@the-gipper said:

Is your question rhetorical....and just a way to put some jabs in at the team.....or are you really asking the question because you don't know?

Neither. It's in quotes because a broadcaster in Cleveland said he has been hearing that question a lot, and was tying that into a discussion of a new statue. That sparked a memory and a comparison. That ended with "it's proof that a historic rust belt team on hard times can find their way back to winning" and  "eventually the optimists will be right". For now, though, people mostly only see recent history.

@tinythinker said:

Heard in a pre-game show that many people in the greater Cleveland area ask "Why are they called the Browns?"

Not surprising that most of living memory of the Browns is now "that losing team", so their AAFC and their earlier NFL days and so on are not exactly things people remember or see as relevant.

In some ways, the Browns remind me of the Pittsburgh Pirates (yeah, I know, automatic negative reaction to the word Pittsburgh) who also had early decades of success, a resurgence in the 60s, a mixed bag in the 80s/early 90s, then fell into a deep dark hole for a few decades. They managed to get back to at least Wild Card status from 2013-2015 to get out of their long slump.

Given that the sports differ in some many ways I'm not suggesting that the Pirates give some big clue or road map to a Browns turnaround, but at least its proof that a historic rust belt team on hard times can find their way back to winning and some degree of credibility.

For all of their history, though, the Browns have to make their own name here and now. People will care to learn/remember why they are called the Browns when the organization gives them a sense of pride.

Yeah, the odds remain "Browns will find a way to lose" for now, but eventually the optimists will be right. (Whether any of live to see that...? )

Until then...

Is your question rhetorical....and just a way to put some jabs in at the team.....or are you really asking the question because you don't know?

@tour2ma said:

"The Pirates win the pennant! The Pirates win the pennant! The Pirates win the pennant!"

vs.

We are Family! I got all my sisters with me... We are family! Get up everybody and sing...

Long ago and long, long ago...

Hah, yeah, different times for all the major sports cities and teams. But, it's funny how similar the Pirates fans wandering all those years in the wilderness sounded just like the Browns fans today. (I was living 70 miles from Pittsburgh from '92 to '96 as the slump began and was in Pittsburgh from '97 to '07 during the heart of the slump so you couldn't miss the blaming, the reminiscing, the suspicion about the owners, the arguing over what was really needed to win, the perpetual talk of rebuilding, the defeatism, the reliance on historical highlights over current substance, the extreme reliance on rivalry to make things meaningful since post-season was out of the question, etc.)

It's easy to over-analyze what is wrong with a team, and it's hard to predict just what combination of team building, ownership, coaching, and players will just happen to click and start a winning streak. I do think there will eventually be days of celebrating for Browns having (consecutive) winning seasons and serious talk of post-season runs again, but I don't pretend to know how it will start. It probably won't look like what people expect, but once the winning starts no one will care.

vs.

We are Family! I got all my sisters with me... We are family! Get up everybody and sing...

Long ago and long, long ago...