Seriously???

According to ESPN and Grantland writer Bill Simmons, "God Hates Cleveland".  It's a popular meme because SO MANY awful things happen to sports teams.  The last time any of their three major professional sports team any title was in 1964, and most NFL fans don't count championships before the Super Bowl (which started five years later).

Just some of our "highlights":

* An NBA owner who was so incompetent that the NBA gave the team draft picks when he sold the team, and established a rule named after him to prevent an owner from making trades as badly as he did

* "Red Right 88"

* "The Drive"

* "The Fumble"
 
* We just need better players?  We had LeBron James.  James quit on the team during the 2010 playoffs, then took less money because he wanted to party on South Beach instead of playing for his hometown fans.   

* LeBron didn't have any good teammates, you say?  Meet Carlos Boozer.  The Cavs drafted him in the second round, and he was turning into a potential all star power forward.  He was under conctract for one more year, so the Cavs and him had a handshake deal to release him from that contract in excahnge for signing a long term deal.  The Cavs released him, and Boozer stabbed the Cavs in the back by signing with the Utah Jazz instead.

* We just need better coaches?  We had Bill Belichick.  He made all of his mistakes with the Browns, then decided to turn into a coaching genius on his NEXT NFL job

* Losing the 1995 World Series.  Atlanta, during their run in the 90s, only won one world series, despite winning the pennant five times.  Ah well- at least Atlanta is a real club...

* ... unlike the Florida Marlins, who bought a bunch of free agents and somehow won the 1997 World Series.  I would have MUCH rather lost to the Yankees or Red Sox, and I don't like either team.

* And then there's Art Modell.  Despite one of the most loyal fan bases in the country and a bill to improve Municipal Stadium, Modell stabbed the city in the back, stole the team, and moved it to Baltimore.  You'd think fans of the former Colts would have not wanted to steal another team, but there it is.  Cleveland had no football for four years, then was rewarded with an expansion team run by morons.

And to top it all off, the Modell's Browns never made it to the Super Bowl- but Modell's Ravens have won it twice now.

* To show you how bad the new expansion, I give you this:  It's a list of all of the Cleveland Brown Quarterbacks since 1999.  Not a pretty list.


So, with all of that background- the Browns had a good day on Thursday.  They started out with the #4 pick and #26 pick, traded down, got an extra #1 for next year, picked up the best Cornerback in the draft and their newest Quarterback, Johnny Manziel.  People are all over the map on how good Manziel will be in the NFL.  

Now, at #4, people wanted to take Sammy Watkins.  That was my choice.  He is supposedly the best WR in the draft.  Now, the Browns have one good WR- Josh Gordon- but they have been weak there otherwise.

But I liked the trade, and we have now have a better defense and a new QB.  And we still have Gordon, right?  Second best WR after Calvin Johnson?  We should be good, right?

"God Hates Cleveland"

Josh Gordon is facing a year long suspension for multiple drug violations- this time for pot.  

So now we have a new QB and no good wide receivers to throw too (I would love for Greg Little to prove me wrong here.)

Sigh.

Welcome to Cleveland.