Historic Day For The Cleveland Browns

The day has finally arrived. At the NFL owners meeting in Chicago, James Haslam III has become the official new owner of the Cleveland Browns. At 10:45 this morning, owners voted unanimously to approve the sale of the storied franchise.

For Browns fans, everyone is thinking the same exact thing; we finally have an owner that cares about our football team. At the same time though, here we go again. It is obvious another regime is coming. All the signs are there that Haslam is going to clean house. The current team President, Mike Holmgren, did not make the trip to the millionaires’ club meeting. This will conclude Holmgren’s failed run as President, finishing 10-28 under his direction. This is a .360 winning percentage for those wondering. At the end of the season, Holmgren is smart for retiring.

Over the past couple months, there has been talk that very stern business man Joe Banner is going to become Haslam’s right hand man. Haslam confirmed that Banner will become the Browns’ new chief executive officer. Banner was released from the Philadelphia Eagles presidency last year.

Haslam, who speaks very confidently and positively, had these important things to say about his new team at his 1PM press conference, “It’s a very special place and, as we have said on numerous occasions, we’re going to do everything we possibly can and work as hard as we possibly can to bring a winning team to the fans of Cleveland. Whether they’re in Cleveland, northeast Ohio or one of the many Browns Backers around the country, we’re going to work hard for them.” Whether the guy is from Cleveland or not, what you have to like about him is that he actually understands and doesn’t come across as trying to sell the fans. The Browns Backers Worldwide that he speaks of  have been through enough heartache and are hungry for a contending team. Haslam gets that and spoke on that topic as well,  “It’s really an asset of the community and we’re going to do everything we can to increase the value of that asset and candidly, the way you do that is you put a winning team on the field.”

The bottom line is that the cure to all of this is winning. The past 12 years are over and nothing is going to change the outcome of any of those years. It’s time to move on and it’s starts with not just saying your going to do something, but actually getting your hands dirty and doing it. By all accounts, today is not only a historical, but important day for the beloved franchise that is the Cleveland Browns.

Ryan Ruiz – Cleveland Browns Writer

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