C2: The 1995 Cleveland Browns-A Cruel Joke

          I recently watched a documentary on NFL Network on the 1995 Cleveland Browns and it was pretty eye opening. When many people think of the Cleveland Browns, the first image that pops into their head is loser, but did you know that at one point they were picked to go to the Super Bowl, yeah that’s right the Cleveland Browns! At the beginning of the 1995 Season they were picked to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl that year. Something along the way happened to the chance of that ever happening. In 1995 the Cleveland Browns were also not the only Cleveland team to be gunning for a championship title; the Cleveland Indians were in their first World Series in more than 40 years. The Browns had started off 3-1 when Art Modell announced that the Browns would move at the end of the season. This news reverberated around the NFL and may have ruined their chances at a possible Super bowl run, because they finished 5-11. Cleveland fans were in at outrage and many people thought that it looked like scene from a war torn country in the Middle East. The Browns in their final game in Cleveland may be one of the most memorable games in Cleveland. The Browns fans had brought hack saws and ratchets to the stadium to take away any possible mementos form the Browns Stadium. At the beginning of every new drive the opposing offense would have to drive away from the “Dog Pound” because of the fact that Browns fans were throwing benches over on to the field. The Browns won their last game in Cleveland and at the end there was a very emotional moment. The Browns players walked over to the “Dog Pound” and they hugged the Browns fans for possibly the last time. Steve Everett, (the Browns Center), walked over and he was grabbed by them and they wouldn’t let go. They tried to grab on to anything that they possibly could grab onto. The Browns ended up moving to Baltimore to become the Ravens. What many people don’t know is the number of current coaches and GMs they had on their staff. They Bill Belichick now with the Patriots as their head coach, Nick Saban: Alabama’s head coach, Jim Swartz: Lions head coach, Kirk Ferentz: Iowa’s head coach, Eric Mangini, Scott Pioli: Kansas City’s GM, and Thomas Dimitroff: Atlanta Falcon’s GM. The most painful thing for Browns fans to watch was when the Ravens won the Super bowl in 2000, due to that Art Modell their former owner was the owner of the Ravens and that Ozzie Newsome was the general manager, (long time Brown’s tight end and general manager). The Browns felt like that was their Super Bowl. It must have been painful to see Bill Belichick win three Super Bowl titles with the New England Patriots. That must eat away at the very soul of the Browns fans to know that they had a Championship owner and coach on their team. The fans of Cleveland have been waiting for a title for so long and it seems like the football gods didn’t want them to have that chance. One must wonder, what if the Browns had never moved, maybe they would have a Super Bowl title or two. One thing that you can say if you are a Cleveland fan, it was fun while it lasted.