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Should the Browns Ditch the White Flag Giveaway This Sunday?

@OfficialBrowns

Are the Cleveland Browns putting up the white flag this Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers? Of course not, but when the team's official Twitter site unveiled a marketing campaign planned for this Sunday's game, you just knew that Cleveland would instantly become the butt of jokes across the country. Sure enough, that's exactly what happened.

From Yahoo Sports:

Your team name is "Browns." Your team's helmets are orange. Each of those colors would have made for a far more suitable choice for a flag than white, which is the universal sign for signaling truce or surrender. Then again, the Steelers have won 21 of the last 23 matchups between the two franchises, including 10 of the last 11 meetings.

From Deadspin:

That's right: Free white flags for Browns fans to wave! There's nothing that would intimidate the Steelers more than for them to come out of the locker room to a stadium full of the home fans essentially saying, "Stop, please. No more. Mercy."

Pat McManamon compiled a few notes on the instant reaction too, including what Browns safety T.J. Ward had to say about it on Twitter. Daryl Ruiter from 92.3 The Fan also hinted that several Browns players weren't too happy about the concept either:

I'm sure all of the flags have already been produced and are ready to be handed out. Given the negative publicity, though, do you think the Browns should shelve this idea to save face? Personally, I don't really care a lick about it, but I also don't like having another thing opposing fanbases and the national media can poke fun at.

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