DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Mike Holmgren is Bringing Back Tradition and History to the Cleveland Brown

I want to go back to orange pants and brown jerseys.

get a new uni regardless!
The '96 Broncos were 14-2 but lost to Jax in the first round. Then they switched their unis and won it all in '97. I do like their current unis better than the orange ones they used with the Bronco D blue helmets...those gave me nightmares.

All this talk about pants colors and jersey hues reminds me of a gaggle of teenaged girls after they've returned from the mall. Wardrobe, indeed.



I'm going to take this thread in a different direction, if only for one post. What you ladies do with it after I've said my piece is entirely up to you.

The Legends, the Ring of Honor, Heritage... these nods to the history of Cleveland Browns Football are important. Holmy could just as easily come in and gutted everything but the team colors, which was his prerogative, should he have decided to go in that direction. After all, there have been posters on this board who have stated that our dogged adherance to the deep dark past has impeded our progress. I disagree with that sentiment, but it doesn't necessarily make them wrong.

Personally, I like the efforts he's made. Considering the determination and enthusiasm of the fans in getting their team back after Modell ripped it from them, it's one of the best tributes a Team Pres could make. Let's face it- The Cleveland [insert new name here] could have come back to a half-filled CBS, and there are few who would blame the fans for staying at home. The reality was quite different... and the Baby Browns returned (albeit with a dismal product) to a packed stadium from Day One. That team, sorry as it was, was OUR TEAM. The Stadium isn't called MNBA field or [insert corporate name here] Stadium... iit's Cleveland Browns Stadium. In all of the NFL, only Dallas has named their stadium after the team which plays there- and we were first. These may seem like little things to some casual fans or younger Pups who weren't around for the Muni Days, but to members of Ye Olde Guarde Faithful, it's important.

The bridging of the Old and the New is poetic to me. It pays tribute to all the fans who kept the faith during those dark days when Cleveland had NO professional football. In essence WE WERE THAT BRIDGE... and I see Holmy's moves to honor the past as a tribute to not only them- but to us, as well. It shows that he understands and values the passion and dedication we've shown for over 6 decades. That's 3-4 generations of Browns fandom, yo. In this world of instant gratification, short memories, fair-weather fandom and disposable cars, houses, careers and lives, there's something to be said for loyalty that lasts.

Mike Holmgren has been a student, purveyor and lover of The Game for most of his life- in ways that most of us can't touch... and he recognized the value that can be found in the history and tradition of a team that he inherited late in his career. That reverence for The Bigger Story is (imho) partly responsible for his reaching out to Hickerson, Brown, et al... and I for one, appreciate that gift- from my heart.


But then again- what else should one expect from a Pro Football coach/executive who began his adult life as a History teacher?




[we now return you to your rgularly scheduled program]

I can't say I care if we bring back the orange pants or not but the idea of bringing back the numbers on the helmet is repulsive. We'd look like Nascar.

I guess i just don't care what the unis are.. I just want them to win. so to me, the conversation regarding brown or orange pants, is pretty meaningless to me personally..

clem...SO WELL SAID....I hope everyone takes the time to read clem's post because it is very well written and reflects so well, the feeling of some of the old timers who have watched the Browns since the 60s.

I can't begin to express how I feel about the move Randy Lerner made, bringing in Holmgren to run the football side of the franchise. After so much disappointment, since the return of the Browns in 99, I feared I would never see the day when the Browns were once again Champions of Pro Football.

We have endured ineptness in coaching and in the front office since 99, the names of which are too many to write and not important now. What is important, is the Browns now have someone running the football side of the franchise who has been around football long enough to appreciate the Browns tradition.

Bringing back "the tradition and history of the Browns", has only one meaning for me...the tradition of winning.