I was genuinely surprised at the volume of mail that I got from
Paranoia Before the Fall,
especially given the focus on the team's restrictive media policy. I was a
little stunned that my email box filled with messages from fans who wrote in to
express their agreement.
A good part of why the piece got this reaction, I expect, had to do with the
editorial's angst about losing fans from the franchise, something I've noticed a
great deal during this tough season. There's something about the Browns that
makes fans feel "distant" from the team. There are a lot of both on-the-field
and off-the-field factors going into that, I believe, and the policy of pushing
away the media is just one of them.
Meanwhile, I suspect that the organization hopes that the magic win fairy
comes to visit them soon, and makes all their problems go away. My warning to
the Browns organization is that sudden on-field success will let them hide
problems, not solve them. Things need to change.
If the Browns organization won't listen to me, perhaps they will listen to
the dozens of fans who wrote in and whose words are sampled below. As in the
other feedback article, I have shortened names to slightly obscure the author,
and have taken the liberty of excerpting pieces of longer emails and message
board posts. I hope I did not change your context in doing so.
I have answered a couple of these emails below, but mostly just want to let
fans speak without my interference.
HDawg: Who can we spam, fax, e, petition, crank,
etc.etc. to get things changed??? We have the power, we just need Jammie's info.
Barry: I appreciate the sentiment, but wouldn't want to see
Browns fans jam up fax machines or fill email in-boxes in the middle of a
season. I don't think we need a fan outpouring on this issue and similar ones -
just some common sense on the part of the team.
Chez: Barry - I hope your "other job" also involves
writing or journalism, because your commentary was excellent and echoed my
sentiments in a way I could not have expressed. I've never understood the
paranoia about having media and others watch practice. It certainly hasn't given
the Browns a bit of advantage on game day, and it does alienate the fans at a
time when the week before games could be used to promote the upcoming game,
rather than cloak it in secrecy. Keep up the good work - Barry. As I read your
commentary, I kept thinking that part of your motivation must come from your
belief that Phil Savage and others in the organization have or will read it
before the day is out.
Barry: My other job is working for the Scout Network, mostly
in technical support. I've been very happy to get a gig that lets me jump into
working on the OBR in the middle of the day when needed without looking over my
shoulder.
80s: Nice article, Barry. I only wish it would get to
those who need read it most.
Dr: Outstanding,
Barry. Thanks for speaking up. I hope it reaches the eyes and minds of people
with the power to change things.
Barry: I wrote it with the hope that bringing fans into the loop would create a
desire for some introspection on the part of the franchise we all fought to
bring back to town. There's always an off-chance we would get some changes made
like we did back in 1999. As I wrote in the column, though, I expect it to fall
on deaf ears.
At this point, though, no one from the team has commented upon or
acknowledged the commentary. It has not been noted at all in the local media.
The team's internet policy is to try to keep Browns fans from discovering the
Orange and Brown Report as it represents what is perceived as
competition for their own web site and magazine.
Prof: Barry, sadly, your commentary
described me. A part of me died when the Browns left town. And it was reborn
when we were given the expansion franchise. BTNG, Bernie's, and now the O&B
Report were a home away from home for me. I bought Direct TV so I could see my
beloved Browns every week.
WB: Yep, agree with Barry and the
professor... I don't
get ill after a loss...I
really laugh at it anymore... and to tell you the truth, if it wasn't this website keeping me close
to the team, I
probably wouldn't be a fan anymore...
MSC: It was BTNG that got me through the years of the team's absence. And this is
what we get when we endeavor to live through memories of what it was.
In retrospect, wouldn't it have been better to have retired the name and colors
and build a new tradition through some other innocuous moniker?
Dixie: It was BTNG that got me through the years of the team's absence. No
doubt. Not having direct Cleveland ties, I tried to root for another team during
"the theft", but I just couldn't do it. The NFL was dead to me and BTNG really
came along at the right time. It may or may not be true, but the entire Browns
organization just doesn't seem to to give a rat's ass if I, or any or you, came
back with same voracity as before. Just buy Couch's jersey and a stupid dog logo
shirt.
Barry:
I bundled these emails together because of
their comments about this website binding them to to the team through the years.
Not for vanity - I don't want to sprain my shoulder patting myself on the back -
but because you would be hard-pressed to get the Browns to acknowledge that a
community like this one plays a role in promoting the club. They're more concerned
about making sure no one mentions or finds them. It's a strategy that neither
works or creates a favorable relationship between the team and their fans. Based
on the restrictive media policies, it's hard to believe that the organization
believes that the mainstream media plays a role in promoting their product. It
seems to be considered more of a nuisance, to be escorted off the field before
it can see anything.
Now, if I ran
the Browns, I'd be able to pay my mortgage on
time. Wait, no... I meant to say that I ran the Browns, I'd be binding sites
like this one close. I'd be working with the media rather than playing favorites or
trying to compete. I wouldn't care as much about what folks were saying, as long
as they were talking about the Browns.
The Browns don't think they need the OBR.
They would rather compete with us, or try to, with their own website and
magazine. It's been that way since the all-knowing Carmen Policy rolled into
town in the back seat of a limo.
The Browns don't look a gift horse in the
mouth. They shoot it on sight.
TJ: Barry you put into words a lot of what has bothered me since the
rebirth. When he that shall remain nameless ran the Browns I had a feeling that
they were part of the community, truly my team. Now I feel like I am a fan of a
major corporate conglomerate. Feels like I am a fan of Pepsi or Nike. Love the
product but it just doesn't feel the same.
Barry:
It's been this way since 1999. Everything is
too controlled, too distant. Pushing away the media just makes it more so.
Real life is messy, includes both good news
and bad. Real emotions, real struggles. Fans want to be a part of that. If you
empathize with someone, you can tolerate their struggle. No one empathizes with
General Motors or IBM.
The team just wants you to know that
everything is under control and everything is fine. They'll pat you on the head
and send you on your way. Now, go eat some of the the Official Meat Products of
the Cleveland Browns in the Barking Lot.
PJB: Enjoyed the
article. One other thing that I thought of is that Crennel's cutting off media
access is really only hurting him. It's pretty obvious that Crennel is not a
good media guy. Although he'll crack jokes occasionally in his press
conferences, it's pretty clear that he isn't great in that element... Now we're
all turning against him, and I can't help believe that in addition to the record
it is because he's not that great when he speaks in his press conferences, and
we don't have a feel for what he does behind closed doors.
Barry: Bullseye! Bill Belichick can get away with
closing practices, but even he has made a point of bringing the media more into
his world after he went to New England by explaining plays and game plans. While
the Patriots media situation is too restrictive as well, at least they can fall
back on having won three Super Bowls in four years. The Browns, on the other
hand, haven't gotten into a Super Bowl without a ticket over the last forty
years.
Right now, all you know about Romeo Crennel
and how the team works to win is what he tells you in a brief talking head
session and by talking to players scared to death that they'll say something
interesting to the press. Then you look at the standings, and it makes all that
sound like so much hot air.
As Crurode said in the
forums: "Romeo Crennel, tear down this wall!" It will help
the team, the media, and the fans.
Bill: Sadly, I must agree with all of your comments.
I have been a Browns fan since 1959 and for the most part, the last couple of
decades have been very painful. Lerner is clueless and so is the rest of
the upper management structure. Randy is not old enough to make the tough
decisions that have to be made. Why is Crennel so enamored with Carthon?
I really hate to say this, but if Crennel won't make the needed changes to his
coaching staff before next season, then he needs to go as well. Have you
sent those fan base statistics to the Browns? Does Randy listen to anyone
besides his own staff? Is there another owner who would be willing to give
him some sage advice? Would it make any difference?
Barry: I think the Browns are probably more interested in
reading a recent
study what held that Browns fans were the most loyal in the NFL. The study
included such elements at temperature in the calculation and utilizes an average
attendance of 99.83% for the team, which is a joke. It doesn't take a rocket
scientist to look out over CBS and dispute that number. There are a lot of empty
seats. I'm proud of being a Browns fan, but, frankly, that study was almost
laughable in its methodology.
No one from Berea asks for advice or calls me up to talk about their
thinking, but I'm sure that sort of thing just convinces the organization that
it's on the right path. Unfortunately, as I'm finding this season, there are
limits to what even Browns fans will endure.
BTW, Randy Lerner turns to the Patriots Bob Kraft for a lot of advice, but
I'm not sure the advice of someone who has three recent Super Bowl wins
translates into how to deal with a fan base that hasn't been to a championship
since 1964.
BillR: Barry, this is the most insightful article about
the Browns I have read in a long time . I have been a fan since the late 60's. I
now am about to change to the Colts they are closer to my home & much better of
course then the Browns . I in the past I have flown my Browns flag in the front
yard with pride, I now keep in the garage. Thanks again for your article.
Barry: You've been waiting a long time for that Super Bowl
and have at least one more year of waiting ahead, I'm afraid. Your situation is
a problem that is facing the Browns right now - they're losing the areas of the
state where they compete with the Steelers, Bengals, and even the Colts. Fans
see little reason to stick with the Browns. I hope you stick with the orange and
brown and hang in there. Hopefully, the organization will get their act together
on and off the field in the near future. Folks who have waited nearly forty
years like yourself deserve it.
Barry:
I have nothing to add to any of these. They express points of view that I hear nearly every day.
I'm inserting the following excerpts of forum
posts and emails without further comment.
Dave: Your article focused on the media blackout
which to be honest I didn’t even put my finger on until I read it. I just
knew that I was becoming more and more disconnected with the team. I just
sit hear and listen to them lose every week. I have two sons who “were”
Browns fans but they are losing interest too. It’s embarrassing after
awhile to follow at team that screws everything up all the time. Like you
said, they don’t remember the old days when no team wanted to have to come into
Municipal stadium.
Joe: Great article!
The lack of actual info makes fans react more dramatically to the lack of
production by the coaching staff and ownership. Absent real credible info, fans will create their own. This is
how rumors and conspiracy theories start, in a vacuum.
There might be more reasonable solutions to the offenses woes
than firing Carthon ( I doubt it ) but it's the only solution fans can come up
with when they have nothing to work with.
Jim: I believe
there are no secrets in the NFL. I don't know why a team has to do this cloak
and dagger stuff. Football is not rocket science though some would like to make
you think it is. It is about execution. I don't expect or would want someone to
report on the playbook, although I would think that if an opponent were to
see formations, plays, whatever, that is all the more they need to prepare for.
Preseason for example, why all the vanilla? Run the plays and make the other
team work. News is all we want, coach talk, player updates (not just injuries) who looks
good in practice, etc. Savage and Lerner grew up in an era I'd like to revisit.
access. We pay the freight, the fans. No fans, no team!
Henry: You make some great points. Firstly that the organization is losing
fans. And also, maybe worse, the fans are losing interest. The product on
the field has been not just awful but boring. Its one thing for the team
to lose (a lot) its another for them to play boring un-inspired football. But
there are some causes of fan erosion not mentioned. As a ticket holder at
the old stadium and the new, I must say that while the new stadium is much more
modern, it has all the personality of a giant cinderblock. A ticket to a Browns
game includes more than just a seat to watch the game. There are the food
and beverage choices, the atmosphere in the concourses, etc. My experiences with
these are horrible. The food choices are dismal and the quality is
inconsistent at best. The beer choices are great if you like Miller Lite or Bud Lite. The few places to find anything else like the locally
produced Great Lakes beers are impossible to find or like the "Beers Of The
World" charge exorbitant prices and then run out of beer during half time. Maybe if ownership focused on providing a quality game experience to the
ticket holders instead of just maximizing marketing opportunities fans wouldn't
be increasingly disillusioned with pro football in Cleveland.
NTR: I will say that somehow I actually care about this team more, and
because I care about them, I am willing to spend more time here posting more
than I have in many moons. But I will spend less time at the stadium where the
fools that run this franchise have the opportunity to break my interest in them
with their stupidity. Items that piss me off enough to significantly reduce caring:
-
Having my
ticket checked every time I return to my section in the bleachers. I mean
c'mon, it is the cheapest ticket in the stadium, why the hell would someone
try to sneak in there? Dumb asses.
-
The entire
beer in a cup stupidity, which was the Browns idea. At least the cops don't
take it seriously now that
Lady Jane is gone.
-
Ridiculous
concession prices, fans who have no clue and shouldn't be there, blowing
game after game, coaches who condescend to the fans, a non-responsive front
office.
This team isn't
the team I grew up loving, it is now run by a bunch of incompetents who are
driving fans away with their play and their act. I can actually understand it. They don't get it, and I don't know that anything other than
20,000 empty seats for opening day will send the message and get things changed.
JC: I loved your editorial, and I agree wholeheartedly. The arrogance
of the NFL as well as how Browns fans are taken for granted is troubling. I have
often wondered out loud if the joke is on US for our continued support of this
franchise... hell... it is more than support. We eat, sleep drink and breathe
Cleveland Browns, and the team KNOWS it. How could such a loyal fan base be treated so indifferently is beyond me.
Jon: I've often wondered the same thing regarding the CIA
like secrecy surrounding the happenings of our beloved team on anything and
everything. I'm pretty darn tired of the status quo. Unfortunately I, like you
and countless other fans, will continue supporting the Browns because one day we
all hope they'll show us what a football team looks like and why we've spent
hundreds and thousands of dollar on them...
DC: I am with you Barry. My wife and I are huge
football fans (she's a Bills season ticket holder), but we feel that with every
passing year (or two) the NFL becomes more blatantly (and annoyingly) commercial
and less enjoyable... If anyone wants to see the future, go to a Redskins game
at FedEx field. Awful, awful experience, where everything is blatantly geared to
pumping fans for money rather than enhancing the game experience. You can
urinate in the PNC Bank urinal or sit in a seat brought to you by Dunkin Donuts.
An exaggeration, but not by much. The NFL has to remember that the product of
quality football made the NFL what it is. The NFL (and ESPN, NBC, et al) are
playing with fire when they interfere with that product.
DaveR: You are right on the money Barry. I am older than you
and was in college in 1964 when the Browns beat the Colts 27-0 on Gary Collins'
post patterns. The team that calls themselves the Browns now might as well exist
in a parallel universe, because they are so out of touch with the media and
fans. I like Romeo because I think he is a good human being, but as much as I
want him to succeed in Cleveland, I'm afraid he may not be head coach material.
He doesn't understand that you can't treat the media or the fans like children.
Some of his answers to questions are so lame that it makes me gag. A play that doesn't work is a bad play and one that does is a good play ... give
me a break!
GregZ: Don't get flustered because the Browns hold
everything so close to the vest. They discourage objectivity by hiding
everything from the media and fans. Ever since the team returned in 99 the
Browns have proven to be untrusting of the media, secretive with everyone
(Including the player that are cut or traded), untruthful with the fans, and
scared to be honest and open because then we will see how bad they screw things
up behind the scenes.
Norm: Great read, that has me
reflecting on my love of this team and not the NFL in general. Its times like this I curse my wife for making me sit down back
1999 and ever watching this team again. Come on she said you know you want to.
And after that, I was hooked again. It makes me realize how little this origination cares for its
fan base. This shows how little appreciation they have for what we as fans have
been though. Not getting insight with the players and coaching staff makes them
just faces, wearing the colors of the team and city I cheer for. This is pro
football to me, one team in one city. It’s the reason when the team looks bad I go to the Draft Brew
in Sept. Thanks
again for the emotions
and great read.
RR: Finding most of the commentary dead on with my thoughts, I wonder how
long it continues. This week I fly to Cleveland to see the Browns. I do it every
year. I know people who attend every home game. Get on the train in Mass or RI
and go to the game. Returning for work on Monday night or Tuesday morning. This week's trip is the most disconcerting. No one seems to be
excited about the trip and if they hadn't spent the money, I doubt many would
attend. One friend, Lenny the postman succinctly summed up the situation when he
repeated his son's question, " Dad, why did you bring me up to be a Browns' fan?
TX: I think this article and thinking is spot on. The NFL is a large,
pompous and arrogant organization. So are our new Browns, as so eloquently put
by Barry. And if you want comparisons, publically traded companies do have to
answer to their share holders - what's selling, not selling, strategic
direction, etc. These knuckleheads that run the Browns owe their 'shareholders'
a lot after holding them for ransom for PSL's, expensive season tickets
(relative to the product they trot out their), parking, conce$$ions, luxury
suites and of course the all encompassing 'Sin Tax' to pay for the new stadium.
Like Barry I was
also pretty young to remember 1964 and Jim Brown playing is a vague memory.
Leroy Kelly and Paul Warfield were my first Browns heroes. The Cardic
Kids and Bernies team of the 80's was an incredible era. And
sadly these are the guys that the NFL is conveniently forgetting about
financially along with their loyal fan base - the people that put them on the
map. They -- and we -- deserve much better.
Ted: I'm the same age as you and I live and die with
this pathetic franchise. I own ten PSL's just so that my boys and my buddies can
all sit together and for ten days out of the year we can heal our wounds of life
in the 21st century. But you know what....they're even starting to lose me. I
never thought that was possible but it's happening. The arrogant attitude of
this organization is mystifying! What have they ever done worth noting in their
current positions?
Brian: I just wanted to respond to your article. You are
absolutely correct. I love the Browns, I have always loved the Browns, and I
will continue to love the Browns, however, I don't know how much more time and
money I can contribute to an organization who doesn't care about me.
MS: Great article...scary article...kind of left a pit
in my gut after reading it, but you are right on the mark. If the NFL and
more importantly the Cleveland Browns just played there cards right (admitted
mistakes, promised they would fix them, opened up a little more info to the
fans, communicate with us, etc...), the team could still be 1-4 but the attitude
toward the team would be different. No one would be content with that 1-4
record but we would all feel a little better about the team we love. We
would feel like we matter in their eyes. It doesn't always feel that way.
You and your staff do a great job at being the lone source of light in an
otherwise black cave.
Dixie: Maybe
Romeo isn't comfortable with the media - I could care less. I know Savage is.
Both of them, along with Pele Lerner need to step up and address every damn
thing. Right down to why it costs $6 for a hot dog at the stadium (guess), but
that same dog is overpriced at the 7-11 for only a buck. I want to know. We
deserve to know. I've spent enough time giving them my money, now give me some
freaking answers.
Scott: Just got home from the
first day on a new job and where do I go to on my computer first? The OBR. I do
it for articles like this one. Barry, that (imho) was the best front page read I
have had since finding this site. I have sensed the disconnect the team has with
reality for a while. You deal directly with it on a daily basis, it must be
extremely frustrating, given the passion you feel for this team. All I can say
is THANK YOU Barry! Keep fighting the good fight man. Damn the torpedoes, full
speed ahead!
LLS: Well done. I think should be sent to Goodall as well since he is the one to
shape this league for years to come. After reading it I'm not sure whether I should
get ready to take up arms or run for the hills. I'll stand and fight for now.
dual:
Hokay... the old guy cannot stand it anymore...
How do you rally-back a hole blown society that cannot be once
again proud, and bound by its sports teams, work ethic, and kick ass business
integrity. This
football team of ours (forget baseball) has raped the fans, squandered their
future, and simply lost the mission statement this city deserves. Barry speaks
well.... listen.
Those of us who are Cleveland born, raised, educated out here in the
diaspora, are still writing home...no one is answering the letters. I
have been beat to death on here for saying that "it lies there in the back of
some closed door area of our minds that, this pro football thing is over.... the
salaries, the management, the lost "local" competition, the costs; we keep that
door closed -for now- and have to wonder what...event, what season, what insult
to our persona will blow it off its hinges, making us
acknowledge that they finally killed it, and, we walk away.
Not sports like we have known it folks, its CYA, $, and outta' towners running the show... "for you"
Jeff: I've completely turned my back on baseball.
I haven't watched an Indians at-bat in 3 or 4 years now. I don't miss it
in the least. I'm afraid I see the same thing happening to my love of
football. As every year goes by I get less and less out of professional sports.
Every year I pay less and less attention. If I don't get anything out of
it, why do I watch it? In another year or so, I'm afraid this won't be an
issue anymore.
mdr: Barry, great article. I
think a lot of Browns fans have similar feelings about the current franchise. In regard to the Browns franchise, I agree that if things don't
turn around soon, Randy (and us fools who watch every game) are going to start
to see a half empty stadium. The crowd will be made up of fans of the opposing
team and people who can afford to pay 6 bucks for a beer, and don't care about
the team or the game.
Here is another
problem for Lerner: 90%
of the group that I watch the games with is over 35 (I'm 39). All but one regular was born and
raised in Ohio. My
experience is this: unless you were born in Northern Ohio between about 1930 and
1975, you have never experienced a "good" Browns team, never experienced old
Muni, never experienced playoff games, players that you respected, etc. I was in Vegas in Oct. 2005 and met a group of people from
Cleveland. There were 3 couples about 25 years old. I mentioned the Browns - and
they all basically said the same thing: "who cares". Everybody who knows how good it can be is gonna
be gone soon. People
will not spend time and money on a terrible product. And that is what Randy
should really be caring about. End of rant.