Some frosty feelings as Browns fans throw parade for 0-16 season
Chanting through chattering teeth, Browns fans finally felt victorious.
Maybe the winless season wasn’t a total loss.
Thousands of disgruntled Cleveland rowns fans, some of them calling for owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam to sell the franchise or jump in Lake Erie, paraded once around the team’s stadium in frigid conditions Saturday following a historic 0-16 season.
It was a protest and it was a party as fans showed their outrage and creativity following a season many would gladly forget.
Despite wind chills below zero, fans lined the street around FirstEnergy Stadium, which has been dubbed the “Factory of Sadness” in recent years, to cheer as 80 vehicles, a rock band on a flatbed truck and a group carrying 28 tombstones to represent the team’s 28 starting quarterbacks since 1999, took a “no victory” lap.
Cleveland police conservatively estimated the crowd at 3,200, and reported no major incidents or arrests.
This was frozen fun mixed with some fury.
“I’m here to protest,” said Patty Szylakowski, who grew up in a football-loving household with five brothers. “We don’t deserve this. We deserve better people in the front office.”
That was the overriding sentiment among the faithful who gathered on the sidewalks just feet away from a statue honoring legendary Browns running back Jim Brown.
This was a day for fans to express frustration, and most of the anger was aimed at the Haslams, who bought the team in 2012 but have been unable to produce the winner they’ve promised.
One fan held a sign that read: “Jimmy and Dee Go Jump in the Lake.” Another carried by a fan dressed as a bishop said: “Deliver us from Jimmy and Dee.”
Prompted by a fan with a bullhorn, one group of marchers chanted, “What do we want? Watchable football. When do we want it? Now.”
There were floats, a few of them with obscene themes, fans wearing paper bags on their heads, and a Big Bird wearing Johnny Manziel’s jersey. A band played John Mellencamp’s “Hurts So Good.”
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Rivera is 64-47-1 in seven seasons with the Panthers. He has guided Carolina to a Super Bowl appearance, three NFC South titles and four playoff appearances. He has twice been named the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year.
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