As an overly passionate Cleveland sports fan, I have come to expect disappointment, but only so the good times seem that much better.
The Browns are definitely a source of most of my pain as season after season we have a new quarterback or coach, and things just never seem to work out. So when new owner, Jimmy Haslem, came to Cleveland, I thought that finally things might start to turn around. We might actually have a season over .500 within the next few years.
Then I received the bad news – I no longer can call it Cleveland Browns Stadium. A utilities company bought the rights to the stadium that is home to my beloved Browns, and it will now be known as FirstEnergy Stadium. To many, this doesn’t seem like bad news, it’s just a stadium right? But to a lifelong devoted Cleveland fan, it’s just another reason to be saddened by sports news in my hometown. I’ve never known a town without supportive sports fans, no matter how badly our teams are doing.
I’ve been through this same situation twice before, when Gund Arena became Quicken Loans Arena and when Jacobs Field became Progressive Field. Everyone said it would always be “The Gund,” but over the last few years, “The Q” has caught on and fans seem a lot less angry about the switch. The Indians tried to make “The Prog” stick after the switch, but I often catch myself still calling it “The Jake.”
No matter the financial matters and who owns what, to me, the Browns will always play at Cleveland Browns Stadium. And I think all other loyal Browns fans would agree.