The Cleveland Browns, “the factory of sadness,” “the mistake on the lake,” “the team that can’t get things right even if you paid them.” Yep, those Brownies. The team that has had draft picks and front office issues that make you question what exactly the people that are hired every year get paid to do. To be honest, the organization has done a horrible job for YEARS! I am 27 years old, so I do not remember “the drive,” “the fumble,” or the “Cardiac kids.” The Browns have consistently been at the bottom of the NFL for as long as I’ve been alive but for some odd reason I am still a Browns fan. I like to joke with my buddies and people that I meet that if you cut my arm right now I swear my blood would be orange and brown. If I was a tattoo type of guy I am sure that I would have an arm, leg or something dedicated to them just because they are MY team.

My infatuation for the Browns goes beyond measure. To sum it up quite easily, it goes like this… I am a Clevelander, I represent them because they represent me Period. If your brother was a boxer, and a damn horrible boxer at that, you would not disown him would you??  Especially when you see him in the gym training and doing other things that fighters do. How could you? He is you, you are him, and you all are one.  Sure things have not been sunny but you tell yourself that things will change, so you root anyway and remain patient. As a proud Brown’s fan, I am comfortable with saying that the tide has finally changed. To change the body, you have got to change the head and that is what the Browns are doing. I am currently more of a Browns fan than ever before and honestly you should be too. Yes know that we still don’t have a proven QB, and we haven’t reached the playoffs since Pokemon cards were in but we have something better than those things could ever give us. What we have is color. I am not talking about that affirmative action bull**** that they sell us to make us to make us feel good about ourselves. We have actual brilliant BLACK brothers in charge making decisions.

 I don’t know if you have been residing under a rock or what but the NFL for a long time has been the Good Ole (White) Boy’s Club. Now this isn’t an article about the racial disparity with management in the NFL, because frankly I do not care. But I do want to highlight the BROWNS for doing something that routinely is never done.  They have taken just about every single position of power within the organization and has elected to fill that void with someone of color. How sweet is that? Imagine going to work and every single boss you have looks like you. That’s f****** AWESOMe!  As we all know, 2015 was a rough year for NEO especially Cleveland. We witnessed the homicide of Tamir Rice get ruled as a justifiable homicide, 3 babies all under the age of 5 years old were brutally murdered and not to mention the other senseless killings of youth around the country. Again this is not about race, but I can’t help to notice that they were all BLACK.  Now you ask what does this have to do with the BROWNS and more importantly why should I NOW become a fan?  Well honestly, they are doing something in Cleveland that needs to  be noticed. For the first time in a long time, we are seeing people of color advance in significant positions and it is directly correlated to their ability to THINK. These brother’s hiring has nothing to do with their physical attributes or their parents namesake but instead their sole ability to be great THINKERS and quality leaders.  I remember as a kid I thought that becoming a teacher would make you rich. LOL little did I know that I had a dose of reality coming. As a child, I never even imagined that me as a black man could go to Harvard and be responsible for the management of millions of dollars. That just sounded crazy and unrealistic to a kid growing up in Cleveland, Ohio with all the socio-economic issues going on. But today I can honestly say the tide has changed and luckily kids today can dream bigger and have proof that their dreams are within touch. This is something we all should be celebrating, well at least until there’s another 3-13 season. The Browns may not win on the field for another few years but in this moment, I will enjoy it and wear my BROWNS gear proudly for what they are doing off the field. My support for the orange and brown is truly about something bigger than football and your should be as well.

GO Browns!!    

~Tyron Mixon