It was Alumni Weekend, so there were plenty of former Browns on hand at FirstEnergy Stadium last Sunday as the club got overwhelmed 31-7 by the Cincinnati Bengals.

 

As such, then, what were they thinking as they watched that horrific game play out?

 

Unless they are masochists, it sure couldn’t have been anything good.

 

With each passing year in the expansion era and the continued losing in heavy doses, what tends to get lost in the shuffle is that the Browns used to be an iconic franchise in the NFL. Former head coach Sam Rutigliano always referred to them, and fittingly so, as “the flagship of the fleet.”

 

Indeed, in so many ways, from all their championships to their plethora of Pro Football Hall Famers to their game- and societal-changing contributions, the history of the Browns is the history of pro football. The two are intertwined as one.

 

But this has obviously not been the case since 1999 when the re-born team hit the field again after a three-year absence. It’s been an unmitigated disaster in every way, shape and form.

 

And the Browns alums saw that in no uncertain terms on Sunday.

 

For them, it must have been like returning to find your boyhood home in shambles, paint peeling from the front of the house, the beautiful landscaping overgrown with weeds and the fence falling in, and apart.

 

When they saw it, they must have been beyond shocked. Perhaps paralyzed in horror would be a better way of phrasing it.

 

What in the world happened here?!

 

Inducted over the weekend into the Cleveland Browns Legends, the club’s hall of fame, were the late Tony Adamle, a linebacker on the first teams, and Bernie Parrish, a cornerback from 1959-66.

 

Parrish was key in the 27-0 victory over Baltimore in the 1964 NFL Championship Game, using physical play to take the great Colts wide receivers out of the game.

 

Also in attendance was Ernie Green, who never got his just due as a great running back from 1962-68 because he played alongside two Hall of Famers, first Jim Brown and then Leroy Kelly.

 

And did we mention that Brian Sipe, one of the most beloved players in club history and the quarterback and ringleader of the ever-popular Kardiac Kids, was there as well? He received a rousing ovation when he was introduced.

 

Yes, the fans remember good football, winning football and fun football. But some new memories need to be made.

 

The only memories that were made last Sunday were nightmares.