The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Team hopes someone rains on their parade
Organizers planning to march around stadium on Jan. 6 in honor of ‘perfect season’
This season of misery is nearing a merciful end for the Browns, and because they were unable to spoil the playoff chances of any opponent, they now are taking aim at spoiling another set of plans.
Billed as “Perfect Season 2.0,” organizers of the infamous 0-16 Parade have a GoFundMe page to help pay for a one-lap march around FirstEnergy Stadium set to begin at noon Jan. 6.
The Browns are out to foil those plans, just as they did last year when they forced the parade’s cancellation by beating the Chargers in the 15th game.
The Browns, 0-14 again, play the Bears in Chicago on Christmas Eve and then close the season in Pittsburgh on Dec. 31.
Joining the 2008 Detroit Lions as the only other team to go 0-16 would be embarrassing enough.
To know some fans were commemorating that season with a parade, no matter how rag-tag it might be, is not something the Browns want to be associated with, even though they would have no participation in the actual parade (insert your joke about Sashi Brown or Kenny Britt as parade marshal here).
“They’re entitled to do what they want,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said Dec. 18 on a conference call. “I truly get that they have true passion about the Browns, and we really appreciate that.
“We haven’t been good enough, let’s just be honest. Everyone in our organization is working extremely hard to make sure that there’s not a parade. 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 of that kind of talk stopped.”
The parade’s creator, Steve McNeil, donated the money collected for the 2016 0-16 Parade that was canceled to the Cleveland Food Bank. The Browns matched the donation, which, according to a 2016 tweet from O’Neil, amounted to $8,000 from the parade organizers. That, coupled with the Browns’ donation, provided more than 60,000 meals.
Jackson, as expected, announced DeShone Kizer will start at quarterback against the Bears. Jackson after the 27-10 loss to the Ravens on Dec. 17 said he had to watch the tape before naming his starter. He made the Kizer announcement part of his Dec. 18 news conference.
“What I said yesterday was I wanted to take a peek at the tape to determine where he is and make sure I had a chance to see him and talk to him to see where his head was and make sure he’s ready to go,” Jackson said. “If he wasn’t up to the challenge, then if I needed to make a change, then I would. I think he is up to the challenge.
“He has some improving to do. He has some work to do this week to continue to get better, but he’s going to start at quarterback for us.”
Kizer is a rookie, so he wasn’t around last year as the talk of a 0-16 parade grew louder. Center JC Tretter is new to the Browns, too, but as someone who spent the last three years in Green Bay, where the Packers are revered, he definitely would like to help sabotage a 0-16 parade in Cleveland.
“I’m big on people can do whatever they want,” 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 or 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.”