072924...R PUSKAS...Warren...07-29-24...Tribune Chronicle/Vindicator Editor Ed Puskas...by R. Michael Semple

Maybe it’s because sports ceased to be the focus of my work about five years ago, but the older I get, the less eager I am about playing Charlie Brown to Jimmy Haslam’s Lucy Van Pelt when football season rolls around.

For years — even before Haslam bought the team — I’d convince myself that (fill in the year) would be the year that the Cleveland Browns were going to put it all together, win the AFC North and make a deep playoff run.

And every year, Haslam and the Browns snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and yank the football away at the last fateful moment.

Live and learn, they say. Well, it took more than a few years, but as I approach 60 years on this rock — including nearly 50 years of having most of my fall Sundays ruined — I’ve wised up about the Browns. We’ve come to an understanding: I expect nothing from them and they continue to supply me with essentially that.

The final straw was The Worst Trade in NFL History. You thought it was the Minnesota Vikings trading all those picks to the Dallas Cowboys for Herschel Walker in 1989. Sure, the Cowboys turned that haul into Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin — among others — and won three Super Bowls in the 1990s.

Vikings fans will beg to differ, but from the Northeastern Ohio perspective, nothing beats the Browns trading three first-round draft picks (and three other selections) to the Houston Texans for Deshaun Watson, and then making the surly, accused sexual predator the face of the franchise with a $230 million guaranteed contract.

In two seasons, Watson has played perhaps three above-average quarters of football. The rest of the time he has spent suspended, injured or playing far worse than the alleged first-round bust he was acquired to replace.

Last week, as the Browns were preparing to open the preseason, Watson announced that he “was tired of the BS.” Only like Ralphie didn’t say “fudge,” Watson didn’t say “BS.” The irony and lack of self-awareness was staggering, considering that Watson’s inability to stay on the field and play well when he actually did appears to be the primary bit of said “BS” for the Browns since he changed his mind and agreed to be traded to the Browns.

Of course, Watson is but one of 53 active players on any given Sunday, so the Browns’ inability to win consistently can’t just be blamed on him. But Haslam’s ownership is a different story. The dysfunction has been evident almost from the start, with frequent coaching changes, botched draft picks and offseason woes that never seem to end.

There was a brief respite from all that in 2020, when Baker Mayfield led the Browns to a wildcard appearance and a member road win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But as always, the Browns simply can’t stand prosperity, so in 2021, Mayfield played hurt most of the season and the Browns let him do it because he clearly no longer figured in their plans.

The pursuit of Watson dominated the offseason and after initially balking at a trade to Cleveland, the former Clemson QB changed his mind after Haslam dangled enough guaranteed money.

We were assured before, during and after the trade that the only thing between the Browns and a Super Bowl was solid QB play.

Watson, we were told, was one of the top five QBs in the NFL. But if you look at his numbers with the Browns, you can make the argument that he hasn’t even been the best QB in his division. And yet even today, some fans still believe that Watson is going to turn into Patrick Mahomes. Don’t hold your breath.

But wait — there’s more. Now Haslam and the Browns want to build a dome in Brook Park.

I know, it’s a mere 15 minutes from downtown Cleveland, where the Browns have played since their 1946 inception, aside from 1996-98, after Art Modell moved the original franchise to Baltimore.

I was a different guy then. I lived and died with the Browns from 1979-95. I couldn’t wait for the new Browns to make their debut in 1999. But aside from a few highlights — 2002 and 2020 chief among them — the Browns have been a disappointment more often than not.

So tell me why the Haslams should be rewarded and why Northeastern Ohio political officials and communities should vie for this moribund franchise to take up residence within their confines.

I’ll still peek in on the Browns. Old habits die hard. I still think about my father telling me about going to games in the 1950s and raving about the team and the atmosphere. I think still about the Kardiac Kids in 1980 and the Bernie Kosar Browns that won our hearts a few years later.

But that was a long time ago, and I’m not the same guy anymore. The Haslam-owned Browns have turned me into more of a cynic about sports than I ever thought was possible.

Sadly, these are not my father’s Cleveland Browns. And it’s not just because they might wind up playing in Brook Park.

Lots of teams play outside the city limits that they proclaim to represent.

The San Francisco 49ers play in Santa Clara, which is 45 minutes away. Factor in California traffic and it probably takes 49ers fans longer to get to a game than it does for us to get from Warren to Cleveland.

But don’t give Jimmy any more ideas.

Ed Puskas is editor of the Tribune Chronicle and Vindicator. Write him at

epuskas@tribtoday.com.