False Start: How The New Browns Were Set Up To Fail

It was supposed to be the dawn of a grand new era of football in Cleveland. Instead, it was a rude wakeup call. When the new Cleveland Browns took the field in 1999, legions of loyal fans—once heartsick, abandoned, and disgusted at the loss of their team in 1995—were ready to forgive the past and embrace the future . . . a new owner, a new team, a new stadium. They just wanted their Browns back. They didn’t get what they bargained for. In the five years since a new team called the Browns arrived to play on Cleveland’s lakefront, this has become clear: Browns fans got a bum deal. The NFL traded one of the most storied teams in football history for a franchise mired in mediocrity. These were the fans who, after owner Art Modell skipped town with their beloved Browns, became the only fans ever to take on the NFL, demand their team back—and win. Yet while they were celebrating the supposed victory that kept "our name, our colors, our team" in Cleveland, fans should have been looking over their shoulders and keeping a close watch on the NFL. There would be few reasons to celebrate in the years to come. In this book, award-winning sportswriter, Terry Pluto takes a hard look at the first five years of the new Cleveland Browns franchise and doesn’t like what he sees. Pluto chronicles the backroom deals, big-money power plays, poor decisions, and plain bad luck that have dogged the new Browns franchise since its inception. Browns fans still stand by, waiting for a return to glory. How much longer must they wait? Pluto sifts through the clues from past seasons and looks for answers. This frank analysis will offer fans some solace along with an explanation for their misery.