I finally quit the Browns when they traded for and signed HWSNBN. It helped that I hadn't live in Ohio for decades, and had moved to Kansas City (going on 23 years now!) where my kids were Chiefs fans-- and that the arrival of Andy Reid made for some fun, winning football. But I always stuck with the Browns until they did that last, unspeakable thing. I've had a couple of minor pangs of regret, but the Browns do an excellent job of erasing those very quickly with their actions.
With this news and the news from Cleveland adjacent Youngstown this week, should we ask the question as to whether there is any group of people more odious, both individually and as a group, than NFL owners?
I’m a New Englander born in the 80s. I watched the 80s and early 90s teams but I fell in love with the Bledsoe Pats at age 13. Suffered for a brief while, was so sad when he got hurt, prayed for his returned all the way up until they won against the Rams in what was one of the happiest nights of my life. I was obsessed right until Junior Seau took his own life. One of the few non-Patriots I genuinely loved and was so thrilled when he joined the team. I already had a few problems with football nibbling at my brain, but that one tragedy made me stop cold turkey. I have not watched a complete NFL game since, and wouldnt even have watched what I have if not for restaurant tvs or Thanksgiving games. I do not miss it. I miss Vince Wilfork and Troy Brown and Willie McGinest and Rodney Harrison. But they’re all gone now, and so am I.
My life doesn’t depend on me talking sports, so it’s easy for me to give up on a sport. But it’s pretty pleasant to just not care about the NFL in any way whatsoever. I hope whatever you do with football from this point on brings you the serenity I have found.
I had this moment with all of the NFL thanks to Dan Snyder and Ray Rice. Went cold turkey. Haven’t looked back. I like having autumn Sundays for something else again.
There is a Bruce Springsteen song in there somewhere.
For me, this was heartbreaking to read. This is what sports does to so many of us. This whole thing reminds me so much of a person in a relationship with someone who has narcissistic personality disorder. The Browns have emotionally abused their fans and have gaslit them for YEARS. The lies, the false promises, the accusations that it’s your problem and not their problem, and the completely arrogant trade for Watson with the Browns thinking that they can do whatever they want and you’ll never leave them.
There is really only so much a person can take in any abusive relationship before they stop caring for the other person. Joe got to that point: the Browns as an organization pushed him so far that he doesn’t care anymore. And it’s not just him.
Joe - I’m sorry. I see myself in so much of your writing that it pains me to read about your divorce from the Browns. You might not know when it will happen, but one day you’ll click with an NFL team that treats its fans with the respect they deserve. And I can’t wait to read all about it.
Jojo, it's never too late to remedy your ill-advised decision to return to the Browns in the first place. Bengal Nation awaits with open arms. As you know, the Bengals only exist to spite the Browns, who screwed over Paul Brown all those years ago. Come join the dark side and revel the coming beatdowns of an organization that deserves it more than any ever has. We have a QB, who's a great dude to boot. And now we have a defense. Get on the bandwagon before it's too late.
BTW, "Are you just allowed to say anything these days?" is an evergreen comment. That's portable. That should be the title of a book about the era we live in.
I’m right there with you, Joe. I’m about 14 years older than you. I’ve commented on the Diary several times in the past, including my prediction that you’d come back when you tried to find a different team a few years back (because I always did/have). I canceled my season tickets in 2022 when the “Browns” traded for HWSNBN (and had to explain in beyond-blunt terms to the team employee, who acted like he couldn’t understand why I could be troubled by the trade for the dastardly creep), but I still followed the team. I was at the game in Pittsburgh in ‘23 when HWSNBN threw the pick-six on the second play of the game - the second-worst moment of the game. That was the night the hated Steelers effectively ended the career of MY favorite Brown, Nick Chubb. But I still followed the team. I didn’t even mind the Monken hire. Let him take a crack at it with the kids, after all. But after that blowtorch of a press conference on Saturday and yesterday’s announcement naming HWSNBN as QB1, I’m out. I too hope the “Browns” lose every game, especially in week 2 when the hot-headed Baker Mayfield (but, hey, he was OUR hothead) gets his chance to light up HWSNBN, the “man” he was dumped for.
The first time you dropped the Brown’s diary because of HWSNBN I was upset. Not because I thought the Browns made the right move signing him… I didn’t. In fact, I wrote my one-and-only published letter to the Plain Dealer saying how venal a move it was:
“Without Mayfield there are no playoffs in 2020-21. He is flawed, but at his best he’s the perfect metaphor for Cleveland itself. Scrappy, undervalued, a place no one goes unless they have to. The Browns had to... he lifted the entire organization on his shoulders and carried them to their first playoff win in the digital age. So many people owe that guy. Stefanski - coach of the year - not without Mayfield. Jimmy and Dee - no longer a laughing stock - not without Mayfield. They rode him hard and put him away wet all last year and when it was over - off to the glue factory. I hope he succeeds wherever he goes.”
Back then I was upset because I believed your thoughts and commentary would shed light on a craven decision… and I still loved the Browns. Not this time. I support your decision to halt the Brown’s diary. The Brookpark Browns don’t care, but they have lost me forever.
It's not the same. It's never the same. I'm not asking for any sympathy.
But I feel the same way about the Yankees and the Brian Cashman/Hal Steinbrenner era. Hear me out.
I grew up in a high-rise apartment building in New Jersey in the 60's. My idol was Mickey Mantle. I would save up and get my dad tickets to Yankee Stadium for Father's Day, and he graciously took me. I listened to every game on the radio at night and smuggled a transistor radio and earpiece into my elementary school during the '62 World Series. The Yankees rewarded my childhood faithfulness by winning in '77 just as I was finishing college and again in '78 as I was getting married.
We had kids. They became Yankees fans. A long drought ensued. They had a magical run during my kids' high school years, winning 4 of 5 from 1996-2000. They won again in 2009. Again, they are not the Browns.
But the inept and uncommitted leadership in the Bronx since then has been soul-crushing. When they last won, I was in my early 50's. I'm 70 now. I had no grandkids then. I have four now, and one is in high school. I've been married for 48 years. This year, the Yankees high-payroll team has a collective OPS of .309, good for 26th in the league.
All I'm trying to say here is that the Billionaires need to both be fans AND hire competent people to spend their money. It hasn't happened for the Browns during my grandkids' lifetimes. And it hasn't happened for the Yankees.
Let me fix this for fans of about 27 other MLB teams:
But the inept and uncommitted leadership in Baltimore since I was born has been soul-crushing. When they last won, I was in my late 1s. I'm 44 now. I had no ability to speak then. I have two kids now, and one almost in high school. I've been married for 20 years. This year, the Yankees high-payroll team has a collective winning percentage of .569, good for second in the league.
Yeah, but most years the Yankees have been very competitive. Made the playoffs most years they had a chance. To compare them to these years of the new Browns is laughable. The Yankees haven’t come close to being a terrible team.
I appreciate that you are a super fan and you are frustrated. But you have it way better than not only the Browns fans but the fans of most pro teams.
I agree with you, Ron. It's definitely not the same. But when your favorite team hasn't won for almost a generation, it is still tough, even if they are usually competitive. Case in point, the perennially almost-great Buffalo Bills, who have been in the NFL for 56 years with no silver trophy. I'll bet the Bills Mafia felt a connection to Joe's lament. Even though it's not the same as the Browns.
You too Joe must join the legion of fans whose obituaries, like the fan in the 80s, will request the Browns offensive line as their pall bearer, “so they can let me down one more time.”
Please don’t stop being a Browns fan and please don’t stop writing the Browns Diary. I love reading the diary. It’s wonderful fandom stuff
Joe say it ain’t so
I disavowed THE CLOWNS in 2015. Nothing regardless of how stupid should stop you from telling JimmyDee and their minions about their malfeasance.
Your Clowns Diary brings joy and chuckles every Monday morning in the fall.
Hear that Jimmy is headed to East Palestine soon to get the winning formula?
I finally quit the Browns when they traded for and signed HWSNBN. It helped that I hadn't live in Ohio for decades, and had moved to Kansas City (going on 23 years now!) where my kids were Chiefs fans-- and that the arrival of Andy Reid made for some fun, winning football. But I always stuck with the Browns until they did that last, unspeakable thing. I've had a couple of minor pangs of regret, but the Browns do an excellent job of erasing those very quickly with their actions.
With this news and the news from Cleveland adjacent Youngstown this week, should we ask the question as to whether there is any group of people more odious, both individually and as a group, than NFL owners?
I hope this doesn't preclude Joe from writing a Nick Chubb appreciation piece now that he recently retired.
I’m a New Englander born in the 80s. I watched the 80s and early 90s teams but I fell in love with the Bledsoe Pats at age 13. Suffered for a brief while, was so sad when he got hurt, prayed for his returned all the way up until they won against the Rams in what was one of the happiest nights of my life. I was obsessed right until Junior Seau took his own life. One of the few non-Patriots I genuinely loved and was so thrilled when he joined the team. I already had a few problems with football nibbling at my brain, but that one tragedy made me stop cold turkey. I have not watched a complete NFL game since, and wouldnt even have watched what I have if not for restaurant tvs or Thanksgiving games. I do not miss it. I miss Vince Wilfork and Troy Brown and Willie McGinest and Rodney Harrison. But they’re all gone now, and so am I.
My life doesn’t depend on me talking sports, so it’s easy for me to give up on a sport. But it’s pretty pleasant to just not care about the NFL in any way whatsoever. I hope whatever you do with football from this point on brings you the serenity I have found.
I had this moment with all of the NFL thanks to Dan Snyder and Ray Rice. Went cold turkey. Haven’t looked back. I like having autumn Sundays for something else again.
There is a Bruce Springsteen song in there somewhere.
For me, this was heartbreaking to read. This is what sports does to so many of us. This whole thing reminds me so much of a person in a relationship with someone who has narcissistic personality disorder. The Browns have emotionally abused their fans and have gaslit them for YEARS. The lies, the false promises, the accusations that it’s your problem and not their problem, and the completely arrogant trade for Watson with the Browns thinking that they can do whatever they want and you’ll never leave them.
There is really only so much a person can take in any abusive relationship before they stop caring for the other person. Joe got to that point: the Browns as an organization pushed him so far that he doesn’t care anymore. And it’s not just him.
Joe - I’m sorry. I see myself in so much of your writing that it pains me to read about your divorce from the Browns. You might not know when it will happen, but one day you’ll click with an NFL team that treats its fans with the respect they deserve. And I can’t wait to read all about it.
Jojo, it's never too late to remedy your ill-advised decision to return to the Browns in the first place. Bengal Nation awaits with open arms. As you know, the Bengals only exist to spite the Browns, who screwed over Paul Brown all those years ago. Come join the dark side and revel the coming beatdowns of an organization that deserves it more than any ever has. We have a QB, who's a great dude to boot. And now we have a defense. Get on the bandwagon before it's too late.
Beautiful piece.
BTW, "Are you just allowed to say anything these days?" is an evergreen comment. That's portable. That should be the title of a book about the era we live in.
I’m right there with you, Joe. I’m about 14 years older than you. I’ve commented on the Diary several times in the past, including my prediction that you’d come back when you tried to find a different team a few years back (because I always did/have). I canceled my season tickets in 2022 when the “Browns” traded for HWSNBN (and had to explain in beyond-blunt terms to the team employee, who acted like he couldn’t understand why I could be troubled by the trade for the dastardly creep), but I still followed the team. I was at the game in Pittsburgh in ‘23 when HWSNBN threw the pick-six on the second play of the game - the second-worst moment of the game. That was the night the hated Steelers effectively ended the career of MY favorite Brown, Nick Chubb. But I still followed the team. I didn’t even mind the Monken hire. Let him take a crack at it with the kids, after all. But after that blowtorch of a press conference on Saturday and yesterday’s announcement naming HWSNBN as QB1, I’m out. I too hope the “Browns” lose every game, especially in week 2 when the hot-headed Baker Mayfield (but, hey, he was OUR hothead) gets his chance to light up HWSNBN, the “man” he was dumped for.
The first time you dropped the Brown’s diary because of HWSNBN I was upset. Not because I thought the Browns made the right move signing him… I didn’t. In fact, I wrote my one-and-only published letter to the Plain Dealer saying how venal a move it was:
“Without Mayfield there are no playoffs in 2020-21. He is flawed, but at his best he’s the perfect metaphor for Cleveland itself. Scrappy, undervalued, a place no one goes unless they have to. The Browns had to... he lifted the entire organization on his shoulders and carried them to their first playoff win in the digital age. So many people owe that guy. Stefanski - coach of the year - not without Mayfield. Jimmy and Dee - no longer a laughing stock - not without Mayfield. They rode him hard and put him away wet all last year and when it was over - off to the glue factory. I hope he succeeds wherever he goes.”
Back then I was upset because I believed your thoughts and commentary would shed light on a craven decision… and I still loved the Browns. Not this time. I support your decision to halt the Brown’s diary. The Brookpark Browns don’t care, but they have lost me forever.
It's not the same. It's never the same. I'm not asking for any sympathy.
But I feel the same way about the Yankees and the Brian Cashman/Hal Steinbrenner era. Hear me out.
I grew up in a high-rise apartment building in New Jersey in the 60's. My idol was Mickey Mantle. I would save up and get my dad tickets to Yankee Stadium for Father's Day, and he graciously took me. I listened to every game on the radio at night and smuggled a transistor radio and earpiece into my elementary school during the '62 World Series. The Yankees rewarded my childhood faithfulness by winning in '77 just as I was finishing college and again in '78 as I was getting married.
We had kids. They became Yankees fans. A long drought ensued. They had a magical run during my kids' high school years, winning 4 of 5 from 1996-2000. They won again in 2009. Again, they are not the Browns.
But the inept and uncommitted leadership in the Bronx since then has been soul-crushing. When they last won, I was in my early 50's. I'm 70 now. I had no grandkids then. I have four now, and one is in high school. I've been married for 48 years. This year, the Yankees high-payroll team has a collective OPS of .309, good for 26th in the league.
All I'm trying to say here is that the Billionaires need to both be fans AND hire competent people to spend their money. It hasn't happened for the Browns during my grandkids' lifetimes. And it hasn't happened for the Yankees.
Let me fix this for fans of about 27 other MLB teams:
But the inept and uncommitted leadership in Baltimore since I was born has been soul-crushing. When they last won, I was in my late 1s. I'm 44 now. I had no ability to speak then. I have two kids now, and one almost in high school. I've been married for 20 years. This year, the Yankees high-payroll team has a collective winning percentage of .569, good for second in the league.
Yeah, but most years the Yankees have been very competitive. Made the playoffs most years they had a chance. To compare them to these years of the new Browns is laughable. The Yankees haven’t come close to being a terrible team.
I appreciate that you are a super fan and you are frustrated. But you have it way better than not only the Browns fans but the fans of most pro teams.
I agree with you, Ron. It's definitely not the same. But when your favorite team hasn't won for almost a generation, it is still tough, even if they are usually competitive. Case in point, the perennially almost-great Buffalo Bills, who have been in the NFL for 56 years with no silver trophy. I'll bet the Bills Mafia felt a connection to Joe's lament. Even though it's not the same as the Browns.
You too Joe must join the legion of fans whose obituaries, like the fan in the 80s, will request the Browns offensive line as their pall bearer, “so they can let me down one more time.”
You'll be back, soon you'll see
You remember you belong to Cleve'
You'll be back, time will tell
You'll remember Cleveland served you well
Oceans rise, the Browns will fall
You have seen each other through it all
And when PUSH comes to Shove
The Browns will send a 2-15 season to remind you of their love
I really, really hope Joe sees this great Hamilton/Browns tribute. I assume Jimmy Haslam is playing George III?
I just imagine the Browns Aura being George III. But Haslam works too.
Brilliant! Just happened to re-read his Hamilton post last night so I picked up on your creativity immediately.
Wow! What a column.