Eternal optimisim endearing trait of Browns fans

By Don Delco
NoLogoNeeded.com staff writer

Last month marked our one-year anniversary at NoLogoNeeded.com. We didn’t make a big deal of it, but it has been an exciting year for us. 

Our exposure has increased at a steady rate and, it goes without saying, we have WaitingForNextYear and Dan Laabe at Cleveland.com to thank. Each week, more and more Browns fans have come across our site.

It seems they enjoy what they read. We enjoy writing it.

On Monday, the Browns had the day off following their intra-squad scrimmage last Sunday. In five weeks another Browns season will begin. Months upon months of speculating in the form of writing thousands of words of copy will end.  We’ll finally get to see the results of this new-look team in the most honest of ways — wins and losses.

Most Browns fans are optimistic about the upcoming season. This will be the year that Alex Hall blossoms. This will be the year the new coach, Eric Mangini, is the right man for the job. This is the year the team figures it out and takes steps to becoming contender. This will be the year they beat the Steelers.

It’s the same script no matter the season, just the names have been changed.

For all the optimism surrounding the orange and brown today, it is a good chance that the 2009 season will end like most, in a whimper this winter and without a Super Bowl victory. Fans will be disgusted. Players will be under fire. Coaches will be out of a job.


Since 1990, the Browns have had three winning seasons and two playoff appearances. The Browns have not scored an offensive touchdown in six consecutive games dating back Nov. 17, 2008. A majority of fan bases wouldn’t put up with those results. Ticket sales would sag. Apathy would set in. In Cleveland? Nah.

More than 14,000 were at Cleveland Browns Stadium last Sunday for an intra-squad scrimmage. On Aug. 1, more than 2,000 fans showed up to the Browns first training camp practice. To outsiders, that doesn’t make sense considering what has happened in the last two decades.
Browns fans know for whatever faults the franchise has — and there have been plenty — they will return to support them in the fall. This is Cleveland’s team. The love affair starts at a young age. Sundays were centered on getting together with family and friends and watching the Browns.

Loyalty is an trait most Clevelanders possess. Wherever life takes a person, those Cleveland ties remain strong.

Hey, the city isn’t the prettiest. The weather isn’t the most inviting. It has its faults. Yet for all the faults, the pride of calling oneself a Clevelander is evident.

The same feeling is produced when one admits himself or herself a Browns fan. So what if the team doesn’t have fancy uniforms? A plain orange helmet is just fine. So what if this team hasn’t won a championship since 1964? They exist to divert us from the roller coaster ride that is life. You try living in Cleveland in December. A Browns game, no matter how bad the team is getting beat, is better than dealing with that winter wonderland for an afternoon.

Outsiders can’t understand why Browns fans continue to support this team.

Perhaps there are still some lingering effects from the move to Baltimore in 1995. No one should experience what it feels like to lose your beloved team.

But it’s more than that. With only 16 games a year, there is a certain mystique that centers on the Browns. The team doesn’t play six days a week (Indians) or three to four times a week (Cavs). No. They get 16 of the 365 days. That’s it. Those days are treasured. Not only because the Browns play that day, but also it is an excuse to spend time with friends and family members. 


At NoLogoNeeded, it’s pretty obvious we share in some of that passion. It’s hard to hide our biases. We write about the Cleveland Browns all year long. You have to have some passion about your topic when you’re discussing it every single day. Still, we try and take a professional and objective approach.

I want to thank everyone who’s stopped by the last year and took the time to read what we think about the Browns and even post your own opinions. We look forward to continuing that in the year ahead.

How the year will end for the Browns remains to be seen. It probably will end before the first Sunday of February. Regardless, NoLogoNeeded will be here, every day, doing what we love to do the most – talking Cleveland Browns football with Browns fans.