Win one for Doug Dieken - Browns Daily Dose

Win one for Doug Dieken

The Browns have already been eliminated from playoff consideration, and the Cincinnati Bengals have already clinched the AFC North championship.

So, then, with the game being all but meaningless at first glance, does it make any difference at all as to who wins when the teams meet on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium in the regular-season finale?

Why, yes. Yes, it does.

It means a whole heckuva lot, actually.

I want the Browns — very much so — to win for Doug Dieken, the longtime color analyst on the team’s radio network who will retire Sunday following a 51-year tenure with the club. He spent 34 years on the radio, 14 years as the Browns left tackle and three years working with the Browns Trust, the group that kept the seat warm, so to speak, after the original Browns franchise left for Baltimore and before the expansion-era franchise took the field in 1999.

No one has ever been with the Browns that long — not even close. So, it will be the end of an era. He is the last very visible connection to the old franchise (former Browns fullback Kevin Mack runs the Alumni Relations Dept.)
Dieken never complained about anything. He was the ultimate iron man, setting an NFL record for offensive tackles by starting 194 consecutive games. He missed only two broadcasts on the radio. When the lights came on, he was ready to go. And in the other times, when there were no games, he was saying yes to any and all requests he received for his time and efforts, none of which he ever publicized.

Indeed, he is Mr. Cleveland Brown.

So, then, the Browns owe him this, although he would vehemently deny that. He has earned the right — and then some — to go out a winner. He deserves a chance to analyze one more victory, especially at home.

Let’s hope the Browns get it for him.

In this otherwise incredibly disappointing season, this would be a wonderful ending to a historic career by a GOAT of a guy.

By Steve King

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