THE HUNT IS ON
KAREEM: BROWNS FANS WILL CRY AGAIN... THIS TIME FOR JOY
KAREEM HUNT knows the gut-wrenching feeling of being a Cleveland Browns fan.
Born locally in the summer of 1995 – the year the city lost the team when its owner moved them to Baltimore – he has seen nothing but failure.
Following three years without a team, a new Cleveland Browns were reborn in 1999, since when they have set the gold standard for losing.
But last week, 25- year- old Hunt (right) helped them beat the Pittsburgh Steelers to secure a playoff berth for the first time in 18 years, finally breaking the longest playoff drought of any team in the NFL.
Tonight, Hunt and the Browns face the Steelers again, this time in Pittsburgh, as the knockout phase begins on the road to next month’s Super Bowl.
And the Cleveland star, who has been besieged by calls from family and friends, would love to keep the city’s excitement going.
He said: “It’s amazing. It’s definitely a different feeling being from here and knowing the struggles from the past.
“I’ve had family and friends crying, calling me because they are happy to see us doing well.
“Being born and raised in Cleveland, I experienced a lot here. Being part of a team that helped contribute to taking us to the playoffs is big. It’s a dream come true.”
The Browns’ rabid fans have been notorious for decades for sticking with the team through thick and mainly thin.
In the old stadium, they used to dress in canine costumes and lived behind one goal in a section known as the Dawg Pound, from where they showered opposition players with dog biscuits.
Today, there’s a new Cleveland Browns, and a new winning mentality, fostered largely since the arrival three years ago of quarterback Baker Mayfield, the 2018 No.1 draft pick whose blue- collar attitude has energised people. An attitude that has been missing in the Ohio city for years, but one that Mayfield intends to keep going in the playoffs. He said: “All we wanted was a chance and we’ve got it. Once you’re in the dance, anything can happen. “Whatever it takes to get a win at Pittsburgh, that’s what our team is going to be ready to do. It means so much to the city. We can’t win the Super Bowl this week, but it’s the next step of potentially getting that goal that everybody sets before the season starts.
“We’re not satisfied. Our goal wasn’t just to make the playoffs. It’s a stepping stone to get to where we want to go.
“It means a lot to end that drought, but there’s a new standard and we need to continue to have that mindset.”
Head coach Kevin Stefanski and a handful of Browns players will miss the game in Covid isolation. But Mayfield added: “We must believe in each other.
“We’re going to Pittsburgh. There’s no fans – just us against them. We must get to next week and get those guys back.”