Thursday List. The emotional toll of the Browns and hating advertising.

I can’t say enough about this Browns post. I love it. Not only does it capture the emotional toll Browns fans must pay to root for their team, it lights up the dipshittery that passes as punditry in today’s media landscape. The takedown of Steve Young is particularly satisfying. It calls out the former quarterback for ignoring his own career arc while hammering away at the careers of others. Like vintage wine, he aged seven years on the bench behind Joe Montana. In Young’s mind, young quarterbacks should be ready in two. The author, Matt Waldman, talks about his journey away from and back to the Browns. He’s reminded the Browns never leave you. He also appears to have some scouting chops to boot.

I’ve worked in advertising and marketing. It’s annoying. I could write a book about the reasons why, but this article captures it much more succinctly. It’s annoying because advertisers can’t stop acting like children, badgering customers until they break. It’s immature. But it’s a multi-billion dollar industry, so it won’t change much. I guess that’s fine. It’s true most advertisers would love to cut through the clutter, give you a pitch, and then go away. The alternative is too much work. But customers don’t trust advertisers. They know the advertisers won’t go way, even if they give them the time. So instead, they hide.