CLEVELAND -- The city of Cleveland is gearing up for another sports parade, but instead of celebrating a championship, organizers are protesting the fact that the Cleveland Browns finished the 2017 season as only the second team in the history of the National Football League with an 0-16 record.
With Sunday's 28-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field, the Browns went winless in a 16-game season for the first time in franchise history, and their 17th consecutive loss dropped them to a league-worst 1-31 since the opening game of 2016.
But if attending a parade is not your thing, here is a list of three things Browns fans can do to show their displeasure without having to attend Saturday's festivities at FirstEnergy Stadium.
DON'T RENEW TICKETS
For years, Browns fans have told me, “I'm going to hang onto my tickets because if I give them up, that'll be the time they get good.”
For the die-hard fans that have held season tickets since 1999, there is more on the line if they walk away from their seats because of the personal seat license (PSL) fees, and it is hard to let that money go, but the renewals became more expensive when the Browns went 7-9 in 2014.
However, since that point, success has eluded the Browns at historical levels.
If fans want to get the attention of owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam, not renewing season tickets or buying new packages would be a good place to start. Business owners understand bottom lines, and if fans stay home to watch games, the Haslams will continue to take notice of the empty seats.
DON'T BUY MERCHANDISE
The Browns have made plenty of money from jersey sales in recent years, especially because of the quarterback position, where 28 men have started at least one game since their return to the NFL in 1999.
Walking to a Browns game, it is not uncommon to see “Couch,” “Manziel” and “Griffin III” stitched onto the shoulders of jerseys, but none of those players ever saw a second contract with the Browns. In fact, those jerseys, which range in price from $79.99 to $299.99, seem to be obsolete by the end of the first year said quarterback spends in Cleveland.
Although the Browns will get money from the NFL through revenue sharing with regard to merchandise sales, making their contributions to the pot smaller will get the attention of the league.
PETITION THE LEAGUE TO STEP IN
Over the last four-plus years, the Browns have gone 4-49, and the record has not been much better since Dee and Jimmy Haslam officially purchased the team in October of 2012.
In five seasons under Haslam's majority ownership, the Browns have posted an NFL-worst 15-65 record. Factoring in the remaining games of the 2012 season after the sale was approved at an NFL Owners Meeting in Chicago, the Browns have gone 19-70.
The Browns have not won on a Sunday afternoon since December 13, 2015, and the 33 straight losses are an NFL record.
Additionally, this season, the Browns set the record for the worst 28-game stretch in NFL history, as they bested the previous mark of 2-26 set by the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the 1976-1977 seasons with a 1-27 showing that got four losses worse since Week 13.
Also, with Buffalo clinching a wildcard berth in the AFC, the Browns have the longest-standing playoff drought in the NFL.
Browns fans should vent their frustrations through written word and social-media videos to the league offices in hopes that they will step in and consider forcing a change in ownership if the losing continues under Haslam's watch.
