Baker Mayfield the Black Hat
Baker Mayfield has always been somewhat of an antihero. Not in the way Walter White, Vic Mackey are antiheroes but in a sports context. He's only had the one brush with the law. He's had setbacks, made mistakes and some of his choices have obviously made him controversial in that realm.
Planting the flag in Columbus after beating Ohio State, appearing to peg a TCU player in pregame warmups, adjusting himself at Kansas players; perceived sins in the sports landscape. Mayfield has an edge. He's not a gracious winner. Rather, he plants seeds for rivalries and provides indelible moments that will become stories told to children and grandchildren.
What has made him endearing as a sports antihero is the fact that whatever he did, whether it was good, bad or indifferent, he's always been unabashedly himself. It's never been fake. He's not asking anyone to like him. He's going to do what he does and people can decide for themselves.
Combine all of that with how he got to this point as a quarterback. Walking on at Texas Tech, transferring to Oklahoma to walk on there, working his way up to the starter and winning the Heisman Trophy winner, he's earned it every step of the way. He got here this way, he's going to do it his way and that will earn undying admiration from fans while others live to see him defeated.
I love Baker Mayfield as the black hat in Cleveland and it feels like an exclusive club that only those who loved him at Oklahoma and now as a Cleveland Brown get to be a part; those that embraced him coming here. And as certain elements try to make him into a villain, it makes me that much happier that he's here, that he's leading this team.
Undoubtedly, some of that is based on the fact that I loved Mayfield to the Cleveland Browns quarterback the November of his final season in college and how his play chipped away at doubters and detractors insisting he wasn't a first rounder to become the top overall pick.
People have been trying to make Mayfield into a villain since the video came out of his arrest and every time something, anything that could be construed as negative happens. There are those that insisted, continue to insist that Mayfield is nothing more than Johnny Manziel 2.0, despite how how little the two actually have in common.
When the possibility of Mayfield becoming the Browns quarterback was mentioned, the B roll of low lights of his college career were rolled out to make him appear immature, childish. That went on during the draft process up to and including complaints about the headband he wore to Pro Day. It got to the point where a member of the local media promised to retire if the team picked Mayfield, in an attempt to double down on his belief the team would never pick Johnny Manziel a second time. We're still waiting.
Mayfield has not been afraid to address critics and stand up for himself, which undoubtedly plays into why some don't like him, as they'd like to be free to criticize him without fear of reprisal. It's to the point now where a "journalist" went to the trouble to invent a false story over a handshake in an attempt to smear Mayfield, all because the organization fired the second worst head coach in NFL history. The other reason it was done is because it works and people flock to it, so it doesn't even matter if it's true, so long as it works.
Mayfield does so much less talking than people think he does. He's confident in himself, what he does, protective and adoring of his teammates, but one would be led to believe he's akin to a professional wrestling heel coming out with a microphone center ring to tell everyone how great he is and how terrible they are. That's really what people want. They want him to be a heel. And there are plenty of consumers who are happy to buy into this provably false nonsense to get it.
Good. Bring it on. It just makes me love Mayfield being here that much more. He is everything Cleveland needs him to be in terms of talent and the way he carries himself. For a city and a fanbase that displays symptoms of Napoleon complex in terms of being a market that attracts stars, Mayfield wanted to come here, believing he was the quarterback that could save their franchise and the second he found out that was happening, he embraced everything about the city, the team and fanbase; even those who didn't want him.
So as people doubt him and some try to debase him, it's satisfying and exhilarating to see him feed on the vitriol, go out there to beat the opponent and revel in it every last second. From the New York Jets game where he came in and took the NFL world by storm, he's captivating and brings an infectious energy to the team and the game as a whole. A game feels bigger when he's playing in it. Who else would fans want to roll into Pittsburgh with and beat the Steelers in their building?
Even as he goes through struggles now, I'm not only confident that he will get through it, but I'm excited to watch him go through the process of figuring it out. And the detractors build back up and doubt him again, we'll be waiting for the moment when he puts it all together and everyone has to accept the fact that he's not only great but your team has to figure out how to stop him.
The fact Baker Mayfield is so polarizing is great for the sport, makes it that much more fun that he's in Cleveland because eyes are always on him. If the vast majority of people need him to be their villain, so be it, so long as he gets to be Cleveland's hero. Embrace the black hat and being that renegade team. It will just make winning the Super Bowl that much better. And for anyone looking to jump off the Baker bus, I will happily take your seat. I like to put my feet up.
