For those of you new to Dawgs by Nature, or SB Nation in general, we are a group of fans who love the sport and, in general, love the teams we cover. At the intersection of fan blog (SB stands for Sports Blogs) and the kind of professional media that still has a basis in newspapers lies SBN and with it DBN.
On Monday, team owner Jimmy Haslam added to the angst as he reopened the Watson conversation after seemingly closing it last year with his “swing and miss” statement. After terrible play, multiple major injuries, and almost nothing to show for three first-round picks (plus) and a $230 million contract, Cleveland fans were hoping to move on from Watson as soon as possible. Many were even okay with having to cut good players just to get him off the roster.
There are a lot of comments, whether texts, DMs, or social media posts, that happened after Haslam’s comments that would not be appropriate for this space. One jumped out, however, when Mike Golic Jr. sent this:
It made this fan/writer wonder, do we want sympathy? Do we deserve sympathy? Are we too angry/frustrated/annoyed/proud to entertain sympathy?
On the other hand, the team has done almost nothing to even gain our support and fandom, especially since The Return, yet we still give it. I’ve dedicated my sports career, all 15 years of it so far, to this team (as well as some time covering the Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Guardians, and Ohio State Buckeyes, along with the Browns).
So, what do you think about getting sympathy for all that we’ve been through, Cleveland fans?
Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below