The Brown’s Index

Why results in the NFL impact local economies

By Walter Oden

Introduction

He tried to lose it. He must have wanted Johnny Manziel to get the next start. Maybe that is why Manziel was getting into brawls at local hotels? How did Brian Hoyer throw those two interceptions late in the game on Sunday? Really? Did he really want the City of Cleveland to drop in attitude and productivity on Monday?

The Premise

In my previous life, I worked in downtown Cleveland. I was a CPA with a large multi-national firm. Monday had a special meaning to everyone. Especially during the winter. The winter was known as busy season. Our hours were heavy. The work was monotonous. You would work full Saturdays with only Sunday to recharge. Sunday mattered. The Brown’s game was everything.

Major League Baseball and the Indians

The Indians and Cavaliers are also big in Cleveland. Yet, their games never impact the city quite as much. A typical baseball season is 160 games. 80 of those games are played at home. In addition, the games are played in the Spring, Summer and Fall. Any negatives from bad play by the Indians are mitigated by the great weather. That’s right. Cleveland is leaving its long torturous freeze known as January, February and March. April is the beginning of the thaw and baseball season. Win or lose, we win in Cleveland with baseball season.

The NBA and Cavaliers

The Cavaliers have a completely different feel. With the return of Lebron James, all is right with the Cav’s. Yes, we will accept all wins and losses as part of a bigger goal. We love to see the Cav’s win, but take the losses in stride. Also, let’s not forget the NBA holds an 82 game season. Each win and loss doesn’t mean that much.

The NFL Season

I wonder how many of you are old enough to remember when an NFL season was only 14 games? Now that it is 16 games, you would think that we could recover from a loss as a city. Each game is like gold. All football fans know that you must get to a magic 9 wins to have a prayer at a playoff. Some years, you have to have 10. I do remember one year when the Brown’s won their division with an 8-8 season. That was back when Bernie Kosar was still throwing deep to Webster Slaughter. Yes, the math matters. That is why each Sunday, the NFL has the entire city in their hands.

The Impact

It’s Monday morning. The drive downtown or to a client was torture. Unless you left by 7:00am, you were punished in traffic. If the weather was really bad, you might as well walk to work. If the Brown’s won the day before, you were calm even during full traffic jams. You were likely listening to talk radio celebrating the win. Your spirits were high. You couldn’t wait to share your emotions with your colleagues and clients. In fact, this was the one time that “bad relationships” were actually put on hold. Yes, it was a honeymoon period. A Brown’s win was like a fresh wedding. You were “love struck” and anything and everything that people did around you was just fine.

Business

Conflicts were put on hold. In fact, many things were accomplished because relationships improved. Good feelings led to more work. We had more hope and more reason to live. Mind you, most of these emotions were subconscious. Yet, by Wednesday many of these feelings were forgotten. People returned to their old ways. Deals that were made Monday, would never happen by Wednesday. Yes, business was impacted by a Brown’s win. Productivity was up. People were happy to be in Cleveland!

A Brown’s Loss

I like to paint the positives before the negatives. If the Brown’s lost on Sunday, the entire day was lost. Remember, Sunday was a critical day to recharge. Without ending the day with positive emotions, you might be in “pout mode” for the rest of Sunday. This was setting you up for a bad week. This was setting you up for a terrible Monday!

Monday after a Loss

Monday would always start poorly. You would wake up tired and restless. You might even wake up thinking about that turnover that gave the game away. Everything would move slowly. It would be hard to get out the door. Traffic would be especially bad. In classic Cleveland terms, it would probably be snowing. Talk radio was lamenting with you. You would listen to “what went wrong” talk all the way to work. This day was going to be bad.

Business after a Brown’s loss

People didn’t want to talk. You would, but didn’t want to. There was no celebrating together in the coffee room. There was nothing to talk about except work. All the people you had conflict with were in their offices with their heads down. You dreaded having to talk to them. There was no ice breaker like  “Can you believe that last series?” No smiles, no bonding. Work got done, but without joy and energy.

The Rest of the City

I have interviewed a lot of people on this premise. My wife claims that she “avoided all men” on a Monday when the Brown’s lost. As funny as that sounds, I think it ran deeper than that. I think the subliminal impact to the economy was real. I can’t prove that there was a reduction in a Cleveland GDP. Yet, I bet there was.

The Conclusion

Cleveland is unique city with deep traditions in sports. The Cleveland Brown’s are our family. Watching a player drop a pass is like watching your son fail. You feel it in your guts. Monday was a good day in Cleveland. The Brown’s won. If you had a big deal to close, I hope you did it on Monday. Happy Thanksgiving Cleveland!

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