Editing Cleveland Browns (section)

==Fan base==
A 2006 study conducted by ''Bizjournal'' determined that Browns [[fan (person)|fans]] are the most loyal fans in the NFL. The study, while not [[scientific]], was largely based on fan loyalty during winning and losing seasons, attendance at games, and challenges confronting fans (such as inclement weather or long-term poor performance of their team).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thomas |first=G. Scott |date=September 8, 2006 |title=Cleveland No. 1 in NFL fan loyalty |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14686579/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211031008/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14686579 |archive-date=February 11, 2009 |access-date=December 13, 2008 |website=MSNBC.com}}</ref> The study noted that Browns fans filled 99.8% of the seats at Huntington Bank Field during the last seven seasons, despite a combined record of 36–76 over that span.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/specials/slideshow/13.html |title=NFL Fan Support Rankings |publisher=Bizjournals.com |access-date=December 13, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080229063926/http://www.bizjournals.com/specials/slideshow/13.html |archive-date=February 29, 2008}}</ref>

===Dawg Pound===
{{main|Dawg Pound}}
Perhaps the most visible Browns fans are those that can be found in the [[Dawg Pound]].<ref name="n794">{{cite web | last=Shuck | first=Barry | title=Browns training camp 1985: Origins of the Dawg Pound | website=Dawgs By Nature | date=2019-07-18 | url=https://www.dawgsbynature.com/2019/7/18/20698301/browns-training-camp-1985-origins-of-the-dawg-pound | access-date=2024-08-13}}</ref> Originally the name for the bleacher section located in the open (east) end of old [[Cleveland Stadium|Cleveland Municipal Stadium]], the current incarnation is likewise located in the east end of [[Huntington Bank Field]] and still features hundreds of orange and brown clad fans sporting various canine-related paraphernalia. The fans adopted that name in 1984 after members of the Browns defense used it to describe the team's defense.<ref name="pfojix">{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/browns/2006-02-16-dawg-pound_x.htm|title=Judge finds nobody beats out Cleveland for 'Dawg Pound'|work=USA Today|publisher=Gannett Company|date=February 16, 2006|access-date=December 13, 2008|first=Larry|last=Newmeister|archive-date=February 26, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226174555/http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/browns/2006-02-16-dawg-pound_x.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Retired cornerback [[Hanford Dixon]], who played his entire career for the Browns (1981–1989), is credited with naming the Cleveland Browns defense 'The Dawgs' in the mid-1980s. Dixon and teammates Frank Minnifield and Eddie Johnson would bark at each other and to the fans in the bleachers at the Cleveland Stadium to fire them up. It was from Dixon's naming that the ''Dawg Pound'' subsequently took its title.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/article.php?id=6887 |title=Cleveland Browns &#124; Rookies get a history lesson |publisher=Clevelandbrowns.com |access-date=December 13, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206075303/http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/article.php?id=6887 |archive-date=December 6, 2008 }}</ref> The fans adopted that name in the years after.<ref name="pfojix"/> Due to this nickname, since the team's revival the Browns have used a bulldog as an alternate logo.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sportslogos.net/logos/list_by_team/155/Cleveland_Browns/|title=Cleveland Browns Logos|publisher=Sportslogos.net|access-date=July 14, 2014|archive-date=July 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726080923/http://www.sportslogos.net/logos/list_by_team/155/Cleveland_Browns/|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Cleveland Browns mascot Chomps with the National Guard.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Browns mascot Chomps shown in 2010 greeting [[U.S. National Guard]] members at a home game]]

===Browns Backers===
The most prominent organization of Browns fans is the ''Browns Backers Worldwide'' (BBW). The organization has approximately 305,000 members<ref name="zprxmw">{{cite web|title=Browns Backers Worldwide|url=https://fans.clevelandbrowns.com|publisher=NFL Enterprises, LLC|website=ClevelandBrowns.com|access-date=November 27, 2018|archive-date=November 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130152906/http://fans.clevelandbrowns.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> and Browns Backers clubs can be found in every major city in the United States, and in a number of military bases throughout the world, with the largest club being in [[Phoenix, Arizona]]. In addition, the organization has a sizable foreign presence in places as far away as [[Egypt]], Australia, Japan, Sri Lanka, and [[McMurdo Station]] in [[Antarctica]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Mike|last=Deneen|title=Lakewood Native Takes Browns Backers to South Pole|url=http://www.lakewoodobserver.com/read/2006/01/11/lakewood-native-takes-browns-backers-to|work=The Lakewood Observer|date=January 11, 2006|access-date=November 29, 2011|archive-date=April 23, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120423044816/http://www.lakewoodobserver.com/read/2006/01/11/lakewood-native-takes-browns-backers-to|url-status=live}}</ref> According to The Official Fan Club of the Cleveland Browns, the two largest international fan clubs are in [[Alon Shvut]], West Bank and [[Niagara Falls, Ontario|Niagara]], Canada, with Alon Shvut having 129 members and Niagara having 310.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/fans/backers/results.php?id=INT |title=Cleveland Browns |publisher=Clevelandbrowns.com |access-date=December 13, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206075318/http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/fans/backers/results.php?id=INT |archive-date=December 6, 2008 }}</ref>

Following former Browns owner Randy Lerner's acquisition of English [[Association football|soccer]] club [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]], official Villa outlets started selling Cleveland Browns goods such as jerseys and NFL footballs. This has raised interest in England and strengthened the link between the two sporting clubs. Aston Villa supporters have set up an organization known as the [[Aston]] (Villa) Browns Backers of [[Birmingham]].<ref name="v891">{{cite web | title=Ryan Grigson on the Cleveland Browns' Fan Base | website=The Hankful House | date=2018-04-25 | url=https://www.thehankfulhouse.com/ryan-grigson-on-the-cleveland-browns-fan-base/ | access-date=2024-08-04}}</ref>