OT - Browns
Some of us are still shaking off the solar plexus blow from December 29th: the firing of first-year HC Rob Chudzinski. As a longtime Browns fan this is all the more maddening when one considers that a prolonged hiring process by the new owner of the franchise, Jimmy Haslam, yielded the hiring of Chudzinski. In the fallout from this stunning turn of events, I have reconsidered how much of my fandom I wish to endow with the franchise. As a mover and shaker in a city that I love, as a driving force behind change, as a unifier of people across wide social strata - those benefits I still know and appreciate.
But the pattern of long-term incompetence still beleaguers the team and the front office. This article I came across today is a fascinating, near-encyclopedic primer on what many Browns fans are feeling today:
LINK
Cleveland Frowns' take on the situation, which also links the above article:
LINK
January 5th, 2014 at 7:26 PM ^
Well, a fair number of the posts in this thread are people debating about its existence and relevance, whereas no one is complaining in the playoff thread.
And this argument about relevance based on community response isn't the point; I could post a long screed about how MSU is going to destroy UM for decades and it would engender quite a response. Or I could write about racism in sports, or Obamacare and its effect on student athletes and ongoing medical care after their scholarship ends, or whatever tangentally related to "sports" and "UM." As others have noted, there are lots of CA/NY fans around here, but when was the last time you saw a post about the Jets? That's a crapstorm that warrants discussion, and those discussions are going on on those relevant blogs.
Agian, I hate the content police as much as anyone, but it isn't wrong to say that a thread titled "Browns" with no relation to the UM sports doesn't NEED to be found here. That said, it looks like it will stay, and I'm fine with that as well. But I go to other sites for general sports talk, and frankly this site gets pretty bad when it devolves from UM-centric discussions.
January 5th, 2014 at 7:40 PM ^
Comments are not indicitive of the strength or the relevance of the content - very few MGoUsers comment in the threads, something like fewer than 15% of the readership also writes. So pageviews are far, FAR more important to the health of a thread. This thread is three hours old with 2,782 views - not great but above average. I'm sure Brian appreciates the views.
And yes, a fair number of the comments are pure griefers, or parliamentarians looking to pick fights for no apparent reason. Is this Diarist of the Week behavior we are seeing here, bronxblue? Did you even read the comically oversized LINK articles I provided for you and the rest of the thread? If you want to fuss over the rules, that is your right. My goal here is to spur discussion with a classic case study of institutional failure. And the articles are well-written and full of interesting stories and material.
I would have no problem with periodic New York Jets updates. If someone wants to write this material, then someone will write it. Butterfield had a good weekly NFL breakdown for awhile before he got purged. I would have no problem whatsoever with in-depth breakdown of any of the 32 NFL teams as long is it is OT season, or a Lions-common opponent, or a team 4 hours away from Detroit, although not in the same division.
You are correct, sir, that this site gets pretty bad when it devolves from UM-centric discussions. Intolerance and aggression become commonplace. There has been much MGoPopcorn to go around in this thread, much of it from your keyboard. My favorite part is that you, sir, have done as much as anyone to make my thread a resounding, popular success on a relatively slow snow day when there is nothing to do. Thanks!
January 5th, 2014 at 11:56 PM ^
Is a soul mate to Scout, and has just as many, if not more, stupid, irrleveant and repetitive threads as Scout. Pretentious Michigan fans ruined this thing long ago, and contiue to make it nearly unreadable. People arguing over the relevance of ANY thread here is inane. This was a good post, and Cleveland is pretty much a sister city of Detroit. The Browns and Lions are kind of shadows of each other, both franchises wallowing in fans' self pity and incomparable levels of incompetence. The people of Cleveland HAVE to be sick over the fact that the original Browns left the city and then went on to win two championships. My sympathies to ya, brother!
January 5th, 2014 at 6:12 PM ^
The Browns will hire 3 head coaches to take his place.
January 5th, 2014 at 5:28 PM ^
January 5th, 2014 at 6:30 PM ^
A/S/L?
January 5th, 2014 at 8:25 PM ^
January 5th, 2014 at 7:23 PM ^
January 5th, 2014 at 5:33 PM ^
January 5th, 2014 at 5:37 PM ^
They are almost as bad as the Lions historically.
January 5th, 2014 at 5:37 PM ^
Astros
January 5th, 2014 at 5:45 PM ^
Have an upvote.
January 5th, 2014 at 6:06 PM ^
As I think about it,
Lions:Astros
Browns:Cubs (except nobody likes the Browns)
January 5th, 2014 at 7:28 PM ^
January 5th, 2014 at 5:42 PM ^
I do like Cleveland and Great Lakes beer.
January 5th, 2014 at 5:53 PM ^
This thread sucks almost as much as the Browns.
January 5th, 2014 at 5:55 PM ^
OP: As a fellow Browns fan and season ticket holder (through marrage) I also think Chud got royally screwed but I also think the reason the replacement has seemed slow is because they cannot hire the guy they want yet per league rules. I think they cut the deal with McDaniels before the season was even over via their shared agent. For reasons that escape me both Lombardi & Banner have a major woody for the guy and everything they've done since is just politically correct window dressing killing time until he's legally available to hire.
You can BKFinest it. Josh McDaniels will be our next HC here in C-town.
January 5th, 2014 at 6:41 PM ^
I am envious of the family life and the Browns season tickets you enjoy. Even with losing games, I enjoy going to outdoor football games with tens of thousands of other people and seeing what I can see. The experience is more visceral and replay is readily available is one is jotting notes or terminology to research. Even if they never do lose to Cal at the Shoe, it is fun to watch 105,000 people get hot around the collar.
JMcD is a solid choice, if he is willing to work with a potentially radioactive locker room - a sight all too common in Cleveland. "I just don't know, man." Six draft picks and $25 million + in cap space and a Belichick boy in command. How will we crash into the mountain with our picks and management this time? Maybe if JMcD owns the team in 30 years then moves it to Oklahoma City or something.
January 5th, 2014 at 6:01 PM ^
January 5th, 2014 at 6:12 PM ^
If it involves Dennis Green then people will care once you play the clip from his Zona days.
January 5th, 2014 at 6:14 PM ^
January 5th, 2014 at 6:02 PM ^
about anyone or anything from Ohio!
January 5th, 2014 at 6:04 PM ^
I am sorry you are a Browns fan. You have my sympathy.
January 5th, 2014 at 6:07 PM ^
January 5th, 2014 at 6:17 PM ^
January 5th, 2014 at 6:31 PM ^
Yes it does.
January 5th, 2014 at 6:22 PM ^
the Junior Hemmingway injury yesterday?
January 5th, 2014 at 7:40 PM ^
January 5th, 2014 at 7:43 PM ^
January 5th, 2014 at 8:14 PM ^
I grew up in Pontiac Nate, went to U of M and then moved out of Michigan after graduation in 81. I bounced around the west coast for a while and then got relocated to Cleveland in 87 and have lived here since. I've raised three kids (two sons) who are HUGE Browns fans and when I got remarried four years ago my wife's dad gave us the PSL for his three seats on the 50 yard line as a wedding gift (he's held them since 1954 believe it or not). So I started going to games here in 2009 and have followed the Browns since 87 even though I'm from Michigan, still love the Lions and root for them to win too.
January 6th, 2014 at 2:45 PM ^
because a lot of kids from Ohio like Michigan, either to be edgy or because they just like us better.
January 6th, 2014 at 10:45 PM ^
I... can't believe I didn't think of that... wow.
Makes sense, haha. IIRC, that's what Hoke said he did as a kid.
January 6th, 2014 at 4:08 PM ^
ssia
January 6th, 2014 at 10:42 PM ^
Okay, so why go with Michigan then? Why not 'local' Ohio State instead of their hated rivals?
Did you strongly disagree with Woody puching a kid? Did Ohio State snub your family like the poster above?
If you are okay with sharing, I am genuinely interested in stuff like this.
January 6th, 2014 at 4:25 PM ^
family of Michigan fans. My father and uncle's high school friends were told that they were too small to play for Ohio State, but were offered by Bo.
When they got to school they started rooting for their friends, and became Michigan fans. That's where I got it from.
January 5th, 2014 at 9:05 PM ^
Mods fighting....can't you all just get along ?
January 6th, 2014 at 10:35 AM ^
And it's the off-season. The article summed up the feelings around here perfectly which makes it that much more depressing.
We're hopeless and helpless around here, the Browns are a joke, with Indians ownership they might as well be playing a different sport, then we watched Lebron win 2 straight titles, but least we have our nice weather to fall back on.
January 6th, 2014 at 12:06 PM ^
that LINK needs to be in a bigger font size.
January 6th, 2014 at 12:24 PM ^
Wow even threads about the Browns suck.
January 10th, 2014 at 8:58 PM ^
last night during the basketball broadcast, once when they came back from commercial they were showing Tim Miles showing off the new facility. Well, more than once, but anyway...when ESPN comes back from commercial they often show a pop-up ad for some upcoming programming on the network in the lower left hand corner of the screen, and this particular time they were showing the locker room, I think, and the camera lingered for a moment on a toilet just as the ad came up for a Sportcenter segment on the Browns' coaching search.
LOL. Somebody had fun with that one.