NOISE AT FIRSTENERGY – NOW THIS IS SOMETHING TO CHEER ABOUT
By STEVE KING
The Browns are making plenty of noise at FirstEnergy Stadium on – and off – the field so far this season.
And as such, it’s starting to look a little like the old days – during the original franchise’s presence here for the 50-season period from 1946-95 – when playing the Browns at noisy, loud, raucous Cleveland Stadium was a death sentence for opposing teams.
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It hasn’t been that way at FirstEnergy Stadium during the expansion era, as the Browns have, of course, really struggled to win and have not given their fans much to cheer about.
After two especially horrific seasons in 2016 and ’17, the Browns are turning it around. They are 2-0-1 at home for the best start there in who knows how long, and with that, then, the crowds have gotten progressively louder.
The season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers – a 21-21 tie – was loud. The 21-17 come-from-behind win over the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football was the loudest the stadium has ever been, according to Jim Donovan, a guy who should know, and the longtime Browns radio play-by-play announcer said last Sunday’s 12-9 win in overtime over Baltimore Ravens was also extremely loud.
“The noise was amazing on Sunday,” Donovan told me the other day. “It’s starting to really feel different in the stadium week to week.”
Yes, it is. It truly is.
The fans are louder because the Browns are playing better. And the Browns are playing better because the fans are louder. The two things work hand in hand.
I always strive on this site to give you thoughts, analysis and facts you’re not getting anywhere else, and here’s another one. It’s something everybody else missed – or at least forgot about – from last Sunday’s game.
The crowd was so loud that Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco had to burn a timeout because the crowd noise kept his teammates from hearing his audible at the line of scrimmage. When’s the last time that’s happened with the Browns at home?
The Browns are hoping it’s a sign of things to come, continuing Sunday when they host another good team in the Los Angeles Chargers.
And the fans are, too.
