BROWNS GO…. BROWN?
The Cleveland Browns revealed a new look, ambitiously title ‘Alpha Dawg’, which will be worn in three games this coming season, and walked straight into a wall of obvious memes.
For the first time in the club’s disjointed 81-year history, an all-brown alternate helmet will be worn with an all-brown jersey combination. The Browns unveiled the helmet ‘design’ on a floating platform (yes, a floater!) in Lake Erie, which was already funny before a photographer took an unexpected dip, amid claims that the new look — which is being sponsored by disposable wipe brand Dude Wipes (no, you couldn’t make this up) — is ‘built for the gridiron, bred for dominance’, something the Browns haven’t been for a long time.
The helmet features a matte brown shell, with a brown stripe between two orange stripes, and an all-brown facemask, and will be worn in the home games against Green Bay, Miami and Tennessee.
“‘Alpha Dawg’ embodies what we set out to be as the Cleveland Browns, the leaders of the pack,” J.W. Johnson, Browns executive vice-president, said in a statement accompany the launch”We’re excited about this new alternate helmet and the ode it pays to the rich history of the colour brown as part of our organisation, switching it up from our iconic orange helmets. We look forward to the team wearing the all-brown helmet and uniform combination for the first time on 21st September at Huntington Bank Field and leaning into the ‘Alpha Dawg’ mentality throughout the 2025 season.”
The NFL expanded its uniform policy to allow for a third helmet to be added to teams’ rotations ahead of the 2022 season, but insisted that the second and third helmets could only be worn with one of the club’s authorised optional uniforms. In addition, if either alternate helmet was to be paired with a classic uniform, the colors and designs had to be historically compatible. The ‘Alpha Dawg’ helmet will serves as the club’s third helmet option, with the white helmet as the other alternate worn during the season.
“As the kings of keeping things clean, we’re here to back the Browns as they embrace a bold new look this season,” Ryan Meegan, CMO of Dude Wipes, commented. “We’re pumped to team up with the Browns for one of the most iconic helmet reveals the league has ever seen.”
The colour choice, regardless of the team name, is enough to generate a stream of puerile (poo-rile?) humour but, based on the Browns’ recent form — a team on the skids with just four winning records (and no bowl appearances!) since the turn of the century is hardly flushed with success — it’s really going to need a push for the option not to stink up the joint.
Almost makes one reach for the calendar and check it’s not 1st April…
