Happy New Year!!

You are not just Browns fans, but rather, you are the Browns.

The players, the coaches, the general managers, the front office, people and the owners all come and go. But you guys — and ladies — have been the one and only constant, are the one and only constant now and will be the one and only constant heading into the future. Perhaps the fandom in you for the Browns goes back two or three generations, or maybe even longer. You have been there through everything, the good times and the bad and on nice sunny days down on the lakefront and on bitterly cold ones. You have stood the test of time. You are like the sun rising in the morning and setting in the evening. You are like the moon and stars that come out overnight. You can always be dependent on to show up, no matter what.

Kirk Herbstreit is an Ohio guy through and through. He is a native of Centerville. His dad was a captain for the Ohio State football team and he played quarterback for the Buckeyes, and he knows all about the division in which the Browns play because he is a big Cincinnati Bengals fan. On the telecast of last Thursday night’s playoff-clinching 37–20 win over the New York Jets, Herbert, as he is called, just might be the best analyst on football on both the college ranks and in the pros. As such, what he says matters. He talked several times about how good the Browns fans are. The venerable Al Michaels, who did the play-by-play, seconded did his comments every time.

Herbie said Browns fand are among the best in the NFL. I will go a step further and say they are the very best, for, after all, they are the only group of fans who fought successfully to get their team back. They are, then, the Jim Brown of NFL fans. They are the flagship of the fleet, as former Browns head coach Sam Rutigliano always called the Browns team. Well, the fans are right there, too.

Yes, this is a Browns team in 2023 that you can like. That’s because it is just like you in that it the fights hard, never gives up and is passionate and loyal right down to the core.

But at the same time, this is a fan group that the Browns themselves should love. There is no place better to play than Cleveland. If you work, hard, do your job and produce, the fans will remember you long after your playing days are over. Just ask the Kardiac Kids and the members of the Browns teams of the last half of the 1980s through the Bernie Kosar years. They are still treated like royalty around here. It has always been the case dating all the way back to those early teams that Paul Brown put together and were one of the most dominant clubs through a decade in pro football history.

So, as we look forward to the playoffs, pat yourself on the back, because you, once again, have played a huge role in that. The Browns finished 8-1 at home this year, and that is not a coincidence. Playing in Cleveland is a big home-field advantage. You fans have made it such.

The Browns organization should say thanks to you over and over and over again not just year, but also for seasons that weren’t as productive, weren’t as much fun and weren’t as exciting.

You people are just the best.

And with that, then, in this very special season to remember, we need to remember you, the fans who so richly deserve seasons like this all the time. Your faithfulness is beyond reproach.

The best to you and your family in 2024.

Steve King