Terry Bannon of your sports staff appears to have no knowledge of the NFL, or at least one of its most storied franchises, the Cleveland Browns. In Friday’s paper, Bannon indicates that this week’s game between the Cleveland Browns and the Oakland Raiders is the first-ever meeting of these franchises. Perhaps Mr. Bannon is unaware, but the Browns and the Raiders played one of the most exciting playoff games ever in 1980.
After Art Modell moved the players and coaches from Cleveland to Baltimore in 1996, he legally and practically left behind the Browns franchise. The roster, owners and coaches may be different from when the Browns and the Raiders last met five years ago, but what franchise has not changed in the same way?
The Browns’ franchise is not two years old, it’s more than 50.
