CLEVELAND, Ohio – When the announcement was broadcast at Huntington Bank Field that the Cleveland Browns selected Mason Graham with their first pick in the NFL Draft, fans were left scratching their heads, the obligatory boos and cheers ringing out.
But it was T.J. Withers, who was among the few thousand fans Thursday night waiting on the draft pick who captured the emotions of Browns fans.
“I never imagined being this sad inside this stadium in April,” he said.
The Browns had the second overall pick, and all eyes in the stadium turned to the scoreboards after the draft started at 8 p.m. from Green Bay, Wisconsin.
The folks were in the stadium for a concert, ostensibly, but it’s safe to say they were all Browns fans. The team had invited season-ticket holders and guests for a free concert. It was really a co-headlining bill: Veteran rockers Journey started playing at 6:40 p.m., then left the stage before the draft was broadcast on the stadium’s main scoreboards.
The Tennessee Titans took Miami quarterback Cam Ward as the expected first pick, but the Browns’ news broke immediately: Cleveland and Jacksonville had struck a deal involving seven draft picks over this season and next.
Justin Morales of Strongsville, who has been a season-ticket holder since 1999, was left wondering about the pick as soon as the trade was announced.
“I don’t know who they were going to pick – I don’t know. I have no clue,” he said. “Travis Hunter would have been great for us for both sides; that’s who I thought they were going for. He’s gone.”
Hunter, the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner, wound up going a pick later to Jacksonville. Hunter, of Colorado, is a 6-foot, 1-inch two-way star at receiver and cornerback, and teams were tempted by his potentially electrifying dual threat.
“They passed up a generational player,” said T.J. Withers, of Lakewood. He was there with his girlfriend, mother and father – Tom Withers, the recently retired Associated Press sports writer in Cleveland.
T.J. Withers, who has been a season-ticket holder since 2018, said “it doesn’t really move the needle for me.”
He added: “I would have stayed at No. 2. You were in that spot for a reason, and it’s something you don’t pass up on.”
Jeff Flach of Cleveland, who goes to a couple of games a year, was left with mixed emotions.
“I was a little bit surprised, but I was a little bit excited, too,” said Flach, who wanted Hunter or Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Passing up (Penn State’s) Abdul Carter to pick another defensive tackle is kind of weird in my opinion. … he must have more of a resume according to the Browns.”
Carter – a 6-foot, 3-inch, 259-pound defensive end from Penn State – had fans dreaming of a terrorizing defense pairing bookended with Myles Garrett.
Flach agreed the Browns appear to be looking way ahead.
“I think so,” he said. “I think this just proved it.”
Concertgoers in the stadium resembled a Browns game, with Garrett, Njoku, Chubb and Mayfield jerseys mingling among the crowd. The Dawg Pound was more subdued than usual, with fans scattered throughout most sections.
Entertainment host Bridget Linton rallied the crowd not long before Journey took the stage, with the obligatory “Here we go Brownies, here we go! – Woof! Woof!” chant.
Brownie the Elf t-shirts were popular; minutes before the concert started, it was 74 degrees, a far cry from the often sleeting and windy conditions fans brave at the stadium during the season.
Guitarist Neal Schon came out in a Browns jersey while lead singer Arnel Pineda wore a Browns helmet across a hoodie before launching into “Only the Young.”
Few things – the weather, maybe a Super Bowl, for instance – can unite folks like the NFL Draft. After months of hype forecasting the multitude of options, the annual draft took place as a few thousand fans gathered at several sporting events across Northeast Ohio.
The folks at the Class AA Akron RubberDucks planned on doing something to announce the pick, either via the public-address system or the videoboards or both as the team hosted the Richmond Flying Squirrels.
For the RubberDucks, capturing big-news moments during one of their games at Canal Park is nothing new. In 2010, when LeBron James held his ill-fated decision day to announce which team he would leave Cleveland to play for, the then Aeros were ready. Scoreboard operators had multiple shots ready to flash depending on the team he chose. With seconds of learning James would head to Miami, the scoreboard became the bearer of bad news: “LeBron James is no longer a Cavalier.”
The Cleveland Monsters, playing Thursday night in Game 1 of their opening American Hockey League playoff series at Rocket Arena, were planning to let fans know about the draft pick. It was a bit of a challenge, though, since stoppage in play is tough to choreograph in hockey. It wasn’t going to be a scripted moment, a team official said, but the Monsters were planning some way to announce the selection to fans.
For the High A Lake County Captains, hosting the Great Lakes Loons at Classic Auto Group Park, the Draft was happening on an appropriate day: Dawg Day. Pooches got in free, and the team offered a jumbo hot dog special.
But the epicenter for the announcement was the Browns’ home on Lake Erie, where fans danced, clapped and jumped around. Maybe it will be a bit of luck for the Browns to have hosted a band whose heyday was in the 1980s, when the team chalked up some success in Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
But it was Journey’s third song that really proved to be the anthem of the night for fans who endured a 3-14 season last year, an ongoing carousel at quarterbacks, a litany of coaches in 20 years and few playoff appearances since the team returned in 1999.
The song was “Don’t Stop Believin.’ ”
I cover restaurants, drinks, sports-related and other topics on our life and culture team. For my recent stories, here’s a cleveland.com directory. WTAM-1100’s Bill Wills and I talk food and drink at 9:35 a.m. Tuesdays. Twitter and IG: @mbona30. To check out my books, go to marcbona.net.
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