All summer long, the Cleveland Browns Hype Train has been gaining steam as their long-suffering fans see an end in sight to all their misery. With Baker Mayfield injecting some swagger into the offense (as well as off the field), Odell Beckham bringing his touchdown prowess with him from New York, and first-round draft pick Myles Garrett ready to prime the defense, all signs pointed to the Browns putting together a solid season for once. Coming off a 7-8-1 campaign, it seems very possible they’ll even get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
Of course, with hype comes the overhype, and there have even been some superfans excited enough to say that this could be Cleveland’s year to shake the league up altogether. A Super Bowl isn’t out of the question in the minds of some.
All of which is to say that expectations were high when the Browns took the field Sunday, hosting the Tennessee Titans in a game many Cleveland fans expected to win in order to set the tone for the season ahead. However, the team got off to a sluggish start. They weren’t able to score a touchdown in the first half and went into halftime trailing the Titans 12-6. Furthermore, left tackle Greg Robinson was ejected for kicking Titans safety Kenny Vaccaro in the helmet after Garrett smacked Titans tight end Delanie Walker in the head.
welp, the Browns will have to play the second half without their starting left tackle. Greg Robinson ejected for kicking Kenny Vaccaro right in the face pic.twitter.com/y324hpluQ7
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) September 8, 2019
It was an ugly play on an ugly day (so far) for the Browns. And so, when the Browns headed for the locker room at halftime, they found out what happens when the hype train moves too fast, too soon, and you can’t keep pace with it. You get booed.
https://twitter.com/ftbeard_17/status/1170769429388414976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1170769429388414976&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.totalprosports.com%2F2019%2F09%2F08%2Fcleveland-browns-fans-boo-team-off-field-after-terrible-first-half-video%2F
To be fair, the boos also could have been directed at the referees. They called the Browns for 10 penalties and 107 yards in the first half. But clearly frustrations are getting the better of the Browns so far and its possible everyone in Cleveland, from the players to the fans, has been caught looking ahead a bit.
We’ll see if cooler heads prevail in the second half.
