Cleveland Browns fans are mighty excited about the rest of the NFL season. After a comeback win against the winless Dolphins on Sunday, Cleveland fans flooded my Twitter and Facebook feeds, exclaiming their excitement for the win and how great their beloved Browns were.
They do have some reason to be excited.
The Browns have started 2-1, Colt McCoy has yet to make the Cleveland faithful pre-order Andrew Luck jerseys and Joe Haden looks like the next guy to get checks comparable to those of the NFL’s top-paid cornerbacks, Darrelle Revis and Nnamdi Asomugha — and Haden deserves it.
It’s still September, but the Browns look good!
Or so some seem to think.
But haven’t you seen this play before?
Browns’ fans are like the girl who keeps going back to her boyfriend despite how many times he’s broken her heart by hooking up with some random girl after too many long islands at Ugly Tuna.
Sure, the two get back together after he apologizes and buys her a dozen roses and takes her to a really nice restaurant. Things seem great for a while. The girl says, “It’s different this time! He’s changed!” Things are all good for about three weeks.
But you know how the story ends. Right when you think the relationship is going great and all is well, he has one too many rum and cokes during Ugly Hour, stumbles downtown, talks to enough girls, eventually finds one as drunk as him, they get a cab … and, well, you know the rest.
The Browns are doing the same thing to their fans. Giving them false hope, building them up, only to let them down.
Browns’ fans, embrace the moment. Enjoy being atop of the AFC North this week and if you have a hiccup against the Titans this weekend, you know the drill: tell people the team is “rebuilding.”
You know, the same excuse you’ve been giving since 1999.
Browns’ fans were understandably upset about losing four straight to end the season. You were disgusted by late December, hopeless for the future, the ultimate sports pessimist, moving on to talking about how bad the Indians were going to be.
Then the Indians did pretty dang good, giving you some hope, then … well, let’s not go there. I don’t want to tell the same tale twice within one story.
The Browns have a soft schedule, and I honestly thought they had a decent chance at a .500 record this year.
Then they lose to the Bengals, one of the worst teams in football, at home.
Next, they let the Manning-less Colts hang around until the fourth quarter.
Now, the Browns need a last-minute comeback to beat Chad Henne and the Dolphins.
That 2-1 record looks a lot better when the opponents don’t have a combined record of 1-8.
And that one loss looks a lot worse when the Bengals have only converted one third down since that game and couldn’t beat the Broncos’ B-team or Alex Smith’s 49ers.
So when the Browns go 5-11 on the season and break your heart again, don’t say you weren’t warned.
Just say you’re rebuilding.
