New uniforms?
Change is definitely coming for the Cleveland Browns after truck-stop magnate Jimmy Haslam III agreed to purchase the team from Randy Lerner for a reported $1 billion. Haslam has said he will likely offer naming rights to Cleveland Stadium, which Browns fans will gladly accept since that means the team isn’t going anywhere.
But what about redesigning those plain uniforms or even — (long pause for emphasis) — becoming the final team in the NFL to slap a logo on the side of their helmet?
Said Haslam: “Could we change the uniforms? I don’t know, but it is a marketing world we live in, and let’s be realistic about that. In our business world, we changed our logo and our design of our stores multiple times over the years, but the basic culture and core beliefs … stay the same, and hopefully that helps you.”
USA Today asked readers if the Browns needed a wardrobe update on its website. Early voting was split almost evenly between honor tradition and update the uniforms. My vote goes toward honor tradition, but I also know new uniforms means new replica jerseys to be sold to the Browns ever-passionate fan base.
That same fan base that could start passing the hat around town in a grassroots effort to rename the stadium themselves. Something like: Art Modell Go To (h-e double hockey sticks) Stadium. You know Browns fans would love to see Modell turning in his grave over that one. The fact he isn’t even dead yet makes it even more appealing to Browns fans, I’m sure.
As for a logo on the helmet, Bengals and Steelers fans no doubt will be more than eager to help their rivals. Message boards and social media sites should be filled with interesting suggestions for a team that wears brown.
Of all the changes coming their way, there is one all Browns fans can agree on: A solid draft, a committed owner and an always passionate fan base could have the Browns in position to be a player again in the AFC North.
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