Browns still reign supreme in Cleveland.
The Browns and the Cavs have obviously been far from stagnant in their recent endeavors. After the Cavs made serious moves in order to make a legitimate push back into the NBA finals many were shocked – including myself – by the immensity of the trade. It is satisfying to see the Cavs make an effort to get back into the finals rather than settling on being good enough to get by simply because they have (perhaps arguably) the best player in the league. All that said, what the Cavs have done (in the heart of the NBA playoff race mind you) simply pales in comparison to what Phil Savage and the Browns managed to do in a weekend before the draft has even taken place.
The Browns’ moves do not diminish what the Cavs are doing in any way whatsoever. It does, however, reiterate the fact that Browns football reigns supreme in a city where the basketball team has one of the biggest sports stars on the planet, that same team is coming off of a finals appearance in the previous year while currently making a push to get back into the finals, and the baseball team is ready to begin a new season after having a great (albeit disappointing in terms of how it ended) season the previous year.
After a great 2007 season in which the Browns managed to go 10-6 and still miss the playoffs, Phil Savage has been incredibly aggressive from the moment free agency began this off-season. He should be commended simply because he is showing the urge to be a top tier team in the NFL after getting a taste of being above average. The excitement for next year was already in the air coming off this past season. It was hard to see how anything could eclipse the pre-existing excitement. Yet, Phil Savage managed to completely blow the minds off a fan base that is hard-headed (in a good way, most of the time) and hard to please, and he did so in the span of a few days.
There is a downside. The wait for football season is always grueling, and that has just increased ten fold. It is a nice consolation to have two other very good teams to watch in their respective seasons. And it is more than gratifying to watch LeBron James terrorize the NBA. In the now, things are looking up.