Over The Last 16 Years The Browns Have Been More "Cleveland" Than Anyone Can Possibly Imagine

I did the same thing about 95% of sports fans did as the Baltimore Ravens blocked a game winning field goal attempt, and proceeded to start returning it down the sidelines as the clock dwindled down. I hopped on Twitter and posted something to the effect of "that's the most Browns way to lose ever". As the minutes passed I watched my timeline flood with just about everyone saying some rendition of that very same thing. For a minute I felt uncreative and basic, until I saw this tweet...

This is the 42nd #Browns last-minute loss since 1999 and the 22nd time it has happened on the last play.

— Joe Reedy (@joereedy) December 1, 2015

...and realized that everyone was even more spot on than even they knew. 

You know what the craziest part about that stat is? It's not that the Browns average nearly three last minute losses per year. It's not that they average 1.5 losses on the final play per year. It's that 90% of the time you see the Browns playing they are down by 20. With these numbers I am shocked that the Browns even have enough time in a season to win a game. With 3 close losses per year, plus the amount of times they get blown out, it's a miracle they don't annually go 0-16. 

This stat actually makes me feel less pity for Cleveland fans. At this point they shouldn't even let themselves get their hopes up. You lose a game or two like that over the course of a decade and I can understand thinking things might be different, but lose in that demoralizing of a fashion every single year and you better start letting pessimism sink in. The glass is not half full. It's never half full. If the glass is in Cleveland then it likely fell on the ground and shattered into a million pieces after Johnny Manziel chugged the contents it. Take some tips from this kid. Don't let yourself get too far up, and you'll never be let down...

Poor Browns fans pic.twitter.com/JqLVZDLS5A

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) December 1, 2015