Think about it for a moment.
Bill Belichick is the New England Patriots head football coach, and after Sunday night's Super Bowl game in Indianapolis, he may be part of a championship team (for the fourth time as NE boss) if the Pats can defeat the New York Giants.
Even if New England doesn't claim the trophy, it's still played on the biggest National Football League stage.
That's more than the Cleveland Browns can boast.
Sadly, the Browns are one of four NFL teams to have never competed in a Super Bowl. The others are the Detroit Lions, Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Even the Cincinnati Bengals have been there twice (and lost both times).
The thing is, on 59-year-old Belichick's football resume, he was once Cleveland's head man, from 1991 to 1995. The Browns even went to the playoffs in 1994, beating New England 20-13 before falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-9.
Back then, Belichick's quarterback was Vinny Testaverde, who was not exactly a Tom Brady-type but a competent signal caller nonetheless.
Overall, Belichick's stint in Cleveland was unimpressive as the Browns were 37-45 - and 1994 was his only winning season.
After the 1995 campaign, as everyone knows, owner Art Modell moved the Cleveland franchise to Baltimore, and Belichick was out of a job. He actually resigned as the Browns head coach early in February 1996.
Cleveland didn't even field an NFL team for three seasons, from 1996 to 1998. And, when the Browns did return to the NFL in 1999, it was as an expansion team.
At that time, Belichick was employed by the New York Jets. The following year, 2000, he became the New England Patriots head coach - and the rest as they say is NFL history.
Life's journey sure does have a lot of twists, turns and bumps on the road, doesn't it?
And, you just can't undo what's been undone, like Cleveland moving to Baltimore, which won Super Bowl XXXV as the Ravens. Or, Belichick going on to enjoy much more success as an NFL head coach.
When you're watching Sunday night's game in Indianapolis on TV, and the camera focuses on Belichick on the sideline, it's very tempting to imagine him as the Cleveland coach (which of course he once was) and the Patriot players on the field as Browns.
Is that as close as the Cleveland Browns are going to get to a Super Bowl appearance?
Sure hope not.
Someday - and your guess is as good as mine - things will turn around in Cleveland, and the Browns will at long last take center stage at the Super Bowl.
Who knows, maybe it will even be against the New England Patriots and Belichick - if he hasn't retired by then.
Ron Johnston is the Marietta Times sports editor and can be reached at 376-5441 or at rjohnston@mariettatimes.com
