Browns legend Jim Brown couldn’t wait to celebrate with the Cavaliers during their championship parade in downtown Cleveland, where the iconic running back says LeBron James should be immortalized with a statue after spearheading the end of the city's infamous title drought.
"I'm happy to take that plane ride and be given the opportunity to share some of the glory with the people that did the work," Brown said Monday from his home in Los Angeles during a phone interview with the Beacon Journal.
"LeBron has given me a lot of respect, and it hasn't gone by my ears and eyes. This young man has recognized me as a part of that family, and I'm so happy to go back and show my respect and to enjoy this and show how much we appreciate it and to wave to those fans."
Brown, now 80, and 14-year-old son Aris spent Father's Day watching James and the Cavs complete an unprecedented comeback from a 3-1 series deficit in the NBA Finals by defeating the Golden State Warriors 93-89 in Game 7 at Oracle Arena.
"Kyrie [Irving], I hope nobody forgets that shot you made. LeBron went to another level as an athlete and a human being. His mental [toughness] was unbelievable. His physical endurance was unbelievable," Brown said. "The whole team had the courage to not buy into the negative and overcome a 3-1 situation. The city is rewarded, the fans are rewarded and it's a great day for all of us who have had an association with the city of Cleveland."
It's been nearly 52 years since Brown helped the Browns upset the Baltimore Colts 27-0 in the NFL championship game on Dec. 27, 1964, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. When the agonizing wait for the city's first major professional sports title since then finally ended Sunday night, Northeast Ohio went into a frenzy. Believeland can hardly believe it's a championship town, but the wounds from "Red Right 88," "The Drive," "The Fumble," "The Shot," Jose Mesa's meltdown and "The Decision" can fully heal at long last.
"I just got through watching documentaries on what didn't happen _ The Fumble, The Drive, the this, the that," said Brown, who works for the Browns as a special adviser to the organization. "So what about this _ coming back from 3-1 for the first time in history? The historic event that just occurred gives us a totally fresh start.
"[The fans] stayed with it. They're known to be blue-collar workers who will stay with it. They will work hard. They will be loyal. They have proven that their loyalty was undaunted, and now it's been rewarded. So thank goodness to the fans of Cleveland and thank goodness that we can say their loyalty has always been there."
Brown and his wife, Monique, will attend the parade. Times have certainly changed since the Browns won it all in 1964. The team celebrated at the Hotel Sheraton Cleveland on Public Square, but Cleveland never threw a parade. People didn't think another title would be so elusive.
"Back in '64, we weren't thinking about 2016," Brown said with a laugh.
Considered by many the greatest running back of all time, Brown will be honored in the fall with the unveiling of a statue outside FirstEnergy Stadium. He wants James to receive similar treatment after the kid from Akron, Ohio, led all players on both teams in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks in the Finals.
"[Cavs owner Dan] Gilbert is going to give him a statue. He'd better give him a statue," Brown said, chuckling. "That young man put out so much blood, sweat and tears it's unbelievable. He gave up his life. He could've had a heart attack he was playing so hard. So they'd better give him a statue. That's the least they could do.
"[He's] a young man who has taken responsibility on every level _ community, family, team, organization, city _ and he's done it with grace. He's carried himself well. He has bitten the bullet many times, and it's paid off for him. His legacy is set, and I'm so happy for him."
Brown's teammates from 1964 share in his delight.
"I loved the Cleveland fans," Paul Wiggin, a former defensive end who's a player personnel consultant with the Minnesota Vikings, said by phone from Minneapolis. "I thought the fans there had as much passion as any fans I've ever been around in my life, and for them to go that long without a championship is almost unfair.
"I'm happy that they're back on track again because it's a great city. I wouldn't have traded my experiences there for anything. I'm thrilled to death for Cleveland. The drought wasn't anything that we wore on our sleeves as something of pride. We were always rooting for Cleveland to be a champion again."
John Wooten, a former guard, had a smile on his face while he watched television as fans flooded the streets of Cleveland to revel in the victory.
"They put their heart and soul into it," Wooten, chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, which promotes minority hiring in the NFL, said by phone from Arlington, Texas. "As happy as I am for the players, the real happiness is for the city and for those fans. Those fans in Cleveland are most deserving of this great victory."
Now the modern-day Browns are aspiring to follow the lead of the Cavs, reverse their fortunes and restore glory to a once-proud football franchise.
"The curse is dead," two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Joe Haden wrote in a heartfelt column for MMQB.com. "The Cavaliers are champs. Now we've got to work like LeBron and the Cavs to get ours. This is motivation for our city, and motivation for our team. I am just so ready to go win a championship right now."
It won't be easy, but the pressure to end the drought is gone. This is the dawn of a new era.
"It'll be a tremendous lift for everything about Cleveland and its sports teams," Brown said. "I think if you're a Cleveland Brown and you watch the courage of these young men and you see the fact that they never gave up and they worked together and overcame, there's no way that you can be ordinary after watching this example of greatness. I'm so happy that there's going to be a spillover into every aspect, I think, of the city of Cleveland.
"What LeBron and the Cavaliers did was come from down 3-1 and won the championship and took it to a different level against a team that just set the record [with 73 regular-season wins]. That's greatness to me."
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