If sports fandom is defined by loyalty, and loyalty can only be expressed when it is tested, then the Cleveland Browns must have the best fans in all of sports.
Because that franchise has a history of struggle that is unmatched in modern North American sports, and if you’ve stuck by the Browns after decades of that struggle, then you are truly a loyal fan (and may be entitled to compensation).
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Forget the fact that the original franchise left Cleveland to move to Baltimore in 1995 and that the Ravens team, their division rival, has been one of the most successful franchises in the NFL over the past 30 years.
The expansion team that replaced them in 1999 has been awful.
The Browns were the first team to go winless, losing all 16 games in 2017, a year after going just 1-15 the previous season.
Since 1999, the Browns have won 3 or fewer games six times, including this past season. In the 50-year history of the previous franchise, the Browns only had two such seasons.
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Even the most loyal people have their breaking point, and even though the term fan is short for fanatics, at least one loyal Browns fan wants to entice the Browns into playing better with hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Cleveland Browns want a new stadium.
Browns want money from Ohio; Northeast Ohio just wants wins
One of the biggest criticisms of the NFL is that billionaire owners often demand that citizens use their taxes to fund home stadiums instead of paying for the billion-dollar apparatuses themselves. After all, the citizens don’t get to share in the profits. It’s a system that runs on public investment with private returns at its worst.
Folks on the other side of the fence argue that having an NFL franchise instills a sense of pride and togetherness in a community that can’t be measured in dollars and cents. The civic benefits of having an NFL franchise with your town’s name on it far outweigh the costs of keeping the team in town.
With that in mind, the Cleveland Browns and owner Jimmy Haslam are asking the state of Ohio for $1.2 billion to build a new stadium outside of Cleveland.
The state House of Representatives proposal has already faced heavy opposition, with Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost posting a recent op-ed saying that he will vote no on issuing $600 million in bonds as a “spendthrift gift to a billionaire.”
However, the plan has also been receiving pushback from the state Senate.
Cleveland Browns ‘losing record’ could get in the way of funds
The team wants to build a $2.4 billion entertainment complex in Brook Park, Ohio, about 20 miles southwest of downtown Cleveland, with a domed Cleveland Browns stadium as the district’s centerpiece.
Owner Jimmy Haslam has committed $1.2 billion of his own money to the project, with the other half coming from the state and Cuyahoga County.
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But one politician thinks the state is getting a raw deal.
“If a team wants to get taxpayer money, then the least they can do is have a winning season, and if they decide that they want to move, the the people of Ohio deserve their money back,” state Senator Bill Demora (D-Columbus) said, according to News5Cleveland.
Demora introduced a bill requiring Ohio teams to have winning records for three of the past five seasons to qualify for public money.
The Cincinnati Bengals, the Browns’ cross-state rivals, have had winning seasons in four of the past five.
“They always say that these sports teams provide the public benefits and helps local community… well it doesn’t when you stink. When the Browns stink, they’re not helping anybody,” Demora said in a video on X.
He made this statement while perhaps purposely wearing an Ohio State shirt. Ohio State won the college football national championship this past season.
The Cleveland Browns are asking for $600 million from the state to build a new stadium. Right now, the $$ is in the state budget.
Meanwhile, Sen. @billdemora wants to prohibit public money from going to a professional team unless it has a winning record 3 of the last 5 seasons: pic.twitter.com/OdiiISpWTX
— Natalie Fahmy (@NatalieFahmy) April 7, 2025
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