CLEVELAND — The weeks of speculation are over for Cleveland Browns fans, and this time around, it has nothing to do with a high pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Along with the 31 other teams around the National Football League, the Browns learned of their schedule when it was released on Wednesday night. The Browns will play four times in prime time, including a pair of Monday Night Football appearances in the first five weeks (at New York Jets in Week 2; at San Francisco 49ers in Week 5) as well as a long-awaited return to Sunday Night Football (vs. the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3) and a rivalry game with the Pittsburgh Steelers at home on Thursday Night Football in Week 11.
Fans gathered Wednesday night at Barley House in Cleveland's Warehouse District for the restaurant's first ever Schedule Release Party.
"I'm a die hard Browns fan, I'm a die hard Clevelander. I love my city. I love my team," says Orlando Grant.
"Where else would I be? I could be home sleeping but I'd rather be here with my fellow browns' fans having a good time."
The NFL Network broadcast live and brought Browns Tight End David Njoku in for an interview as well as a meet and greet with the fans.
With more eyes on the team nationally, Njoku says he feels zero pressure.
"Obviously we chose to do this job, just like in 'Hard Knocks' [a documentary series on HBO], we're ready to go," he says. "We're focused on one game at a time."
The Browns shared a video of general manager John Dorsey posting the schedule on a bulletin board in his office after receiving it from the NFL.
In addition to Dorsey's focused response to the schedule release, the Browns provided comments from coach Freddie Kitchens in the announcement.
“It’s great to get the schedule, but honestly, it really doesn’t matter where the games fall,” Kitchens said. “It’s our job to be ready, regardless of when or what time we play. We know our fans are very excited about the season and we know they will carry that excitement into the season opener. Right now, our focus must be on ourselves and not on any other team.
“For us, it’s about coming to work every day, intent on improvement.”
Once the schedule was announced, Browns fans let their excitement be known in social-media posts.
It is the first time the Browns have been featured in multiple prime-time games in the same season since 2015, when they battled the Cincinnati Bengals on the road on Thursday Night Football on November 5, and then, on November 30, hosted the Baltimore Ravens in a Week 12 Monday Night Football matchup.
Also, it is the first time the Browns will be featured on multiple Monday Night Football games in the same season since 2008. During that 2008 season, the Browns played three Monday games, beating both the New York Giants (October 13) and Buffalo Bills (November 17) before falling to the Philadelphia Eagles (December 15).
Along with the excitement came designs on journeys to Cleveland as fans already were working on their road trips to see the Browns play in the fall.