Cleveland Browns: World Is Laughing At Us, Not With Us

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Every Joke Starts Has A Beginning

Local comedian Mike Polk Jr. made the original joke about First Energy Stadium, previously known as Cleveland Browns Stadium being a place of sadness in 2011. His video was a hit among Cleveland Browns fans who has been frustrated by the product the Browns put on the field every Sunday, yet return every Sunday for more abuse.

As Browns fans we laughed, cried, and sympathized with Polk. The video even spawned the name for this website.

The joke was real, but it was ours. Every Sunday, and every season we return to First Energy Stadium hoping that we’d see a real NFL product on the field. A team that on Sundays stood a chance to win, or as Polk joked, could do better than a Division III high school team. Yet we often left the Stadium with another loss, and with the same feeling of here we go again.

More from Factory of Sadness

Thus, the sadness spread. The jokes about our suffering became a coping mechanism between fans to deal with the pain of consistently pathetic play and seasons of losing. One Cleveland Browns fan would tell their joke to another, and that Browns fans would tell another.

Then that Cleveland Browns fan might have a Pittsburgh Steelers fan who would hear the joke, and laugh because they knew it was true. Then that Steelers fan would tell his other Browns fans the joke, and all of a sudden the tide began to turn. Our fellow football fans weren’t laughing with us, they were laughing at us.

The joke had gone sour. Now the fans of our bitter rivals were using the Polk video against us. What once helped us relieve our pain now causes more pain.

Next: Sticks And Stones

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