Browns can still find new ways to lose

It's been a particularly tough season for Cleveland Browns fans and that says a lot.

(John Kuntz, Cleveland.com)

BEREA, Ohio - My father never missed his Browns on Sunday.

He was from the generation that drove to Erie, Pa., to watch blacked-out home games. He was the guy in the neighborhood scaling his outdoor antenna, risking life and limb like Clark Griswold hanging Christmas decorations, to pull in some station in Ontario, Canada televising his team.

My dad lived long enough to see the Browns win their last playoff game on New Year's Day 1995 and died months before Art Modell moved the franchise to Baltimore. Cancer sucks but it spared my old man from having to see something he loved unconditionally taken from him.

Twenty years later, I've been thinking a lot about him as the Browns' organization has plunged into chaos again. I hear his voice in the frustrated fans calling Drennan after the latest loss. I see his image in the dude shredding his Browns' jersey after the gut-punch loss to the Ravens on Monday night. My dad would agree with every word uttered on the A-to-Z podcast and -- after six days of raging about wasted draft picks and ridiculous penalties -- anxiously await the next game.

His spirit lives in Mike Polk's iconic "Factory of Sadness" rant, particularly the walk-off line, which slays me every time:

"I'll see you Sunday."

The Browns can't kill their fans try as they might. Seventeen seasons of bad football and they remain the most resilient part of the franchise -- it's greatest asset, it's only shred of continuity other than its two all stars, Joe Thomas and Jim Donovan.

The story isn't that Monday night's game failed to sell out, it's that 45,000 to 50,000 diehards bothered coming at all. If this were Jacksonville or Oakland the Haslams might need to invest in tarp to cover swaths of empty sections in the upper decks at FirstEnergy Stadium.

How apathy doesn't envelope the fan base is truly remarkable. Football analyst Ross Tucker paid tribute to it in his latest Sports On Earth column.

Two months ago, I was in San Diego writing an article on how Chargers fans are bracing for the possible relocation of their team 20 years after the Browns left Cleveland. Sources spoke of the anomaly they see in Northeast Ohio. They were amazed at the unwavering support for a franchise with one playoff berth since 1999. The next day, Browns fans almost outnumbered Chargers fans for the game at Qualcomm Stadium.

Naturally, the Browns lost in typical Browns' fashion, jumping offside on a missed field goal only to give San Diego a second chance to win.

The sports world marvels at how well Steelers Nation travels to away games. It is the Ohio State of the NFL. But six Super Bowls and numerous other playoff runs in the past 40 years make it fairly easy to be a fan. It's like cheering for Big Oil or Apple - or the dynastic Browns before the advent of color television.

There are lots of good players, coaches and employees in Berea who are hurting as much as the fans. There also is a segment of the organization that needs rooted out. Jimmy Haslam should be asking hard questions about why the franchise has appeared to lose its way.

It's time to stop worrying about adding corporate sponsorships and moving training camp. It's time to start ensuring the front office is attending more pro days and doing deeper dives into players' character.

My father was among the lucky ones who saw a championship in 1964 and a couple AFC title games in the 1980s. His days are over. It's time the organization dedicates itself to rewarding this generation of fans with something other than faded glories and new jerseys.