The Believeland Browns

Art Modell became the most hated man in Cleveland on November 6^th 1995 when he announced that he was moving the Cleveland Browns franchise to Baltimore. The city of Cleveland promptly sued in order to retain the rights to the franchise and its storied history filled with heartbreak. In 1999 the Cleveland Browns were reborn as an expansion team and the city of Cleveland rejoiced. In that first expansion draft, the Browns selected Tim Couch, a highly touted record-setting quarterback from the University of Kentucky. And with the selection of Tim Couch, the new-era Browns’ draft woes began. Over the next few years Cleveland squandered top 10 first-round draft selections on a slew of draft busts with the likes of Courtney Brown, Gerard Warren, William Green, and the list goes on. The majority of these players are currently either out of the league or moved on to greener pastures where they won Super Bowl rings and made Pro Bowl rosters (ex. Jeff Faine). Then in 2006 the Browns drafted Joe Thomas with their first-round pick and attempted to break the curse by trading away most of their following years draft picks to acquire a second first-round draft pick, which they used Brady Quinn. Quinn was a native Ohioan growing up outside Columbus, and was a natural choice to be elevated as the next savior of the Browns. The previous two years had seen the Browns select Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards, and all of a sudden the pieces appeared to be in place for Cleveland to make a run. With some success that year, primarily due to the consistent play of Joe Thomas on the offensive line, the Browns finished the season 10-6 and missed the playoffs due to a tie-breaker rule. The following season confidence was high, the expectations were high, and Cleveland fans had hope, a stirring in their hearts they had not felt since before “The Drive” and “The Fumble” crushed that hope almost two decades ago. But it all was a tease as the Browns imploded finishing the season with a six-game losing streak. A few more years went by and the Browns never seemed to find that one star player, the hero who they could look to when they were down by three points in the fourth quarter, a leader to take charge and make the play to win the game. Last week the Browns drafter Trent Richardson form the University of Alabama. Will Trent Richardson be that guy? He is a bruising running back with superhuman size, speed, and strength. With an untarnished off-the-field record to go with his outstanding numbers, some say Trent Richardson can be the next Jim Brown. But what about the 28 year old quarterback the Browns drafted late in the first-round, passing on some of the better offensive linemen still left in the Draft? Maybe there is still hope for Cleveland. As a staunch Browns fan and avid believer in miracles, I continue to believe in Cleveland.