Do you remember what it\u2019s like to feel the simplicity of just being a fan? I\u2019m starting to think I am delusional for thinking you can like the Cleveland Browns or the Ohio State Buckeyes, believe they\u2019ll win each week, and not feel the need to tear them apart after every game. Maybe the loyalty is novelty for youth.<\/p>\n
When you are a kid, winning or losing doesn\u2019t matter. It\u2019s more about having a bond with family or friends and being willing to put your heart on the line to cheer on your team week after week.<\/p>\n
For kids, it\u2019s about seeing larger-than-life athletes in person and knowing that you will sit down for a few hours with those closest to you. Riding the waves of emotion as you cheer for the team you love unquestioningly.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a common bond you share: the colors with people in your life who share that passion \u2013 often linked by the names on the front of the uniform. It might say Cleveland, Akron, Columbus, or Ohio on the front of the uniform, but it\u2019s a relationship you share. You travel the highs and lows of each season\u2019s journey. You are never alone. Someone will think the way you do.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s that crazy bond where, if you are standing in Helsinki, Finland, walking down the street, you\u2019d never have reason to talk to someone. But in Europe, you see the scarlet and gray from a mile away and, in slow motion, run like lovers on the beach to utter, \u201cO-H,\u201d followed by your new-found bonded friend greeting you with \u201cI-O. The regional relationship with this stranger is gone when you are thousands of miles away from the Shoe, home of the Buckeyes.<\/p>\n
The beauty of being a kid is the world of free agency, NIL, and owners who will ignore fans who have been loyal for decades to move a franchise are hopefully invisible. Youth can see the disappointment on adults\u2019 faces and in their actions, and soon they will lose their innocence to the reality of pro sports. The only colors you care about are your teams.<\/p>\n
Browns fans have become a social experiment. They are tested every game. Tugging at your own ethical standard is watching a quarterback labeled the \u201cworst trade in NFL history\u201d lead the starving city to fourth-quarter victories. Juggling a history of accusations and settled lawsuits makes you question whether you want him to succeed. His contract projects that the end is near come season\u2019s end. He deserves credit for battling through his injuries.<\/p>\n
Then there is a fanbase that is so fanatical they can\u2019t see the Cleveland Browns as the only team willing to give Shedeur Sanders a chance after he was passed over 143 times in the 2025 NFL Draft. They see the world through the Sanders name. They are not Browns fans; they are \u201cSanders Fans.\u201d They make excuses over and over again. Like, if you compare Sanders\u2019 first start against Watson\u2019s first start against Jacksonville, Sanders must be the starter this week against Houston.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s OK because they want him to be successful. On paper, Sanders\u2019 success would be the best thing that could happen to the franchise.<\/p>\n
I shake my head at some of the Sanders fanbase. I have a friend who works in Colorado, and was critical of Sanders. When the Browns drafted him, I got a call about his criticism of Sanders while he was playing college football at Colorado. He gave me a heads-up on what was to come.<\/p>\n
I have left the radio studio too many times now, or looked at social media from fans who want to accuse anybody who says something critical, or doesn\u2019t believe Sanders should have been a top-five draft pick, of being a \u201cracist.\u201d<\/p>\n
It gives me headaches.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s sad. Sad that a real problem in the world is wasted on football performance.<\/p>\n
I guess it\u2019s just the world we live in.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m sure just a few pages away from this story, in this paper, we are shaking our heads at how someone is fabricating lies about Jewish people and culture. We have to spend time, effort, and energy to educate the ignorant. Then we have to hope that they will listen.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s OK to think Sanders is a good quarterback; it\u2019s also OK to think that he is not. Part of being a pro athlete is that you might get the chance to prove your fanbase right or wrong every time the opportunity arises.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easier to change the mind of a fan than it is to change the mind of a racist. Look at LeBron James. When he left Cleveland for Miami, he became the second most hated sports figure in Cleveland sports history. Second only to Art Modell who moved the Browns to Baltimore.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s amazing to think of the night he first came back to Cleveland with Miami, the arena was full of anger. Compare that to the outpouring of love at the 2016 NBA Championship parade. Minds can be changed.<\/p>\n
It puts life in perspective – just like with Ohio State, who looks to have one of its most disappointing seasons this century. There will be other seasons. Who knows where the Browns or the Bengals will be at season\u2019s end.<\/p>\n
I do know that not liking or liking a player should not cast a spell of a bigot. We have real issues with hatred. The only color I see when I watch sports is on the uniform.<\/p>\n
Sports unite people and families. At least the kid in me thinks so. Winning has no color.<\/p>\n