Browns hoping to ruin plans for 0-16 parade

MOCK CELEBRATION

TOM WITHERS CLEVELAND • A pity parade has given the Browns more motivation to avoid NFL shame.

Just two losses from becoming the second team in league history to go 0-16, the Cleveland Browns want to avoid further embarrassment by having their inglorious season celebrated with a parade around their downtown stadium.

A group of fans are planning to gather on Jan. 6 at FirstEnergy Stadium for Perfect Season Parade 2.0, a mocking celebration that has gathered momentum in recent weeks and is being partly funded by Excedrin, the headache medicine, which donated $7,683 to complete a $10,000 fundraising effort for costs.

With his team at 0-14 and staring at unwanted notoriety, Browns head coach Hue Jackson said he understands why fans in this football-mad region are frustrated.

“They’re entitled to do what they want,” said Jackson, who fell to 1-29 as Cleveland’s coach following Sunday’s loss to Baltimore.

“They have true passion about the Browns and we really appreciate that. We haven’t been good enough. Let’s just be honest — that’s where we are, so everyone in our organization is working extremely hard to make sure that there’s not a parade.

“But we have to uphold our end of it and make sure that we’re winning. So I get it. Would it be disappointing if they had one? Yes. But at the same time, I do get it. We just haven’t been good enough to get all that kind of talk stopped.”

In October, Browns fan Chris McNeil, who has more than 66,000 Twitter followers, launched a GoFundMe account for the parade.

As of Monday, the event’s Facebook page said nearly 10,000 people were interested in attending and over 2,500 said they will go.

“I’m big on people can do whatever they want,” Browns centre J.C. Tretter said. “I hope we, as a group, ruin what they’re planning, but people are entitled to their own opinions and whatever they want to do and celebrate. I might not be a fan of it, but it doesn’t offend me. I’m not easily offended. So they can plan whatever they want, but I hope we ruin it.”

The first team to go 0-14 in consecutive seasons, the Browns scuttled plans for a parade last year when they beat the then-San Diego Chargers on Christmas Eve and finished 1-15.

The 2008 Detroit Lions are the only team to finish 0-16.