Written by Greg Popelka

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I once knew a friendly old guy named Ray (I say old, but he was probably not much older than I am now- ha). Ray enjoyed long conversations with anyone who was willing. His tone and body language suggested he was about to confide semi-secret information. One of the things he liked to say was, "Hate to burst your bubble, but…" And then he'd state a point.

 

It was funny, because he'd say that even if his take was obvious, or whether anyone would really care one way or the other. You'd say, "How are you doing, Ray?" He might reply, "I'm doing just fine. Hard to believe this day is almost over. Hate to burst your bubble, but I'll be glad when it's time to go home."

 

Or, "Hi, Ray. Did you have a good weekend?" "It was fine, we had the grandkids over and we spoiled them. Hate to burst your bubble, but I was happy to see their parents come and get them, too!"

 

With a nod to old Ray, here are my top ten myths from the history of the Cleveland Browns.

If you disagree, let me know. As they say in the tcf forums, ymmv (your mileage may vary).

 

Myth #10.         (Mothers, cover your children's ears with your hands)

                        They were named after Joe Louis, the Brown Bomber.

It is true that when the Browns came to be, Louis was king- and boxing was bigger than pro football. Second only to baseball. But this myth is just crap- and was perpetuated by David Modell in an added-to-injury insult when his father moved the team.

 

Hate to burst your bubble, but back when Mickey McBride was forming the franchise, Paul Brown was well-established from his days as Massillon and then as the Ohio State coach. The Cleveland team was known as 'Brown's team' before it was made official.

 

 

 

 

 

Myth #9.           The Browns have always played to "70,000 screaming Browns fans".

The national media has always seemed to believe this. It's not true (except for the screaming part). Back to the early 1950s, the Browns had dominated their league for years. However, they did not draw as well as the NY, Philadelphia, Washington and Chicago teams. Professional football had yet to take root.

 

The Browns weren't losing money, but notably, Paul Brown courted his old Ohio State job- losing out to Miami coach Woody Hayes. He had also made overtures to other schools such as USC (to be fair, McBride was implicated for a time with organized crime, and there was an air of uncertainty around the franchise). Also, the city was spoiled by the elite Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Barons teams. (LeBron James had yet to 'spoil Cleveland.')

 

And I hate to burst your bubble, but when I was a kid in the 1970s, the Browns weren't very good and often failed to sell out. Does anyone else remember the days of adjusting the TV rabbit ears, and barely getting the game on a snowy channel 10 out of Ontario, Canada?

 

Myth #8.           Art Modell "had no choice" but to move.

If you are reading this, you don't need me to tell you that's a myth. But this theme will never die. Look, I have no problem believing the city's politicians treated Modell shabbily. Well, too bad- franchises with a lesser fan base stayed put, even though they were also treated shabbily by crappy politicians.

 

Hate to burst your bubble, but Art spent himself deeply into debt, and wanted to keep the franchise in the family. He resented The Jake. He chose not to champion his cause within the city of Cleveland, and took the Baltimore money before another franchise could. Then, he campaigned against Al Lerner owning the new team. Through it all, he remained broke enough that he had to sell the team anyway.

 

 

So that's how we get all-time Cleveland Brown Ozzie Newsome selecting 14 Pro Bowlers for the Ravens over the last 15 years. And building a Super Bowl winner in Baltimore. And featuring a large photo of himself as a Browns player in his Ravens office, which has been airbrushed to make it appear he is in Baltimore Ravens gear. Allegedly.

 

 

Myth #7.           Hanford Dixon started the Barking Dawg thing.

OK, this might be true. Probably, even. But some maintain it was actually Eddie Johnson.

The Assassin. Per Tony Grossi's book, Tales From the Browns Sideline, some say Johnson began the growling and barking. Hate to burst your bubble, but it seems he'd become accustomed to that from rooting for the Georgia Bulldogs as a child. Of course, EJ actually attended the University of Louisville. Dixon does claim the Dawgs thing as his own.

 

(Does anyone else miss the old chant "Here we go Brownies, here we go! CLAP-CLAP" – with no barking?)

 

 

 

 Myth #6.           The West Coast Offense traces its origins to Paul Brown's Cleveland Browns.

Sorry. Many Browns fans seem to assume this. Bill Walsh originated the concepts while an offensive coach with PB's Bengals.

           

In the AAFC, the Browns passed a lot. But that was a vertical passing game;

it did not feature the short, horizontal timing routes favored by the WCO. Otto Graham still holds the professional record for yards per throw. Hate to burst your bubble, but NFL teams looked down on PB's brand of offense- they thought it was gimmicky.

           

It does not even appear that Paul Brown can take credit for the WCO from Walsh's days with the Bengals. From speaking with a Paul Brown biographer, Andrew O'Toole, it seems there was a Thomas Edison dynamic at work, where the master took credit for the innovations of his assistants (the example he gave was Blanton Collier, whom he said was a vastly underrated offensive mind in the early 1960s). And no- I am not discounting the dozens of reasons why PB was the master innovator of the present-day NFL.

                       

If you can prove me wrong, please do. Twice now, I've challenged the PB/WCO crowd to prove this myth, and I'm still waiting.

 

Myth #5.           Cincinnati is Cleveland's bitter rival.

The national media likes to play this up from time to time. I even heard a radio host refer to Browns/Bengals as a "border skirmish" (what border would that be, again? The Olentangy River? Interstate 70? LeBron James' receding hairline?).

                       

 

 

 

                        But- do you hate Cincinnati? 

                       

                         

                        Sure, Paul Brown and his family regarded Art Modell with deep bitterness.

So… how did that make them much different than a typical Browns fan (even pre-move)?

 

Pittsburgh and Baltimore? Hate to burst your bubble, but they're ever more detestable cretins. Plus, they're good.

                       

I do have to admit: much of Cincinnati is hostile to The Ohio State University, and this irritates me. I imagine Michigan Fan speaking with Cincinnati Bearcat Fan:

                        Freshly pressed and drycleaned UM fan: "You're from Ohio? Go Blue!!!"

                        Shrugging UC Fan, proud of their 3 years of rich history: "Hey, I hate the Luckeyes."

                       

Yeah- I have little use for Ohioans who allow Michigan Fan to run smack at Ohio.

But I cannot work up the hate.

 

Myth #4.           Bill Belichick was fired by the Cleveland Browns.

Hate to burst your bubble, but many fellow Browns fans hated that guy.

Personally, I didn't care if he was nice to the media. I just wanted him to win. But then he got on my nerves, and he seemed to intentionally create toxic situations. Maybe eventually he would have been fired in Cleveland, but we do not have to put up with anyone saying, "You guys fired Belichick." That's because the franchise was in Baltimore before Modell let him go.

 

To anyone who believes in karma: what do you say about an attention hound who buys your team, pulls the rug out from under your legendary founder (letting him become a division enemy), then moves your team without an honest, public appeal to the city to save it- only to win a Super Bowl before having to sell his interest anyway? 

 

 

 

Myth #3.           The top three quarterbacks in Cleveland history were Otto Graham, Bernie Kosar, and Brian Sipe.

No argument with Automatic Otto and Bernie. And no, I am not going to tout Mike Phipps as #3- or even Bill Nelsen, although you could at least argue that. Hate to burst your bubble, but I am here to tell you that Frank Ryan was the third best quarterback in Browns history. Look, I loved Sipe. And he had a league-MVP season. His Kardiac Kids were fun- no, inspiring.

But first, take a look at some Browns quarterbacks' career ratings:

                        Graham             86.6

                        Kosar                81.8

                        Ryan                 81.4

                        Sipe                  74.8

                        Plum                 72.2

                        Nelsen              70.2

                        Phipps              52.6

                       

Frank Ryan began leading the Cleveland Browns offense for real in 1963. This was in the post-Paul Brown years, under Blanton Collier. The offense featured RB Jim Brown, WRs Gary Collins and Paul Warfield, and OLs Lou Groza and Gene Hickerson. Ryan was up to the task of operating this high-powered machine, throwing for 25 touchdowns in both 1963 and 1964. He was injured in 1965, but still had a decent year. In 1966, with Jim Brown retired, Ryan threw for 29 TDs and kept the offense on track.

                       

Oh yeah, and there's this: Frank Ryan led the Cleveland Browns to their last NFL title, in 1964.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Myth #2.           Cleveland Municipal Stadium was a Mistake by the Lake.

If you say that, I'll wager you weren't a Browns fan. And if you weren't a Browns fan: I hate to burst your bubble, but it wasn't there for you, to judge in the first place.

 

                       

 

 

Myth #1.           Tim Couch was a bust.

Nope. Not true. And this still comes up all the time. First of all, that 1999 Browns expansion team was incredibly bad. Installed as the starter in Game 2, Couch threw for 15 touchdowns and had 13 interceptions.

Offensive line? Played crappily.

Running game? Ran horribly.

Wide receivers? I hate to burst your bubble, but they were no better than these 2011 WRs. In 2002, Tim Couch was injured at various points during the season. But the team went to the playoffs. Couch was 8-6 in games he started. He threw for almost 3000 yards, for crying out loud.

 

He got his bell rung against the Ravens, and fans cheered while he was down. Cheered that he was hurt and coming out? Cheered that Kelly Holcomb was coming in? Yes, some of both. The dumbass Browns let reporters stick cameras in his face after the game. No doubt still affected by his concussion, he lashed out, tears and all. Player-fan relations, uh, suffered.

 

I'm not saying Tim Couch would have been an elite quarterback. But the 'situation' a young QB enters is extremely important to his development and his career. Recall Eli Manning jockeying for the NY Giants gig after being drafted by the San Diego Chargers.

Father Archie was in the background, helping to orchestrate that trade. Talk about someone who'd played in a tough 'situation', from his days with the expansion Saints. 'Situations' matter. Couch's was awful.

 

By the way, Tim Couch's career quarterback rating was 75.1.

(What was Brian Sipe's, again?)

 

So there's my Top Ten Myths regarding the Cleveland Browns.

Hate to burst your bubble, but I'm interested in some of yours. Share them in the tcf football forum.

 

Thank you for reading. Next Week: Blast From The Past: Steve Everitt. A Raven Cleveland can be proud of.