I’m getting out the drums and starting to beat them. Keep Eric Mangini!!

Browns Eric Mangini holds end of season press conference

I started my league in 1991 after winning the first league I ever joined. (Well, I actually was just at the draft to write the names on the board, but one guy didn’t show up so I stepped in as his replacement) After winning that league I talked to my buddies about starting our own and the rest is history. At the end of our inaugural season in ’91 I was crowned champion and the winning seemed to be as easy as taking candy from a baby. I loved this fantasy thing and it seemed to be a great side source of income. Then the drought hit.

I went 15 years without winning it again. Yes, 15 years.
Whoever said that losing builds character didn’t have “friends” like mine. It was brutal. The laughs, comments, and trash talking was unending. Especially after being the guy who sculpted and then introduced the Armchair Quarterback to the league in 1994. “Stick to art Dave, fantasy isn’t your thing” was uttered at every draft along with things I don’t feel would be appropriate to include in this particular blog.
I sat and watched as guys, who at the beginning of the year couldn’t tell you half of the starting running backs in the league, were then crowned champ at the end. Guys like my buddy Dino who went 0-13 the year just before his first championship season. How the hell was all of this possible? Were the fantasy Gods playing a sick joke on me?
It was a true test of strength. Thank God 2007 finally came around and L.T., Reggie Wayne, Marques Colston and Patrick Willis changed everything. I could finally enter the draft without the shame of 15 years of losing hanging over my head. My name was back on the coveted FEDELE Trophy.
Well, I’m sorry to report that since that championship season it’s been 2 disappointing years. And though I’ve been competitive, I have not been fortunate enough to see my name on another plaque. My friends Bill and Dino can claim that honor. Yes, the same Dino. That prick won it again this year after fielding what so many believed was just a mediocre team at best. He now is part of the two-time champions club and will be fighting to be the first to claim his third. I beg of you Fantasy Gods not to let this happen. Stop with the sick jokes. -DM

Mike Holmgren better make sure that his glasses are not fogged up when he sits down to view the tape of this year’s Cleveland Browns. The tape shouldn’t lie. Now I’ll admit- The first half of the season will be like watching a horror film. However, the last half should make you sit up and take note and see that the “process” is starting. The Cleveland Browns are on a winning streak and the players seem to be buying into what he is trying to do. Build a championship level mindset on this team.
The Browns have not had an identity since coming back into the league and have gone through coach after coach only to be disappointed in the end. Mangini looks to be different. When Romeo Crennel was fired Browns fans united and said the organization needed a strong disciplinarian. Mangini filled the role. They said the cancerous players in the locker room needed to go. Mangini agreed and said goodbye to Winslow and Edwards. They said be more aggressive on defense and shore up the lines on both sides of the ball. It finally looks to be happening.
It’s obvious that all of the parts are not in place, but let’s remember people that it is YEAR ONE! Coaches are not miracle workers and don’t have magic dust to sprinkle over the dead corpse of a team. What they do have is knowledge and character. Mangini seems to have both. Give the guy a chance to build and to put a team on the field all Browns fans can be proud of. A gritty team that plays smart and works hard.
A team that takes on the characteristics of it’s coach. -DM