What’s in a name, anyway?

Certainly a lot, as the Cleveland Indians — er, Guardians — and Browns have come to find out.

Related: Guardians Tickets and Stadium Overview

The Guardians made the seismic name change several years ago and things had settled down, but the intense controversy of the situation surfaced again the other day when, out of completely nowhere, President Trump said the club should switch its name back.

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And so it goes, the rhetoric on both sides unfortunately diverting attention away from the Guardians’ impressive play of late as they work to get back into the American League postseason race.

The Browns, on the other hand, have gone through some big changes in the last 30 years, but their name was not part of that, and never will be. In fact, the fans fought like crazy to keep the team’s name, colors and history when the original Browns franchise departed for Baltimore after the 1995 season. It worked, as the Cleveland Browns took the field as an expansion team in 1999.

Indeed, the imprint on the club of founding head coach Paul Brown, for whom the Browns are named, is stronger then ever 80 years later.

And there’s definitely something to be said of that.

Steve King

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