With the Cleveland Browns going back to the future and finally unveiling their much ballyhooed new NEW (old) uniforms with a modernized feel, a new kind of debate and intra-civil war has broken out within Dawg Pound Nation. And as normal, Browns fans are never happy, always grumpy and eternally jaded bunch of belly-aching jerks. Yet, they are the most loyal, HARDEST of the hardcore fans in the NFL, but why are the much-anticipated new Browns uniforms so polarizing? only in Cleveland, right!
I only say this out of love for my fellow Dawgs, but for months leading up to the uniform reveal, there were various groups of fans that are;
A.) iron-clad, hard-core die-hards from birth who demanded a return to the old classic from 1946-1995 and nothing else.
B.) Fans that wanted a fresh and modern—hipster-ish—update that was enough to appease the most condescending of Millennials and Baby Boomers.
C.) Fans that wanted a happy medium of A and B, as long as they were not along the lines of the horrible threads that Nike wet the proverbial bed for back in 2015.
And lastly, D.) The ones who honestly didn’t give a damn and was more concerned about seeing a winning product on the field for the first time since 2007. And don’t EVEN get me started on that stupid-ass ‘Perfect Season’ parade after the team went 0-16.
As I posted on my Facebook shortly after the release, judging from the reaction following the unveiling fans and #BrownsTwitter were going to start a civil war over these newish, updated and seemingly swankier retro-conned jerseys that paid homage to the franchise’s once-glorious past with an updated number font, homage to the year the team was found—1946—and the much-beloved five-stripes on the shoulder that have been the browns trademark since inception.
And yet, their was factions within Browns Nation that were still—and are bitching over the modernized return of the classic tops. As much as I LOVE being a Browns fan, Cleveland sports fans are without question the most angry, bitter, unhappy, grumpy, miserable, jaded and bipolar fan base in all of football.
Look, I get it! Really, I do and completely understand that many had their hopes WAY up high about getting something different in what they imagined in their head as opposed to the reality. I’m not attacking anyone’s point of view or thought process in what they wanted or expected, but you had 40-60 year-old’s having a conniption fee—and trying to channel their inner keyboard warrior, internet tough guy–over the lack of orange pants—which are rumored to be coming soon.
Orange pants, SERIOUSLY. Or, white/gray face masks. Again, I completely get it, but come on people!
We (Browns fans, not all of us!) were acting like a bunch of bratty bay bay kids that were mad because they didn’t get what they wanted at X-Mas. Grow up please and take a step back and reassess.
I was born in 1976–thus I am a Xennial, border of Gen X and Millennial—and I BARELY remember Sipe and the Kardiac Kids and grew up worshipping my hero, Bernie Kosar. I LOVED those 80’s teams and the clean white look of those days, my fondest memory of the browns classic tops was seeing Kosar call “The Audible” amidst swirling snow flurries vs. the Houston Oilers. Those before me grew up watching Otto Graham, Jim Brown, Dante Lavelli, Marion Motley, etc. and have vivid memories of those classic brown/white tops rolling over the NFL powerhouse Colts and Eagles of yesteryear.
Bottom line is this, the Browns have a rich and storied history that they needed to go back towards. And while they did, there is always THAT segment of our fan base that’ll NEVER be happy in what they do.
Swear to God, it drives me BATTY. And is a bad look for those who chose to be that way.
One minute it’s, “these uniforms are awful! go back to the classics!” and now we have the new era classics again and these same idiots are griping about the team going back to them!
What the proverbial f$%k. Make up your mind.
With the draft roughly a week away, And the perennially anti-Cleveland national media spewing more fake news than Fox about Odell Beckham going to the Vikings and who are beloved Browns will selecting to protect Mr. Baker Baker Touchdown Maker, hopefully fans of all factions, regardless of their old-school/nu skool uniform tastes can set aside their petty difference and cheer together as one in supporting our Browns regardless of what jersey they will be wearing.