Columnist Dean Juipe: Losses test Cleveland’s faithful fans

Dean Juipe

Monday, Dec. 20, 1999 | 9:42 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@vegas.com or 259-4084.

This is a place where the regulars wore Cleveland Browns apparel items even when there were no Cleveland Browns.

It's a hardy and devoted Browns crowd, no doubt about it.

But Sunday, with the Browns' first season back in the National Football League (after a three-year hiatus) winding down in relative disappointment, the mood was low key in the Tap House. Seats were available and the volume was subdued.

The Brownies have not lived up to expectations and, as a result, a bar that serves as a magnet in Las Vegas for anything Cleveland was functioning at something less than full speed. Its adrenalin had been notched down.

Those who took in the satellite broadcast of the Browns' 24-14 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars were cheerful and friendly. It's just that for all of their window decals and Cleveland jerseys and good intentions, their team is now 2-13 and is far from the threshold of greatness.

Not that the 1990s were a vanguard of success, as the Browns will finish the decade with only a single winning season, the 11-5 record of 1994. Of course for three of those 10 seasons there were no Cleveland Browns, the result of a greedy owner U-Hauling the team to Baltimore in 1996.

That turmoil in the face of such strong public support put added pressure on the new Browns, who came into the league this season as an expansion team with a ton of money.

Billionaire owner Al Lerner paid the NFL $530 million to resuscitate the franchise, and Cleveland taxpayers sprung for a $292-million stadium. Lerner, 62, then went top shelf and built a $13-million training center that is state-of-the-art plush.

Beyond that mere Utopia, Lerner provided a number of other accommodations to his players that fall into the "extra benefit" category. This is a team that not only has its own masseuse, it has a day-care center for the players' children and a locker-room attendant who dry cleans the players' street clothes.

By all accounts, the Browns have the infrastructure in place that is intended to impress.

Now all they need is a winning team.

Browns fans were delighted when quarterback Tim Couch was taken with the top draft pick and they were equally pleased when the front office concentrated on protecting him and spent heavily on three free-agent offensive linemen.

The euphoria continued when 4,400 memorabilia-waving fans showed up to watch an otherwise mundane expansion draft that provided the Browns -- and their new coach, Chris Palmer -- with enough castoffs to stock the roster. When that collection of debatable talent went a surprising 2-3 in the preseason, Cleveland fans were thinking of duplicating or exceeding the quick run to the top that both Jacksonville and Carolina achieved after entering the NFL in 1995.

But a harsher reality quickly set in and was painstakingly evident opening day when Pittsburgh tied a 43-0 loss on the newcomers. Little has gone well since, with the Browns winning only twice while ranking last in the league in both offense and defense.

For the Tap House crowd, there's a warmth that reflects its having regained something precious that had been taken away.

But patience is an elusive virtue and its sidekick, true contentment, a distant goal.