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Cleveland Browns News and Rumors 8/30: A Double Life

CLEVELAND, OHIO (TheOBR.com) - Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans!

I have a confession to make: I live a double life.

In one life, I am the happy developer of a website dedicated to a sad-sack Cleveland Browns team that hasn't been in a Super Bowl in over 50 years (meaning, "ever"). In this life, I commiserate with my fellow downtrodden fans, engage in analyzing even the smallest move the team makes, and obsess over every detail of the franchise, talking to their back-office staff and building my days around their schedule.

In my second life, I am what you might call a "less-hardcore" fan of an obscenely powerful Ohio State football team, which is coming off a national championship. I have all the shirts, flags, and paraphernalia of a fan, but I don't follow the team with the rigor that I follow the one above. I watch all the games, religiously, but I am not deeply involved in following recruiting other than checking out major news items.

So, I am a test case. Would you rather be a casual fan of a dynastic, winning franchise that is competitive each year, or a dedicated fan of a perennially losing franchise (since 1999)? In the latter case, the team is so bad that it serves as the object of derision by other, luckier, fans, particularly the unwashed mobs of Ratbird and Steeler fans.

Ryan Day Buckeyes

Ryan Day hoists the national championship trophy (Photo: Getty)

I guess it depends on how you cherish the rewards that come from each. As a college sports fan, I have rituals around watching the Buckeyes. I prepare food and beer each week and sit in my living room with my family, who either watch the game with me or pass through, shaking their heads at the person their father turns into on Saturdays. I build my day around the game. I've had the opportunity to jump around my living room in glee as the Buckeyes won national championships or other big games.

I have many family-related memories. I met my wife at Ohio State, and we watch the games together every week. When my kids were toddlers, I would sit them on my shoulders and run around after Buckeyes touchdowns to celebrate.

What if I had to choose between the two?

For me, it would be a hard but obvious choice. I would keep the Browns, despite all the losses and the disappointments. The reason for this is that, despite the happy family memories of winning as an Ohio State fan, my deep involvement with the Browns has led to a lifetime of friendships and acquaintances who share the same struggle.

There's something to be said about struggle being more rewarding than constant success. With the Browns, I'm heavily invested in understanding why they do what they do. While Ohio State being a top ten team is "just another year", Browns' appearances in the playoffs are stunning and exceptional. When this team appears or wins a Super Bowl, which will hopefully happen while I retain most of my faculties, it will be the epic finish to decades of failure.

I appreciate the Browns' occasional successes and nourish hope for the Browns more than my beloved Buckeyes, because they are so far apart. But mostly, I understand the Browns all the more because building my adult life around them has led to numerous human connections and friendships.

At the end of the day, you aren't remembered by how many championships you watched. People remember you, and you remember people. And that's what I've found with my Browns fandom: An incredible group of people who have been alongside me for decades, tied to this woebegotten franchise.

I wouldn't trade it for three straight Ohio State championships.

Or maybe I'm simply a masochist. That's possible as well.

Have a good one! GO BROWNS!

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