On Christmas Eve, at 4:28pm, First Energy Stadium in Cleveland erupted into cheers. Fans hugged, jumped in the air, and even wept. The Browns won their first game of the season, 20-17 over the San Diego Chargers, narrowly escaping being the twelfth team in professional football history to have a winless season. The last time a team lost all sixteen games was the Detroit Lions in 2008. Before that, twenty five years passed without a winless season.

Though the win brought happiness to fans, even with win next week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team will end 2-14 at best–a rough season in a long line of disappointments.

The last time the Browns won a NFL championship was on December 26, 1964. This was before the National Football League championship was changed to the Super Bowl. But ever since the name change in 1967, the Browns have never won or even played in a Super Bowl.

Though this year (and decade) has been bleak, there was a time when the Browns were dominant. It all started in 1944, the year the Browns were founded by Arthur McBride. Their very first coach was Paul Brown, who coached for seventeen complete seasons. Their first game was on September 6, 1946 against the Miami Seahawks. Seahawks scored 0 points while the Browns scored 44. A good start.

The Browns first championship was in 1946. They won a total of eight–four in the National Football League, and four in the All American Football League. They won four consecutively from 1946 to 1949 in the AAFC as well as 1950, 1954, 1955 and 1964 in the NFL. But the Browns never got to see another championship after 1964.

Even though the Browns have seemingly gotten worse over time, some devoted fans remain hopeful. They are still waiting for the Browns to win that Super Bowl. But until that day comes, as Library Media Specialist and devoted Browns fan Mrs. Marciano explains, “Being a Browns fan is like lining up every Sunday afternoon to get a punch in the face.”