Two years ago I was home in Ohio. I stopped in a Foot Locker at the mall. There were a few jerseys on sale. Colt McCoy. Josh Cribbs. Donte Stallworth on clearance.
I hadn't bought a Browns jersey in years. I only had one, and it led to consistent ridicule at Charlotte Browns Backers gatherings. It was a William Green road jersey. I bought it ten years ago. It was the only alternative to Tim Couch, who I didn't like.
William Green. You don't even know who that is.
It is incredibly hard to buy a Browns jersey, because the team is in such a consistent state of FUBAR that you never know who is going to be here from one season to the next. Peyton Hillis seemed like a lock, but he disintegrated. Josh Cribbs is a good kick returner. But he's a kick returner. Phil Dawson isn't going anywhere. But he's the kicker.
Every player comes with a but.
Nike now has the contract to make NFL jerseys, and they just revealed their new designs. The "new" Browns jersey now looks exactly like the "old" Browns jersey. Same orange stripes on the sleeve. Same block numbers. Same brown. Same white.
The real changes are the guys who wear it. That's always the problem. They're always changing.
I got out of bed this morning. First thing I did was go to the dresser to find a t-shirt. I have way too many t-shirts. Dozens of them. It was dark. I fumbled around. I picked one without looking. The one I picked? An orange Cleveland Browns Jake Delhomme jersey t-shirt. The same one I ended up with at Foot Locker two years ago. He lasted one season in Cleveland. Actually, he didn't even last that long. Typical.
I'm heading home to Ohio in a few weeks. New jerseys will be on sale. I'll probably stop by the mall and have a look. I'll get excited for a moment. This is always time of year when the Browns' future looks bright. Most likely, it'll end up looking Green.
1 comment:
Jim Brown? Otto Graham? Don Cockroft? What's wrong with those guys?
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