Johnny Manziel, Browns crushed by Bengals
December 14, 2014Cleveland Browns Week 15 Winners and Losers
December 15, 2014Whoo boy. Back-to-back losses from the Cleveland Cavaliers, and whatever the hell that was from the Browns on Sunday. Welcome to Monday, you guys…
Having operated a sports-based web site for much of the last seven years, I realize that fandom and rationality are not exactly one in the same. But as the Browns have careened through the 2014 NFL season, one specific “fan” quality has started to become more and more prevalent, and it’s admittedly worrisome: The burning desire to be right, regardless of what it means for the or city team in question.
Twitter and Facebook and comment fields and message boards (I hear those still exist) provide fans with an outlet to engage in dialogue with like-minded folks. The rub? Some—a growing portion, it seems—are bigger fans of themselves than the teams with which they allegedly align. Trent Richardson runs for two yards? Can’t wait to run to Twitter and spout from the e-mountatain tops that you saw this coming a mile away. Nick Swishwer strikes out swinging with men on the corners? Quick: Make fun of those who appreciated his signing with the Tribe! Brian Hoyer or Johnny Manziel do something that forces their QBR down a few pegs? Call into the first radio station you can find to yell “Yep! I told you so!”
I’ll have more on this later today, but there is a faction of alleged “fans” who are openly rooting against Johnny Manziel. This isn’t a Twitter or social media problem—this bizarre behavior transcends the Internet. But in the world where the most vocal get the most attention, this goes way beyond the whole “I bought a ticket I can do what I want” ridiculousness; it’s openly rooting against your team and the other players on the roster. Prerogative is prerogative—live and let live, right? But at this point, doing so is counterintuitive to the whole concept of fandom. It places the desire to be right—to have your own beliefs or wannabe GM opinions (or “takes”) confirmed, however short of a term—over the desire for what being a fan of someone of something is all about. It’s embarrassing at it’s best and toxic at it’s worst.
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How about some UFC in Cleveland? Craig and I hung out on Saturday evening as Stipe Miocic fought five long rounds to ultimately lose in an decision to Junior dos Santos in the UFC on FOX headliner. Granted, many of those who were in attendance were there to watch the fight, but there were several watch parties throughout the city to support the Cleveland kid. And while many of these UFC cards take place in larger, warmer cities, it would seem to make sense for Dana White and his MMA brand to consider Cleveland as a hosting town. Forget that Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin were among some of the best fighers of their time and happen to be Ohio guys. Miocic is one of the top heavyweights in the world. Jessica Eye is one of the best female fighters the brand has in its stable. There’s a huge faction of fans who head to Columbus every year for the Arnold Classic and it’s continually growing inclusion of MMA.
Saturday night’s non-PPV event was held in the very arena that the Phoenix Suns call home. The WWE holds events at The Q on the regular—there was another one this past weekend. There have been several, smaller MMA events held at whatever Nautica calls itself these days. Someone needs to get Dana and Uncle Dan together soon because a UFC event in Cleveland would be absolutely huge from an economic standpoint in addition to the entertainment.
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Hey, fantasy football guys…How’s the team shaping up? Thanks to Dez Bryant, I’m a decent night from Alshon Jeffrey and Matt Forte away from being in the finals in all three of my money leagues. It’s been a rough season—I’ve largely been unconfident in my squads as I took some unconventional routes to building the rosters this season, but all has worked out well. We just need Julio Jones to get back. I’d much prefer starting him over Nate Washington.
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Takes taken elsewhere. Here’s this week’s edition of #ActualSportswriting:
“2014 Sportsman of the Year: Madison Bumgarner” by Tom Verducci (Sports Illustrated): “The legend of Madison Bumgarner fits neatly in the space where we keep our idea of the archetypal outdoorsy, countrified man, where also reside the embellished, fictionalized Boone and Mayberry’s Sheriff Andy Taylor. It’s just that in Bumgarner’s case, the stories are true.”1
“The Sad Saga of Tommy Gaines” by Jordan Ritter Conn (Grantland): “I’m standing in the dark in downtown Atlanta, waiting for a man who carries his clothes in a polka dot suitcase and his teeth in his sweatpants pocket.”2
“The Far Sideline” by Seth Wickersham (ESPN The Magazine): “Those who’ve worked with McCloughan all privately say the same thing: They love him and love working with him, and they also worry they might get a call saying he’s in real trouble.”3
“Peek inside Johnny Manziel’s circus” by Dan Wentzel and Rand Getlin (Yahoo! Sports): “Everyone, it seemed, wanted something … his signature, 1,000 signatures, his presence at their club, or their kid’s birthday party, or their Sunday dinner, or the chance to pitch him future business, or his appearance on their television show, or a shot at representing him in the NFL one day or whatever else they could dream up. They just wanted Johnny Football.”4
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And finally, this week’s Brew du Jour: Stay tuned…
Try to enjoy your Monday, kids. If you’re in Cleveland, the silver lining is that it’s supposed to be 50-something degrees. Take it and run.
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- I love our version of this annual award, but this piece is simply fantastic. Bumgarner is a great recipient (though I had believed Coach Pop would get the nod) and Verducci is just an amazing writer. [↩]
- Conn spent eight months with Tommy Gaines and produced an incredible piece. [↩]
- I completely unaware of McCloughan prior to this piece, but I couldn’t help but think of several other NFL execs who have fallen victim to alcoholism. This guys’ work is so, so good, but everyone is still afraid to touch him due to the personal demons. Worth your time. [↩]
- This ran before Sunday’s debacle, but it’s still a great look into the Johnny that exists off of the field. [↩]
38 Comments
“The burning desire to be right, regardless of what it means for the or city team in question.”
I agree completely, and I think the cause of this is threefold (you hit on some of them as well).
1. Social media encourages people think that their opinion (much like this one I’m expressing now!) matters. Largely, it does not.
2. The ESPN-ification, embrace debate, express HOT TAKES sports journalism. When you’re force-fed that garbage, you start to assimilate it. “You are what you eat.” (This is probably why most of the frequent visitors to this site are way more balanced than what you find on Twitter. We have a balanced diet of WFNY!)
3. When for years your teams haven’t given you many victories, the only “wins” a fan has are their opinions on certain players being good or not.
RE: Fantasy Football. I’m in the semi-finals. I have a lead, but it is shaky as the guy I am playing has Forte tonight.
Your aggravation with the popular “I knew that 6 months ago, moron” comment resonates with me as well. The need to bray this is so transparently egotistical and outcome determinative. So I just “know” that Manziel is too young, short, irresponsible, improperly prepared via playbooks, arrogant, and spoiled to be a success in the NFL. And see, after one start (or hell, 3 starts), what did I tell all you idjuts? As if I actually know the kid, sat in his film sessions, played ball with him, knew that yesterday the o-line would let the d-linemen grab him almost the moment he took the snap, that Hawkins would drop a nicely improved throw that could have gotten his confidence going, that the defense would put the team in a multiscore hole, etc. This braying is so easy on the internet; in person people don’t get so puffy because they know they can be challenged before the crap leaves their mouth. It’s like we all (and I don’t exclude myself) want to be the pompous expert on the ESPN show.
Truth is, the person who gains the most credibility is he who can freely admit “I don’t know.” Because that comports with reality, the limits of our knowledge and unpredictability of significant outside factors. If someone predicted when he came out of college that Jeff Garcia would be a multiple Pro Bowl choice that prediction only indicates a lucky guess. Because Garcia himself had no idea how the CFL would affect him or that he’d even start there, that he’d be with NFL coaches able to design an offense to exploit what he did, that what he did was fast enough for the NFL, and a million other factors. But saying “I don’t know” is bad show biz and a take that, like, sucks.
I think these fans have always existed in the same proportion as they do currently. They’ve just never had the public platforms to share so little with so many before.
Very nice piece of writing.
Social media has certainly magnified the “importance” of an individual opinion. And fandom is first and foremost about opinion: my team is better than your team. And no one enjoys being wrong, particularly when it comes to opinions on matters they care deeply about. So it’s not surprising to see more a more combative tone in these sort of interactions.
I can only speak for myself, but here’s my #hottake on the matter: I strongly dislike hype. Of any kind. I strongly dislike the need to establish a “brand”. I am a fan of wait and see, and letting people and things prove themselves before lavishing praise or getting my hope/expectations up. So when I see the hype machine pump out a Taylor Swift or a Walking Dead or a Johnny Manziel, I am immediately skeptical. And if/when that hyped person or thing fails to deliver, i have no problem saying so. Especially to those who may have been particularly abrasive in their insistence of the greatness or whatever of said topic of hype. I get being excited about signing a big name player, but to be asserting from minute one that they are definitely destined for success or failure is obnoxious. Now, is it possible to “rise above the fray” and just ignore those who espouse views with which you disagree? Of course. But social media in particular is about engaging. And while sure, there are things not worth getting worked up over (and there are limits to how much I’m willing to let things like sports opinions or music debates get to me), what’s the point of just being passive and not at least having reasoned, civil discussions? It’s the fun of coming here every day, and it’s the fun of Twitter and the like. These things don’t have to ruin fandom, and in fact can make it that much more enjoyable. But with the good comes the bad.
On the fantasy front, I too need Forte and Alshon to show up, while Mark Ingram needs to get the Shady McCoy treatment from last night. 16 point lead going in.
Are we now offering hot takes on hot take-ing? Have we achieved TAKECEPTION in these comments?
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Meta hot takes!!!!
The assertion of opinion validity isn’t a thing only for sports. It’s pretty rampant throughout most things these days. Anyways, I am a special snowflake.
The old academic’s aphorism applies here:
An undergraduate thinks they know everything.
A masters’ student thinks they know nothing.
A PhD realizes nobody knows anything.
(this aphorism also suffers from a bit of confirmation bias, but never you mind that)
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I think your #2 is closest. When so much of what people see/hear re: Sports Discussion is angry yelling to fill hours, they start to believe that is THE way to have discussions about sports.
I stopped consuming ESPN (except live game telecasts on occasion) years ago and couldn’t be happier about the decision. Now when I catch it on at a bar or restaurant I just laugh at how bad it is.
Browns were awful yesterday… but see you Sunday!
I have as well, but the network is so big that you can’t completely ignore it.
In addition to live game telecasts and at bars, I’ll add morning radio because Kiley and Booms is that bad.
Luckily I moved out of state a year ago so my Cleveland sports radio has been very light over the last year. It’s a lot easier to turn off now, and I feel better for that too. And agree about Kiley and Booms. I’m sure that was quite a show this morning… /s
Um… you know the origin of the word “Fan” is fanatic right? Why would you expect them to be rational when it was a deragatory term to begin with? #GrammarNaziStrikesAgain
How come he gets a special snowflake award?! I deserve one too because dammit!
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I can’t wait for the OIC moment of “Lets package our two first round picks for Jameis Winston” calls/comments. Thank God Cardale Jones isn’t a senior although that doesn’t matter much these days either.
For Jameis? No way in hell. For Mariota, though? I’m in.
Remind me again how much did Haslam pay for this franchise?
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Same difference no thanks to either. There isn’t a QB on one of the top six ranked college teams I’d draft in the first round. Use those picks on LB, DL, OL, WR and K. Along with free agency of course.
Where does this leave someone with a post-doc, or those with honorary degrees?
[Insert Keanu Reeves picture from above]
Barring a HUGE turnaround by John Pigskin in the next couple weeks, this team has no starting QB. Not even a “caretaker” type like Hoyer. Mariota is the best prospect since Luck (though not on that level). If he can be had for those two firsts, I say do it. Yes, I know, “Tom Brady, Russell Wilson, etc.”, Leaf and Akili and so on. I know. But if the Browns think Mariota is as good as I do, they have to try. If not, then yes, I am all for strengthening the lines (never a bad choice) and bolstering the LB spot. And then you need to grab a QB somewhere. But my money would be on Mariota.
Out of curiosity, is there any QB period you’d draft in round one? If not, are there any you’d draft period?
We aren’t getting into the top5 with our 1st round picks though.
Re: fantasy… In the leagues where playoffs are one week, I had Peyton Manning last week. I was eliminated.
In the league where it’s two weeks, I had Peyton Manning both weeks. Unless Alshon and Colston combine for 18-340 and 5TDs, I’m out.
Worst part: This is after spending a year kicking myself for benching Manning for Foles last year and costing myself a crown.
So add in more picks. Throw in the 2016 first if need be. If Oakland or the Jags end up #1, they wouldn’t likely take a QB there. I’ll bet even the Titans or Bucs could be moved for the right price. Gotta try at least.
Both 1st rounders, 2016 1st would be the starter package (considering where our picks live). And, not nearly enough. Add a couple 2nd rounders in there. Then, hope that Mariota doesn’t fall on his own face.
No, as bad as it looked yesterday. No, this is not the path you are looking for.
Maybe Manziel will make this all moot over the next two weeks. If not, there’s a top guy out there. The time for half-measures and talk is over, Senator.
Hey I lost a personal record setting MLB fantasy h2h league by .01.
Feel we are going down the wrong path here…
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I found the note on fandom thought-provoking, and wonder if this is a general social trend and not just a sports-related one.
Being in my 20s, I don’t have much of a sense of how this era actually compares to previous eras, but it certainly seems that the last 3 or so presidencies have shared a similar public response. That is, people actually ROOTING for the leader of the free world to fail, simply because he adheres to a somewhat-different ideology on at least 50% of the issues.
This preference for Being Right over having good outcomes seems incredibly self-destructive (in sports, politics, business, even personal relationships, etc.) I wonder if it really is new or worse, or if we’ve always been this way (just with louder platforms now), if it’s country- or culturally-unique, and if it’s a question that can be empirically studied across time periods. I’d read that social science paper.
Nine times out of ten, I’m against the idea of selling out to go after one guy in the draft, mainly because I think QB is the only position you do that for, and a clear top QB prospect doesn’t come along often. Mariota is the best overall prospect of the past two drafts, and pretty comfortably so, in my opinion. Andrew Luck is once in 20 years. Mariota is not Luck. But he’s the clear (again, to me) top guy now. As I mentioned previously, I’m all for build the lines first, so more picks there wouldn’t be a bad thing. And LB is a definite need. But again, barring a huge turnaround in which Pigskin shows he has the basic competency to play pro level football, we do not have a starting QB for 2015. It is not unreasonable to me, in this case, to roll the dice.
They just stop thinking.
Cannot possibly say for certain, but I’d suspect that attitude among a larger population, at least here in the States, would likely trace back to the Vietnam/Nixon Era. It is nearly impossible to overstate the impact that period had on people’s attitudes regarding power and the willingness to tolerate opposing views. Definitely a study I’d read as well.
Now this is getting interesting. I think we actually need to make it about the post-WWII America rather than restrict it to Vietnam. McCarthyism, Mob hearings, JFK (and assassination), Vietnam, MLK (and assassination) and entire civil rights movement, feminist movement, political protests becoming a profession through colleges, etc.
That entire era post-WWII, the USA was made to be 1 of 2 superpowers with the US controlling Western Europe. That spotlight made for a power grab. And, whenever there is a power grab, there will be turmoil. I believe that is why so many different movements and clashes happened in such a short amount of time. That turmoil seems to have created the structure that we have today (both for better and for worse).
“WFNY Takes on Sociopolitical Theory”? I am intrigued. There has to be a way to blame Art Modell for all of this…
First, gotta rename that to make those takes “hot.”
Second, this time period is when a young Art Modell was first making his mark on the world(21yo in 1946). I doubt that is a coincidence.
Ah, the 20 Brown Rangers…a perennial Halloween favorite.