Apathy and I Watch the Browns Together

Apathy. Apathetic. Two words a person would never really want to be associated with. To be lazy, to not care, to not give much effort, to be referred to as apathetic is a slap in the face. One group of people that have never, ever been referred to as apathetic are Cleveland Browns fans, myself included. For nine years now we have filled Cleveland Browns Stadium each and every Sunday the Browns had a home game. Even though the Browns have had only two winning seasons since their much anticipated return in 1999, you could never say we didn't care about our team. I have watched Ford Field be half full for most home games for years now. Hell the Rams won a Super Bowl in 1999 and went back to one in 2003 and now after two bad years their fans are non-existent. Not in Cleveland. It was a sense of pride, a sense that Cleveland truly does have some of the best sports fans in the nation, and I don't mean that in the sense that a GM went down on the field, took a microphone, and thanked his half empty stadium for their support and for being the best fans in the land while three people applauded. But I can feel the apathy creeping up on me every week this year. I felt it sitting next to me at the bar last year as I watched the Browns get crushed in their home opener by the Pittsburgh Steelers, who do not even count as a valid rival anymore. Only after Derek Anderson launched his aerial assault against the Bengals in week two did Apathy get up and walk over to the bar across the street. He has returned in full force this year, ordering a burger and a pitcher of Bud Light during each Browns game he watches with me. Each week he offers me a drink, and I am getting closer and closer to taking one. Why? Well besides the fact that I enjoy beer, let me tell you.
I am tired of watching expectations stomp all over a Cleveland team's confidence. It took out the Indians this year and it is wreaking that same havoc on the Browns. After a 10-6 year in which the Browns showed great improvement in all areas of the game, they stand at 4-8 with a third string quarterback who we all remember getting tossed to the ground by Will Smith on fourth down as Ohio State went on to win the National Championship in 2003. How far the Browns have fallen since Derek Anderson opened training camp as the star quarterback and Braylon Edwards was seen catching balls in training camp. The signings of Shaun Rogers (who has truly been a beast) and Corey Williams hid the fact that the Browns have no linebackers who can rush the passer. Kamerion Wimbley has turned into a ghost on the field, and Eric Wright, who once did his own Deion Sanders impression after an interception return for a TD against the Giants, has looked more like DeAngelo Hall since then. Derek Anderson proved that he truly is just a backup, and Brady Quinn decided to throw with a broken finger and ended up ruining the rest of his season. Kellen Winslow thinks everyone has staph and Braylon Edwards took to many 5 Hour Energy pills and is so wired during games he cannot catch anymore. All of this after a 10-6 season and a thrashing of the defending Super Bowl champs? Really?

I tire of comments from players telling us how much they love Romeo Crennel. No one cares how much you love your coach and how hard you want to win for him. We have been watching this team flop year after year, and your love for your superiors really has no business with winning football games. If you loved Crennel so much you would be undefeated this year. Derek Anderson seems to be a broken spirit after being benched and booed by the fans. If pulling a Vince Young is how DA is going to handle being demoted, then he should not be a starting QB in the first place. Before bashing us Browns fans for being such jerks for booing, why don't you step into our shoes for a second. Here is what we see. A tight end and a wide receiver who both made the Pro Bowl last year. A starting quarterback who also made the Pro Bowl last year. A Pro Bowl return man. An improving defense. A coach who won three Super Bowl rings and who headed one of the best defenses we have seen in the past ten years. A general manager committed to solidifying the offensive line and bringing talent to this team. Yet, here we are again, watching another Cleveland team fail to meet expectations. Crennel's poor time management, inability to control his players and get them to play hard, and his weird obsession with not playing Jerome Harrison more than 3 times in a game has deservedly brought calls for Cowher. I could go on and on but I won't. Because next week I will be at the bar with my friend Apathy, laughing and sipping a Bud Light while the Browns game plays dully on the TV in front of us. My Braylon jersey will lay on my floor at home, waiting for the day when I put him back on. But until that time comes, Apathy and I will have the best time we can. Go Cavs.

Will the Real Larry Hughes Please Stand Up?

Larry Hughes. Once a promising young player who averaged 22.7 points per game in 1999-2000 for his Golden State Warriors. Larry Hughes. Who once averaged 22 points per game in 2004-2005 for his Washington Wizards. Larry Hughes. Who once shot 46% percent from the field. These were the qualities that the Cleveland Cavaliers saw in Larry after the 2004-2005 season. After being spurned by Michael Redd and Ray Allen, the Cavs turned to Larry. Not only was he just coming off winning Defensive Player of the Year award, Larry also averaged 22 points playing alongside Gilbert Arenas, who may possibly have the ball in his hands more than LeBron James does. Gilbert averaged 25 points that year. All of these qualities led the Cavs to overpay Larry, as most free agents of the time were. Cleveland was ecstatic. A good defensive player who did not need the ball and could feed off of LeBron James. But his stay in Cleveland has been awfully disappointing. His season was cut short his first year in C-town because of injuries. Then his free throw attempts dropped by one hundred since his last season in Washington. His field goal percentage has never been over 40% here. He has become a career 30% three point shooter. Everyone says he does not fit in Cleveland because he is not a shooter, and LeBron creates open shots for people. But this is where I disagree with people.
Larry Hughes has stopped being the player that earned him that big contract in Cleveland. He is a very streaky shooter. But he has games like last night where he scores 40 points and you watch him drive to the basket with no mercy. You wonder where that has been all season. It comes in random spurts, but never for more than 2 games in a row. Just because he is playing alongside a superstar that needs the ball in his hands does not mean that he needs to change his game, which he has. He drove to the hole in Washington, so why not here? He has become a jump shooter. He will shoot a 3 with 23 seconds left on the shot clock. Then he will slash to the hole and drop in a beautiful layup. It leaves us Clevelanders with a severe case of blue balls. If Larry could average 20 here in Cleveland like he did in Washington this team would be in the finals every year. He has the potential to do it. He has great handles and could go to the hole whenever he wants. But he has settled for the long jumper, for reasons I do not understand. Tonight, Larry scored 40 and LeBron dropped 29. That is 69 points between our two stars, and look at the outcome, a win. So Larry Hughes, stop having random great games where you score 30 or more. String them together. We got to the finals without you doing that, just think what we could do with you scoring. Will the real Larry Hughes please stand up?