Browns fans plan Monday Night Football protest

[BengalszoneBilly]

Their version of the Who Dey Revolution?

Browns fans planning Monday night game protest

By TOM WITHERS, AP Sports Writer

BEREA, Ohio (AP)—One of the most loyal Dawg Pounders is done barking about the sad state of his beloved Cleveland Browns. It’s time to bite.

Lifelong Browns fan and season-ticket holder Mike Randall, aka “Dawg Pound Mike,” is encouraging other Cleveland fans to stay away from their seats for the opening kickoff of the Browns’ Nov. 16 home game against Baltimore.

Sickened by the nearly constant losing since the NFL team’s return in 1999, Randall hopes the sight of empty seats for the start of the nationally televised Monday night game will send a loud message to owner Randy Lerner and club officials that fans have had enough.

“We’re tired of losing,” the 39-year-old Randall said. “We’re tired of the booing, of seeing fans leave in the fourth quarter. There are fans who have had tickets for 30 years who are turning their seats in because they can’t take it anymore. So many fans are fed up.”

Randall and his friend, Tony Schafer, decided to go ahead with plans for the protest following last Sunday’s 31-3 loss to the Green Bay Packers. As they walked out of the stadium, they heard fans grumbling about how they’re wasting their Sundays and money.

Their hope is that fans stay outside the stadium, on concourses or in the restrooms for the start of the game.

The Akron Beacon-Journal first reported the protest, which Randall and Schafer announced on the Web site www.mobiledawg.com.

“We don’t want to see fans with bags on their heads or booing,” Randall said. “We love the Browns and will do anything to support them. But we’re not being heard. Our goal is to say to the Browns’ organization, ‘Hey, listen to your fans.”’

Under first-year coach Eric Mangini, the Browns are 1-6 this season and have scored four offensive touchdowns in 81 possessions. Cleveland’s defense is the league’s worst.

Since coming back as an expansion team 10 years ago, the Browns are 55-113 with one playoff appearance and appear to be on their way to their eighth season of double-digit losses since ’99.

Lerner is aware of the response and said in an e-mail that he understand the fans’ frustration.

“On the grounds of frustration and irritation with performance, then that’s the medicine I (we) are going to take, and I accept that,” he said. “The goal this year was to rebuild the culture at the Browns. We felt at the end of last year that we lacked any overall philosophy, approach or direction regarding recruiting, drafting, coaching, preparation or training. As a result, each season was feeling like starting over and 4-12 following 10-6 felt painfully not all that surprising.”

Lerner added the team remains open to feedback and support to help the Browns improve.

“We won’t become entrenched or stubborn and despite my allergy to be more conspicuous, I do remain eager to seek help and guidance from any and all corners,” he said.

Randall, who sits in the front row of the Dawg Pound, the notoriously rowdy bleacher section, doesn’t know where to assess blame for the Browns’ misery. He has met Lerner and appreciates the ultra-private owner’s attempts to turn the franchise around. He knows Mangini needs time, and Randall wishes general manager George Kokinis would let fans in on the team’s intentions.

“We have no one who talks to the fans,” he said. “Randy isn’t out front. The GM is invisible and Mangini has said this was going to be a process and that things would improve. Well, nothing has improved.”

Randall said there is no energy in the crowd at home games and that fans are still being told to sit down in their seats or risk ejection. He has spoken to Browns officials about reconnecting to the team’s past, but has met mostly with resistance.

“There’s nothing in the stadium that even shows the eight championships we did win,” he said. “This team has lost generations of fans.”

During last week’s game, Randall said a young fan approached him and asked, “Will we ever win?”

Lerner recently brought in former quarterback Bernie Kosar to serve as a consultant to the team. Although Kosar’s role with the team has not been clearly defined, Randall sees his addition as a positive.

“I love it,” Randall said. “Bernie is an offensive mastermind and I think Randy is seeing we need to bring some of the former guys back. It’s a good first step.”

When Art Modell took his NFL franchise to Baltimore in 1995, Browns fans fought to get their team back. Randall was one of the fans who helped jam the league’s fax machines and carried thousands of signatures to meetings, hoping to get pro football back in Cleveland.

It worked, and Randall, who wears something shaded in Cleveland’s brown and orange colors every day, is hoping this protest helps the Browns get back to winning.

“We did this as a positive,” he said. “We want to send a statement that the status quo cannot go on.”

[cincyhokie]

Yeah, I just saw this too. It's weird seeing this from the other side. Frustration and dispair are so blinding. Winning really does take care of everything. The Browns just have to stick to something. A coach, a GM, a plan...anything. They've got some talent on the offense and on the lines. Get a QB and they have a competitive team again.

[jjakq27]

Glad it's somebody else and not us.

How's this for a bad week in Cleveland sports. The Cavs lose their first two games of the season. Former Indian pitchers Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia faced off in Game 1 of the World Series last night and the Browns got thumped by GB 31-3 on Sunday. Ouch.

[Kazkal]

Still amazed they got a monday night :|

[BlainThePain]

I just hope they keep Mangini as long as they kept Crennel.

[Kazkal]

I just hope they keep Mangini as long as they kept Crennel.

one could hope but I have feeling he get's canned in one year unless their affraid he won't get another job (which he probably won't) so their stuck paying 2 coaches.

[Ickey44]

I really truly do feel bad for Cleveland fans. Not so much because of the losing, but for everything they've been through in the last 15 years. First, the team they love gets up and leaves.....and then wins a Superbowl. Then they get basically and expansion team with all the Browns history attached. Then, the expansion team is run by a bunch of idiots.

[ArmyBengal]

Sucks to be them, but after all the years of being sucktastic, all I can manage is 4 simple words:

BETTER THEM THAN US !!!

Sorry Browns fans...

[COB]

I hope they suck dicks for a hundred years. f**k Cleveland.

[ArmyBengal]

I hope they suck dicks for a hundred years. f**k Cleveland.

[HairOnFire]

I hope they suck dicks for a hundred years.

I should live so long, ehh?

True story. My wife is a diehard Brownie fan, and after 30 years of suffering and ridicule, mostly at the hands of yours truly, she told me on Sunday she was finally through with them Brownies. In fact, she said she was switching to the Bengals.

It lasted less than a week.

Started talking her Brownie smack this morning, in fact.

But no matter, she's close.

I figure another game or two should be all it takes.

[Esiason#7]

Still amazed they got a monday night :|

They also got a Thursday Night prime time game on NFL network against the Steelers. Why? They haven't beaten the Steelers since 2003...and they play twice a year!

[Pidge]

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2009/11/sources_cleveland_browns_gm_ge.html

Heh, so that's the GM down. Jamal is also retiring apparently. I thought he already had. How much longer can the fat one last? Hopefully they go after after Norv and Zorn as GM and HC as their next sure fire Suberbowl winning combo.

[ArmyBengal]

I remember arguing with a Browns fan prior to the season about him saying Mangini was a good coach and the Browns were going to be much improved with all the change they made. Guess that's not working out to well for them at this point. Just goes to show that making change for the sake of making change is hardly ever the answer. There has to be some sort of thought process behind it and it would appear much of that change was made to appease someone or some group of people. Here's to hoping their way of doing business continues.

I've heard some say that it's not even fun beating the Browns anymore or looking at their situation in amusement.

Sorry, but I'm not one of those people.

[Ickey44]

I remember that, too, Army. I believe it was Who's TomBrady in the smack forum cause I was arguing with him, too. That guy was a tool.

[ArmyBengal]

I remember that, too, Army. I believe it was Who's TomBrady in the smack forum cause I was arguing with him, too. That guy was a tool.

Good call, that's right...

We sent him packing back to the Browns board that actually hates him more than we did. Tool is an understatement to describe that guy !!!

[semiotter]

I know a lot of guys have done said this, but how could they have sucked so bad last year Hell they were worse than us and got on a Monday night game Somebody tell me!!!!!!!

[kevnz]

Man being a Cleveland fan must be bad, that dude in the article is an idiot. I mean really. Bernie Kosar an offensive mastermind? Gimme a break. Whilst I don't have the hatred of these Browns like the Baltimore Browns, I do take a great deal of enjoyment from all of this.

[BengalByTheBay]

As to the article itself, I am having a hard time thinking of a more useless, ineffective "protest" than sitting down late. They still bought the tickets. They still are going to the game. They're probably buying a wiener while they're standing there waiting to hear the kickoff so they can go sit down and watch their team get whacked yet again. Does that send a message to ownership?

[ArmyBengal]

I don't know what if any message it will send, but I really think it would be funny as hell to see the start of a Monday Night game in Cleveland and not see anyone in the stands.

Jackasses...

[Ickey44]

As to the article itself, I am having a hard time thinking of a more useless, ineffective "protest" than sitting down late. They still bought the tickets. They still are going to the game. They're probably buying a wiener while they're standing there waiting to hear the kickoff so they can go sit down and watch their team get whacked yet again. Does that send a message to ownership?

Obviously it does because Lerner has already had a face to face meeting with the two season ticket holders responsible for organizing the protest. Aside from that, yeah I think I'd notice if I came out for a game and the stands were completely empty.

Hey, at least they're not throwing beer bottles.....yet.

[HairOnFire]

As to the article itself, I am having a hard time thinking of a more useless, ineffective "protest" than sitting down late. They still bought the tickets. They still are going to the game. They're probably buying a wiener while they're standing there waiting to hear the kickoff so they can go sit down and watch their team get whacked yet again. Does that send a message to ownership?

Obviously it does because Lerner has already had a face to face meeting with the two season ticket holders responsible for organizing the protest.

So what?

Imagine if the son of Paul agreed to meet for two or three hours with MomsLikeMe and Kid Steakhouse. What, if anything, do you think would be accomplished by such a meeting?

[kevnz]

Imagine if the son of Paul agreed to meet for two or three hours with MomsLikeMe and Kid Steakhouse. What, if anything, do you think would be accomplished by such a meeting?

I don't know, does one of them have a prison shank hidden on them?

[Ickey44]

As to the article itself, I am having a hard time thinking of a more useless, ineffective "protest" than sitting down late. They still bought the tickets. They still are going to the game. They're probably buying a wiener while they're standing there waiting to hear the kickoff so they can go sit down and watch their team get whacked yet again. Does that send a message to ownership?

Obviously it does because Lerner has already had a face to face meeting with the two season ticket holders responsible for organizing the protest.

So what?

Imagine if the son of Paul agreed to meet for two or three hours with MomsLikeMe and Kid Steakhouse. What, if anything, do you think would be accomplished by such a meeting?

I didn't say anything would be accomplished, but the mere threat of their "protest" got them a meeting with Lerner and makes them think it did. There GM has been fired and now every other story I read is about Lerner saying he's going to hire a football "czar".

All of that could or could not be related to the "protest" and I have no idea whether it is or isn't.

As for SoP, WDR could take Katie hostage and he wouldn't meet with any of them. He knows no matter what he does he's going to get his money which is obviously something the Lerner hasn't learned yet.

[Arizona]

I went lurking over on their forums to see if they had any insights into the game and this is all they were discussing. It's sad. They have to take all the energy most of us put into rooting for our team and put it into embarrassing their own team.

And the thing is, they are right. They are like lepers. You lose to a good team, you feel bad. You lose to a bad team, you feel worse. You lose to the Browns, bits of your soul start rotting and falling off.