By: Kris Mead
As this is the last installment of the 2018 Browns’ Chronicles, I think it would be wanton misconduct for
me not to write in a more holistic view concerning the Browns’ season. The 2018
Browns Campaign was the most successful campaign that I have seen in over a
decade. That’s right, a final record of 7-8-1 is considered not only the best
record in over a decade, but the season was almost Shakespearian. The season
was full of tragedy, heroism, at times comedic blunders (thank you Hue
“Clueless” Jackson), but most importantly, the season exhibited an extremely
young team that grew. That’s what was so important for this season and possibly
more important than the final record.
The growth signaled change, not in a regressive sense, but
in a progressive sense of change. For the 2018 Cleveland Browns are nothing
more than a living example of the 19th century philosopher, John
Stuart Mills’ 1859 essay called, A Few Words on Non-Intervention. Mills argues that “when
a people has had the misfortune to be ruled by a government under which the
feeling and the virtues needful for maintaining freedom could not develop
themselves, it is during an arduous struggle to become free by their own
efforts that these feelings and virtues have the best chance of springing up.” This
quote, although referencing the struggle for political sovereignty and not
football, encapsulates what Mills’ entire essay is about - the Theory of
Self-Determination.
So just as a country may have to wage war to achieve some
sort of political freedom, whether that be dismantling an autocrat or revolting
against a colonial power, it’s not the end of the fight that creates the
values, but rather it is the struggle and all that comes along with it which
makes the victory not only rejoiceful, but is the reason that virtues are
founded.
Obviously, football does not have to do with political
sovereignty or the establishment of basic rights, and so then what virtues did the
Browns struggle to achieve? First, “virtues” may not be the right word, but
it’ll be used anyhow. The very first virtue, and the ultimate virtue the Browns
needed was simple, to win a game. In Mills’ above quote the Browns were a team
that had the misfortune to be governed by both management and a coach that
prevented the team from creating a winning atmosphere (literally we won zero
games in 2017 and just one in 2016). The 2018 Browns season did not start with
week 1, it started in March when the free agency period opened and Browns fans
were able to see what the newly hired general manager, John Dorsey, would do.
In the previous regime the Browns did very little, but Dorsey started obtaining
guys who wanted to win and shipped off guys who lacked that compassion. The Browns
received safety Darrius Randall from Green Bay and Green Bay received a draft
pick and, beleaguered quarterback, Deshone Kizer. The Browns also signed
energetic wide receiver Jarvis Landry from Miami. Both players would prove to
not only be vital in the Browns campaign but solid team leaders. Dorsey had
both the luck and the pressure to have two top four draft picks. In short, he
hit on both – Baker Mayfield with the first overall pick and Denzel Ward with the
fourth overall pick. Both players, and I’ll get to Mayfield later, have already
paid dividends. The players to lead against the struggle were selected.
The next virtue which goes hand in hand with winning was the
fact that the Browns lacked a franchise quarterback. The last noteworthy
quarterback the Browns had, and who played consistently, was Bernie Kosar (and
he last played for the Browns in ’93). So, seeing how accurate Baker Mayfield
threw the ball, led the offense and simply provided a competitive edge which had
been lacking in Cleveland for decades all of a sudden inspired the entire team
to play well. Now Baker Mayfield, even with his at times immature antics, is
most likely going to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, exemplifying how
the Browns are “gaining their freedom” through their “arduous struggle.”
The next piece of the struggle was getting rid of the
willfully incompetent coach – Hue “Clueless” Jackson. This man, in Mills’
terms, would be considered part of the government that prevented virtues
needful of, in our case, winning. As stated in previous installments he at
times looked clueless, unable to comprehend the game that was going on in front
of him, and, most importantly, unable to make critical decisions when the game
was on the line. Now, Hue’s dismissal was good, but there was also concern. How
would such a newly put together team handle having their head coach fired
midseason? They handled it as Mills’ predicted, the virtues of winning started
to “spring up” through the arduous struggles.
Although 2018 is a season to initially celebrate, it has not
been determined to be a season that Browns’ fans will want to remember. In 2007
the Browns went 10-6 and finished second in the AFC North. It appeared to be a changing
of the guard. The Browns were thought to be competitive the following year.
However, in 2008 the Browns finished 4-12 and last in the AFC North. The 2019
Browns cannot forget the success and arduous struggles that they overcame in
their conquest to win games and earn respect throughout the NFL. The next
coach, whether it be Greg Williams or someone new, must not turn his back to
what this young team has accomplished and their will to fight and win, while
all that goes on around them is in utter chaos. For the 2018 Cleveland Browns
did not just plant the feelings of winning in the lives of its players, it
planted the virtues of winning in the lives of all its fans. What makes the
Cleveland Browns so unique, and more unique than any other franchise, is the
pain, the misery, and the tragedies that its fans continue to endure. However,
the reason we have stayed with this pain, with this team, is because we have
been waiting for a season like 2018. We have been waiting to see a competitive
team, which even to the last minute of the last game of the season, in a game
that has zero playoff implications for us, kept on fighting through that
“arduous struggle.” It’s because, in the words of Mills, “men become attached
to that which they have long fought for and made sacrifices for; they learned
to appreciate that on which their thoughts have been much engaged; and a
contest in which many have been called on to devote themselves for their ‘team’,
is a school in which they learn to value their ‘team’s ‘interest above their own.”
The 2019 Cleveland Browns cannot lose that attachment for which the 2018
Cleveland Browns have fought for so valiantly.
GO BROWNS!
No comments:
Post a Comment