Cleveland Browns fans are… special. I don’t mean that in a derogatory way, either. They’re special. Unique, even. They’re among the most rabid fans in the nation, and they have so little reason to be that way. While the Browns of old are a storied, venerable franchise, worthy of deep, abiding respect, that team is now called the “Baltimore Ravens.”
The team that’s there now, while it may claim the old legacy, is very different. Especially considering their 0-16 record this year.
Yet leave it to a Browns fan to try and make the best of an ugly, all-too-Cleveland Browns situation.
Chris McNeil, a Cleveland fan, made a suggestion. If the team went 0-16, why not hold a parade? After all, it’s a perfect season, right? Sure, 0-16 is a perfectly bad season, but still.
Well, it happened.
Now, McNeil is trying to pull it off.
He started a GoFundMe page to put together the parade back in October 2017. As of this writing, he’s raised a little over $13,000, well over his $10,000 goal for the parade slated for Saturday.
Frankly, it may be exactly what Cleveland needs.
However, not everyone agrees.
How do you view tomorrow’s Cleveland @Browns 0-16 parade? #BrownsMakeHistory
— Kenny Roda (@TheKennyRoda) January 5, 2018
0-16 parade? What Browns fan would be apart of such event! How humiliating! At least someone is staying faithful to the Cleveland Browns! 😳🤔 @RoverRadio @RMGJLR pic.twitter.com/7sUApdsr3s
— RMGTMZ (@rmgtmz) January 5, 2018
Former Cleveland Browns CB Joe Haden on 0-16 parade: ‘I just think it’s lame’ https://t.co/Fv6FXOxBg2 pic.twitter.com/LTKrY46nwA
— WKYC Channel 3 News (@wkyc) January 4, 2018
It’s not that I don’t see their point. Celebrating mediocrity is usually something not worth doing.
However, there’s a flip side to this for Cleveland. Yes, it’s embarrassing. It might even be more embarrassing than being possibly the worst professional football team in history. But either way, this is the cap on a season of embarrassments.
If the players don’t like it, then step up and do something about it. Play better football. It’s just that simple. They’ve got a whole offseason to train and work to step up their own game. They’re all professionals. Even if they can’t make the Superbowl with the talent currently on the roster, so what? They can still win games, so step on up and win some.
Until then, you get a parade for a perfect season. A perfectly bad season.
Frankly, this is probably a good thing. If nothing else, it just shows that even when the team sucks, Cleveland Browns fans are still going to stick by their boys. The Dog Pound is a loyal bunch, no matter what.
And if it inspires a better 2018 season, so much the better.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member