80 minutes into the life of a Browns fan in 2004. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The film starts at the 2004 NFL draft with fans clamoring for the Browns to draft Robert Gallery, to the first game where we beat the Ravens, and then weaves its way through the season until the last game of the year.

My personal favorite part was watching those guys getting ready to tailgate the first game of the year. Nothing better than the first home game when there’s still hope and you’re headed to the Muni Lot early in the morning. Your heart is full of excitement while you pour that 30 pack of Natty into your cooler at 6 am when the sun is barely out.

Obviously if you’re reading this at work you’re not going to block off 80 minutes of your workday to watch this. My suggestion is when you get home to grab a few Christmas Ales, maybe make some pizza rolls, light a candle or 2, and block off 80 minutes of your day to hop in a time machine to 2004 and revisit the Cleveland Browns season. That’s exactly what I did last night and it was great.

As some of you may know I’ve been in contact with one of the creators of this video, Jeff Haynes. He sent a DVD over my way once he saw that I’d posted about his film a few weeks ago. This is the main 80 minute version. I haven’t even sat down to watch the second disc which contains the deleted scenes, extra interviews, and road trip footage but I’m sure it’s great.

One day it’ll get turned around, I think… but seeing these people 11 years ago saying the exact same things we’re saying today makes me a little worried that the Browns may never get it right.