ESPN Cleveland radio host livid over continued Browns disrespect

An ESPN Cleveland radio host is tired of hearing about how the Cleveland Browns can’t win the AFC North Division.

Experts believe the Browns, who haven’t scored a division title since 1989, are expected to finish behind Baltimore and Cincinnati. The Bengals rose from obscurity three seasons ago and went to the Super Bowl in 2021. They followed that up with another AFC North title and another AFC Championship Game berth.

And that’s what had radio host Tony Rizzo in such a tizzy.

.@TheRealTRizzo is fed up with the talk that the Browns can't win the AFC North.

"The BENGALS won it the last two years."

Do you think the Browns can win the division this year? pic.twitter.com/wPjJAGGvKJ

— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) July 18, 2023

“I don’t care!” Rizzo yelled. “I don’t care! Be the best team! You guys act like it’s impossible to win the Division. The … … the Bengals won it the last two years. If I had told you three years ago, ‘The Bengals are gonna win the Division, you’d have laughed me off the frigging air.

“Win it! Go win it!” he shouted. “Enough! With this settling for, ‘Oh, if they make the playoffs…’ No, no, no. Not good enough. Make a run, man. Make a run. Be the Eagles, be the Rams, be the Bengals, make a run. It’s our time, dammit. It’s our frigging time!”

On the basis of “it can happen to anybody,” the NFL does play well. For a long time, the NFL went on a stretch where teams who finished in last place one year would turn around and go from worst to first the next. The NFL’s chaotic nature allows for a lot of variability, which is probably why it’s so popular in the first place.

With 34 years gone by since the Browns last won a division title, maybe it’s not surprising that Rizzo had such a passionate and fiery response to “just getting in the postseason.”

[ESPN Cleveland]