Bye Bye Browns, Hello Happiness

I'm done with the Browns, and have no reservations about tossing them on the Dawg pile.

Really, I never recovered from the gut-punch of Nov. 6, 1995. Who could imagine the Browns without Cleveland? It was inconceivable after so much heartache. When they returned we expected gawky white quarterback Tim Couch to lead as gawky white quarterback Bernie Kosar had done a decade earlier. He wasn't; neither was Kelly Holcomb, Jeff Garcia, or now Derek Anderson.

So have I chucked the whole Cleveland sports machine? Hardly. I attended Indians games at old Municipal Stadium with less than 1,000 people in the crowd, and watched them come within outs of a World Series title. They'll get there before the Browns will.

But with football's revenue sharing, the Browns just look lost and incompetent. Owner Randy Lerner cares more about his soccer franchise than the Browns, and Where For Art Thou Romeo seems to have no control of this collection of primadonnas (Lewis and Cribbs exempted).

Luckily, there's a well-run football machine in my backyard. After watching the Browns repay loyalty with lost season after lost season, I have no ill feelings about cheering for the Titans. This isn't just a 9-0 thing; since I lived here, I am repeatedly drawn to their games. Watching the Browns give up 30 and 40 points a game has become pure torture.

So I have irreconcilable differences with the Browns and their unflappable incompetence. Realistically, every ball that bounced the right way in 2007 has fallen short in 2008.

I wish them luck, and if they should ever shuck off their losing ways and find their way to a Lombardi Trophy, I'll be happy for my father.

If either of us is still living then.