniform colors consist of brown, orange and white which is a pretty ugly color combination. But, at least it is distinctive. The Browns are the only team that uses brown as one of their team colors.
Overall: The Revolution looks forward to supporting the Cleveland Browns during the upcoming season. Unfortunately, the bunker isn’t near Cleveland so finding Browns merchandise is next to impossible for me. I guess I’ll have to order a jersey online. After all, I can’t be a fan if I don’t wear the colors.
5 thoughts on “Poll: Cleveland Rocks!”
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I recommend the NY Giants. What a fantastic team!
I’ll send you some colors.
A. Non
The Steelers also don’t have cheerleaders.
As a Canadian, I have absolutely no opinion on American football (or Canadian football, for that matter). Hockey and the Habs all the way.
“Habs” is Anglophone slang for “Les Habitants” (The Inhabitants), the term used to describe the original French settlers to Quebec, and their descendants.
I’m not sure about the accuracy of your source regarding the Browns, but the Packers have 100% attendance and have been sold-out for decades.
As for weather, no one but the most rapid fan would sit out on cold bleacher benches in sub-zero weather year after year.
Also check out the number of world championships and members in the Pro Hall of Fame. And don’t forget Brett. All from the smallest media market in the country.
I do have a soft spot for the Browns though. They have always had great fan support and the owners still took the team from them and moved it to Baltimore.