As someone else earlier posted, a franchise's "face" is primarily a media construct. I'll leave it to them to spin to their audience what they think we are.
I however, know The Truth.
The Truth is, aside from Paul Brown himself, the only face that has been a true constant in Browns History is the face of the fan himself. Joe 6 Pack, screaming his lungs out in the stands for a team at the bottom of league standings like it was a perennial playoff contender. A guy who holds back a meager $5 bucks from every paycheck just to buy a couple of single-game tickets, as soon as enough "five-dollar weeks" have finally passed. A guy who'll work overtime at the mill or plant or shop... or take on a part-time job to be able to take his family to a couple games per year. Or the Old Timer, who can remember watching the Browns in black & white. The one whose son was just able to buy his first PSL... and chose to take his Pops to the very first 'season ticket game' he ever bought.
The media will determine whose face becomes the Browns' Peyton Manning, Drew Brees or Adrian Peterson, once the Browns arrive with someone who carried them there. Until then-- and for well after then-- the face of the Browns franchise will be the faces of each and every one of us.
In a sense, that's how it should be, for one important reason alone:
ALL players/coaches/staff come and go, but the fan lives as long as the franchise does. I've said it a million times, and if I repeat myself a million times more, this fact will be no less true:
"Cleveland Browns fandom is handed down from generation to generation like a cherished family heirloom. It's what makes our team as beloved as family to all who support it. For us, the Bowns are Family"
5 generations now- and going strong. Thanks, DaddyPaul.
The "face of the franchise" is something I see everyday when I shave in the mirror. You see the "face of the franchise" every day, too- when you do the same. The Face looks different from household to household, but it's seen all over the world... in every race, and on every continent- including Antarctica. It's the face a random Steelers fan sees when he turns the corner at the local Koger... and runs into you- standing there in your orange & brown. It's the face that co-workers see smiling at work on Tuesday- after a Monday Night Beatdown of the reigning Super Bowl champs. And it's the face of a newbon, wrapped up in an orange & brown Snuggli, while her Daddy rocks her in front of the TV on an Autumn Sunday afternoon.
Face it, Corpus- the 'face of this franchise' has always been You and me.
-Kinda puts 'a good face' on the team, whether times are good or bad... doesn't it?
I rest my case.
p.s. From my p.o.v., there is only one other pro football franchise that enjoys that same level of love and commitment from its fans- the Green Bay Packers. If the Browns should ever fold for good (perish the thought), that's the only team I could ever see myself caring about... and for the same reasons that I'm a "womb2tomb" Browns fan. Two teams out of 32. That's something very special, you know?
