Although they are certainly part of it, this isn’t about just the Browns.
I know, I know, there has to be truth in advertising when it comes to the name of the website. But I just feel it’s a good time to stray off the grid – off the beaten path – a little.
Be proud to be a Cleveland sports fan – not just now, but historically. You have a lot of reasons to do so.
The Cavaliers’ LeBron James reminds us of that. He puts us into that conversation – continually, on a night-to-night basis.
Based on what he had done in his career, he was already entrenched in the conversation for the best player ever. But add that to what he is doing now in these NBA playoffs, when it appears he may be playing the best he ever has, and that conversation heats up even more.
So Cleveland may be home to the greatest basketball player ever. And that Akron may also be that home makes for a story that seems too magical—too contrived — to be true.
Indeed, some years from now, when the dust has finally settled, we will look back on LeBron’s time in Cleveland and shake our heads and wonder, “Did it really happen? Did we really see what we thought we saw?”
Then there are the Indians. According to some experts, Bob Feller is the greatest right-handed pitcher ever. In the very least, he’s certainly in the conversation.
And finally, we have the Browns. Although the expansion era has been a nightmare, we can’t lose sight of what the original franchise did from 1946-95.
Jim Brown is not just the greatest running back of all-time, but he is also the greatest player ever, period.
Because his time was so long ago, Otto Graham doesn’t get the credit he deserves. But with 10 league championship game appearances in his 10 seasons, with seven titles, and with the fact it’s the job of the guy under center to win games, he may be the greatest quarterback ever.
The same could be said for Graham’s head coach, Paul Brown, who, in addition to the winning, is also known as “The Father of Modern Football” for all the innovations he brought to the game.
And that aforementioned 10-year run of the Browns, which happened from 1946-55, may be the most successful stretch ever for a team in any pro sport, let alone just football.
That all happened here.
In Cleveland.
Don’t forget that.
