Are the Cleveland Browns Losing Fans?

The Cleveland Cavaliers are champions. The Cleveland Indians are in first place. Where are the Cleveland Browns headed in the hearts of fans?

We are one week removed from the Cleveland Cavaliers winning the National Basketball Association title, and fans in northeast Ohio are just now coming back down to earth.

Instances of random strangers offering high fives are decreasing. Re-living Cleveland’s victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the NBA Finals has been replaced by looking forward to offseason moves the Cavs may make, following the Cleveland Indians and wondering what will be for the 2016 Cleveland Browns.

Cleveland sports talk radio host Vic Travagliante asked the following question during his weekend broadcast: Are the Browns in danger of falling to third behind the Cavs and the Indians as it pertains to popularity among local fans? There is no simple answer to this, largely because so many factors affect a person’s relationships with the three Cleveland sports teams.

June 19, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) speaks to media with his children Lebron James Jr. and Zhuri James present following the 93-89 victory against the Golden State Warriors in game seven of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

The Cavaliers can do no wrong right now. LeBron James is the hometown kid who made good on his promise, delivered a championship to Cleveland and earned himself a statue that will one day be featured outside of Quicken Loans Arena. The luster of that victory will wear off in time, but the Cavs are nevertheless currently Cleveland’s top team, one that recently filled its trophy case and a side that has a trio of stars who are beloved and who sell merchandise.

Those who would point to the lackluster attendance numbers posted by the Indians as a response to the notion that the club could overtake the Browns in popularity do not have the pulse of the city. Don’t look now, but the Tribe are, as of June 27, the hottest team in Major League Baseball and in first place in the division standings. The Indians may be two trades or even a single transaction away from being a legitimate contender to win — yes, WIN — the World Series.

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Meanwhile, the nicest things we can say about the Browns is that the team exists and that THE Browns aren’t leaving Cleveland anytime soon.

The harsh reality is that fans have few reasons to invest time and money on the Browns this year. Hue Jackson may turn out to be the best coach the Browns have had since the early 1990s. Maybe Robert Griffin III will find his prior form and evolve into the franchise quarterback the Browns have lacked since returning to the National Football League in 1999.

Even if both of those things occur, this edition of the Browns is a .500 team at best. Big whoop.

The Browns have already lost pockets of young fans, teenagers who have only known the Browns as losers and who decided to give their attentions to other franchises. Some in eastern Ohio have embraced the Pittsburgh Steelers as their own. Jerseys of players such as Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton and New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. are seen in downtown Cleveland and throughout the suburbs.

The Browns don’t have any such stars.

It’s nice that Joe Thomas is one of the best offensive linemen of his generation. Thomas does not score touchdowns, nor does he force turnovers. Cornerback Joe Haden has not been an elite player in the league since 2014 and maybe even since 2013. The best player associated with the Browns heading into July is probably WR Josh Gordon, who remains suspended up through the end of next month and who may remain banned for all of the 2016 campaign.

The rest of Cleveland sports is filled with mega-talents who move the figurative needle. James, Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving and J.R. Smith may never again have to pay for anything in Cleveland. Francisco Lindor is already one of the top young stars in Major League Baseball, and Lindor is only 22-years-old. Jason Kipnis and Corey Kluber and big names and fan-favorites among those who follow the Indians.

The Browns are trailing behind the Cavaliers and Indians in every facet.

Obviously, nobody should bury the Browns. The NFL remains king of North American professional sports, and that will remain the case for the foreseeable future. Unlike the Cavs and Indians, the Browns only give fans eight home games a year. Those contests matter for thousands upon thousands of loyal followers regardless of the state of the Browns.

Dec 13, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns tackle Joe Thomas (73) leaves the field after the Cleveland Browns beat the San Francisco 49ers 24-10 at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

Even this past Saturday with the shadow of Cleveland’s first championship in 52 years still looming large over the city, fans in their 50s and 40s and 30s called into local sports talk radio to tell Travagliante and other hosts that the Browns remained No. 1 to them. Those callers spoke about growing up as Browns fans and about watching the team in the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and in 1999. All of those fans had one thing in common:

None of them are getting any younger.

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It’s a new day in our new city of champions. Cleveland is the home of Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic, Calder Cup champions the Lake Erie Monsters, the Cavs and, as Marc Bona of Cleveland.com explained, the best MLB ballpark food in the country. People who normally ignore baseball are taking notice that the Indians just might be for real.

It’s June 28, 2016,, and the Browns are complete afterthoughts among Cleveland fans. This hasn’t happened since 1998 when the team didn’t exist.

Order in Cleveland will eventually be restored. Sports talk radio hosts will soon begin daily previews of the Browns. Thousands of fans will flock to training camp sessions, preseason games and September contests. What happens, however, if the Browns again flop as most expect they will this fall, and if that flop is followed by the Indians making a meaningful postseason run and the Cavaliers raising a championship banner?

My ties to Cleveland began in 1983. I’ve had a direct relationship with the city for over two decades, and I live in the heart of this championship town. It’s not an overstatement to say I’ve never seen Clevelanders like they are right now. They’re filled with an indescribable combination of hope, anticipation and expectations.

We know the Cavs are headed back to the playoffs next spring. We expect and even demand that the Indians will make the necessary move(s) to get over the hump and play meaningful October baseball.

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The Browns aren’t even a blip on the radar. That is a one-off stemming from the Cavaliers winning it all and because the Indians are in first place, but it could become a trend for some if the Browns don’t soon right the ship.

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