(photo by Joseph Maiorana, USA TODAY Sports)

In 1987 Ernest Byner fumbled and for the first time I realized the game of football was more than just a game. Not only was I a 9 year old loyal Browns fan who could name every starter on the team and their jersey number, I was a football player myself. I wore #10 that season. I can still hear Dick Enberg saying “Oh my!” as Denver recovered the fumble and Byner hung his head in the end zone. Overcome with numbing disbelief and tears filled my eyes when #44 fumbled the ball and with it, our chances of making it to the Super Bowl. It didn’t seem fair. We were so close! It was more than just a football game that day – it meant so much more to that 10 year old boy who loved the Dawg Pound Defense and believed Bernie Kosar was the best quarterback in the NFL.

Since The Fumble, 27 seasons of Browns football have come and gone, none of them resulting in a trip to the Super Bowl. There have also been almost 27 starting quarterbacks for the team since then – 24 I think. And not one of them better than Bernie Kosar unfortunately. Time and time again, quarterbacks have come to Cleveland and fail to lead the team to the playoffs. I’ve heard some say, “but it’s a team sport, it takes everyone on the team to win, not just the quarterback.” They would be right – yes, it does take everyone to win. But it takes leadership to build a team, and the Browns have been lacking it. At the company I work for, we have core values that guide our business. I wrote about Integrity in a previous post which is one of our five core values. The others are leadership, excellence, commitment and collaboration.

Whether you are part of a corporate team or a football team, I’m a firm believer in having a shared set of goals and values. Without goals, I’m not sure how you know where you are going and without values, the right people will not be going along with you. Leaders have a special ability to make those around them better, they find and oftentimes create ways to win as an underdog, and they do the things on and off the field to put themselves, their organizations, and their fans in a position to have success.

There are great examples of quarterback leadership in the NFL today. Professionals who take responsibility not only for themselves, but for their entire team. We know who they are and who they aren’t. Fast forward 27 years from the Fumble and the Browns, well, they drafted Johnny Manziel, then put him into a starting role at the most important position in the NFL. And did so knowing he fits no one’s definition of a leader. In fact, I think he is the exact opposite of most people’s definition of a leader. I’m all for giving second chances and I’m hoping Manziel turns it around. But Johnny if you somehow find yourself reading this, know that your teammates and the fans are the reason you are in the position you are in. It’s not all about you. You are in the National Football League now – It is not your right to be a Cleveland Brown, it is your privilege. The sooner you figure this out the better, because Browns nation is getting real tired of your games.