For the second time in just over a month, Cleveland Browns are on the cover of a major North American sports magazine.
After Baker Mayfield led a pack of dogs on a brisk walk on the cover of ESPN the Magazine in July, star receiving tandem Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry graced the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated. Writer Ben Baskin authored the cover story on the team's turnaround.
Baskin's piece dives deep into John Dorsey's arrival as Browns general manager, the moves he's made in reshaping Cleveland's roster, the promotion of Freddie Kitchens to head coach and the potential of what's to come after another busy offseason that saw Dorsey add two key defensive linemen in Sheldon Richardson and Olivier Vernon, and a superstar wideout in Beckham. The driving motto of Dorsey's many moves made since he arrived in December 2017, Baskins writes, is simple: Don't be scared.
Baskin accurately details Dorsey's insistence that there is plenty of work to be done in the weeks and months ahead, and that no one wins a Super Bowl by simply assembling a spreadsheet of names, numbers and positions.
"Dorsey, meanwhile, has been listening this offseason to Public Enemy’s rap anthem “Don’t Believe the Hype” and relaying that message to his players. He reminds everyone that, despite all their success last year, the Browns finished third in the AFC North. “We ain’t done (expletive),” he says, suggesting a magazine headline along the lines of unfinished business. He’ll push that message on his players daily—that and, of course, Don’t Be Scared." Ben Baskin, Sports Illustrated
The writer closes gracefully by focusing on the fans of the team, recapping their decades of support that included the team's thrilling performances in the 1980s, its three-year absence from 1996-1998, and its struggles through its first two decades back that led the organization to its currently bright future.
To read Baskin's full story, click here. To grab a physical copy of the magazine, be sure to check newsstands for the Aug. 26-Sept. 2 issue of Sports Illustrated.
