THE DAWGCATCHER

Before I start let me clarify something. I am a die hard Browns fan. I've been following the Browns for over 30 years. My father was a Browns fan and my grandfather before him. I witnessed Red-Right 88, The Drive and The Fumble. I know my Browns history, and I'm very proud of that history, but what I'm not proud of is how the Browns fans are being perceived by the world today.

And that's no ones fault but our own. Myself included.

We think of ourselves as great fans. We're proud of our history and love our team.

But the rest of the world doesn't see it that way, and neither do our own players. The Browns fans of the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's are definitely not the same caliber of fan as they are today. Back then they stuck with their team through thick and thin. They didn't whine and complain all the time. They didn't boo their own players when they got hurt. They sucked it up and prayed it got better. They tried to be optimistic during the rough times. They stuck together, because no matter what happened we were all Browns fans. We were all in the same boat and it solidified and unified us and made us strong.

And we were proud. And rightfully so....


The Browns were once called "America's Team" long before the Dallas Cowboys took the name from us.

The great Paul Brown only recruited smart and dignified players for his team. He made them wear suits everywhere they went. For him being a Cleveland Brown was more than being a football player. It was a mindset. The Browns were representatives for the city of Cleveland. And he wanted Cleveland to be respected by the NFL.

And Paul Brown got that respect, not only from his players but also from his peers.

Not anymore.

Now we're complacent, whining, hateful, foul mouthed, aggressive and full of contempt. If Paul Brown or Blanton Collier were alive today they would be utterly ashamed of us. We resemble nothing of the proud dignified fans of their era. We are becoming NFL white trash.

Now we cannot be pleased. Now we criticize and second guess every thing our team does. We have zero patience or tolerance and we're never satisfied. We want results and we want it now.

And we think we know best.

Well, we obviously don't. And we've proved it time and time again. I remember the optimism of the return. We all thought Tim Couch was gonna be our guy. It's not our fault that the League and bad management set him up for fail, but it didn't help when we boo'd him off the field. It was worse when we cheered when he got hurt.

We did the same thing to Derek Anderson.

And Anderson gave us 10 wins and a Pro Bowel appearance (despite RAC's bad coaching and decision making and a non existent defensive effort). But DA was forced to play with an oft injured offensive line, missing key players and one that wouldn't catch and an offensive coordinator who wouldn't make adjustments. (And still no defense!!!) And to the fans it was all Anderson's fault. So here again we boo'd a player who's done nothing but give his all for our team and was spit upon by us fans in return.

Classless.

Now for some reason everyone believes that Brady Quinn in the next Bernie Kosar. I don't know why because I've seen as much as everyone else of him, and so far he hasn't shown me anything to make me believe he's an elite quarterback.

And I hope for Brady that he turns out well. Not only for the Browns, but for himself, because when the chips are down he can expect to be kicked in the face by us Browns fans for not living up to our oh so important and lofty expectations. How dare Brady not be our savior.

And when he's hurt we'll cheer again, just like we did to Couch and Anderson.

We have no respect or compassion for these guys.

I see the trend. So far every single player we the fans thought was going to be the answers to our prayers have either been a bust or haven't really been given a chance to develop. Maybe we don't know what's good for the team, and because former GM's and Coaches we're stupid enough to adhere to our wishes we got what we deserved.

Trent Dilfer said that about us in an interview once.

Trent Dilfer: “But I do know this, playing for the Cleveland Browns for a year. This is a dysfunctional organization.”

Trent Dilfer: “As an organization, from the very, very, very top down, they are very influenced by public opinion.”

Trent Dilfer: “There’s so many layers of dysfunction on this football team, Derek Anderson is the least of their problems.”

Trent Dilfer: “You never, ever bench a quarterback on a bad football team. You bench the quarterback when your football team is good and your quarterback is holding you back.”

And what's funny is Dilfer is right. A football organization that gives into the fans is heading for trouble. And look what happened when the Browns put in players the fans wanted. Every single time it was a bust. A

lot we know.

And now I'm reading in many sources how despicable we've become in the eyes of other fans of the NFL. People write how horrible the language and the aggression is in the Dawgpound. They write how much they hate us because we boo our own players and how we cheer when they get hurt. They have no respect for us, and it's not because of how the team plays, it's because of the fans. We're now considered to be amongst the worst fans in the NFL, when we were once considered the be the best.

And we're all to blame.

It's not a wonder that players don't want to play in Cleveland. Most of these guys never grew up in Ohio, and don't know much about our revered history. They just read in the papers and internet how we treat our players and our staff. They talk to each other too, and I'm sure ex-Browns tell them the real deal on how they were treated by us.

I've read excerpts from our players which make me sick. Here are a few examples of what I found.

Braylon Edwards said: "I'm not Paul Warfield, Webster Slaughter or Jim Brown. I've given my all to this city for four years, and I realize it will never be enough. I went to the Pro Bowl last year and resurrected this team from the darkness, and nobody cared."

"People in this town believe they are entitled to too much. They have been disrespectful to me and my family. I've gone out in public with my family and have had to deal with being called foul names. My parents have been called vulgar things at restaurants."

"My biggest problem is that I actually give a damn. I'm always rushing back from surgeries and injuries, never missing games or practices. But through this, I've learned how to overcome adversity. I'm also proud of how my foundation has taken off. I've been doing all this community service in Cleveland ...my charity efforts will only be in Detroit from now on."

Derek Anderson said this: "They were cheering the fact that I was hurt. They don't like me. That's well known.

Tim Couch: "I've been here going on four years now,and I've laid it on the line for this team and this city, and for them to turn on me and boo me in my home stadium is a joke - a joke. I've worked my (butt) off here. It's hard to take, man,"




But quick fixes almost never work in the NFL. Not long term at least.

I know we've had it rough. I know that we lost the team, and then got it back under dubious circumstances. I know the League gave us the worst deal of any expansion team in the NFL. I know we were set up to fail. And fail we have. Three winning season in 10 years is nothing to brag about.