Sam Rutigliano, the head coach of the Browns during the Kardiac Kids era, has a real way with words – he’s a wordsmith – so it’s not at all surprised that he has said it best any number of times on this particular subject.
“When things are good, they’re never better anywhere than they are in Cleveland,” Rutigliano said about fans’ tremendous support of winning teams.
The evidence that Rutigliano’s clubs still resonate with fans nearly 40 years later came when Brian Sipe, the quarterback and the ringleader of the Kardiac Kids, received a loud ovation when he was introduced at last Sunday’s game between the Browns and Cincinnati Bengals at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Speaking of loud ovations, there have been a lot of them all summer at Progressive Field for the streaking Cleveland Indians, and they were expected to be even louder Thursday night and Friday afternoon when they hosted games 1 and 2 of the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees.
Compare that to the horrific performance put on by the Browns against the Bengals, when fans became so disgusted that most of them weren’t around for the final minutes of a 31-7 loss, and you see something that is at the opposite end of the spectrum from the way the Indians are playing and being received by their fans.
I’ve talked about this before several times, but it needs to be brought up again and again and again until the Browns start to get their house in order. And it is that I hope – I pray – that the members of the Browns hierarchy have been watching all this, and will continue to watch all this, at Progressive Field while taking notes.
The Browns say they get it, and I believe them. They say they are disappointed with their 0-4 start but have been not dissuaded from sticking to their plan to completely rebuild the team. I believe them on that as well.
But it’s one thing to say it and believe it inside the walls of Browns Headquarters in Berea, and it’s another thing entirely to venture outside and see for themselves – up close and personally — what’s going on with the Indians. Just as was the case with the way Sipe was welcomed back to town, it is a great reminder – and a great source of encouragement – to realize what it can be like for them if they can get things turned around and become a contender again.
