On September 21, 1970, The Cleveland Browns defeated the New York Jets 31-21 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in the first- ever Monday Night Football Game. At the time, the weeknight game was thought to be a fleeting gimmick. But as we all know, MNF quickly developed into an American institution and Cleveland was there to usher it in. Back in the good old days when the Brownies were a legitimate NFL team, I would get so excited to watch them play on the national stage. Sometimes they won, sometimes they lost but it was always a thrill to listen to Dandy Don, Frank and Howard focus on our beloved Browns. My personal favorite was a 1979 game against the Cowboys. It was all Browns that night in a 26-7 victory. And there was the added bonus of watching Drew Pearson vomit through his facemask. Flash forward to the present. I have never dreaded a game more then the upcoming Monday nighter against the Ravens. The story lines will be dominated by the “brown out”, the debacle that is the 2009 season and what an inept buffoon Eric Mangini is. The question is not will the Browns win or lose. The question is not will the Browns get blown out. Both are forgone conclusions. The question is what embarrassing, memorable event will occur that shames us all. I sense something epic. Will Eric Mangini’s hair catch on fire a la Mayor Ralph Perk? Will Lake Erie catch on fire behind the stadium? Just when we think it cannot get any worse, it gets worse. And to top it off, the shellacking will be at the hands of the hated ratbirds of Baltimore. Stay angry Browns fans, you have every right to.
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