At least until Wednesday or Thursday, most NFL Draft observers thought the Cleveland Browns would take USC quarterback Sam Darnold with the No. 1 overall pick. Others thought maybe Josh Allen or Saquon Barkley was in play. Almost no one, however, expected Cleveland to grab Oklahoma signal-caller Baker Mayfield.
In fact, ESPN Cleveland radio host Aaron Goldhammer was so confident Mayfield wouldn’t be the pick, even as reports snuck out that he would, that he promised on air Thursday that he would “eat horse poop” if the Browns selected the Heisman winner.
And well, you already know the rest. The Browns took Mayfield first overall, and now Goldhammer has a promise to live up to.
“If the @Browns take Baker Mayfield I’ll eat horse poop.” — @HammerNation19
The world is going to quickly learn the name “Aaron Goldhammer” from @ESPNCleveland. pic.twitter.com/apgvZDrlo7
— David Sentendrey (@DavidSFOX4) April 27, 2018
We have seen writers and radio hosts promise to eat columns, lick buildings, personally apologize to thousands of fans and on and on. But eating literal manure might be a new one.
Goldammer seems pretty serious about following through, however. At ESPN Cleveland’s draft party, the host declared, with an odd tone of triumph, “I will eat the poop live on air,” while a colleague explained that the act would take place next week, presumably after the station procures some horse poop.
.@HammerNation19 has an announcement.
HINT: He is a man of his word. #WorstToFirst pic.twitter.com/XFNns1Q6QA
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) April 27, 2018
Goldhammer still seemed in good enough spirits Friday morning, retweeting this incredible graphic featuring himself frowning, Mayfield smiling and a big ole horse with his butt sticking out.
https://twitter.com/mugs617/status/989898233211248641
ESPN Cleveland has given us all kinds of bizarre stories over the years, from dildo references on SportsCenter to unhinged rants about Joe Thomas to baseless claims about Jabrill Peppers’ drug use, but this is easily the most ridiculous. He’s gonna eat poop! Like, from a horse’s butt! Live on the radio! All because the Browns made a semi-surprising first-round draft pick!
We have now officially seen it all.

About Alex Putterman
Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.
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