Admittedly, it doesn't take much for me to get angry at the Cleveland Browns.
A missed tackle, a bad punt, an overthrow all can send me into a fit.
But last Sunday, as I was driving and listening to the pregame for my favorite NFL team's game against the Buffalo Bills, I got annoyed even before the opening kickoff.
You see, the Browns won the coin toss, and elected to receive.
Three plays later Reggie Hodges punted, and three hours later the Browns lost.
Given that the Browns offense has a habit of starting about as well as your average poison ivy outbreak, I couldn't figure out why they wouldn't defer the choice, and take the ball in the second half.
That way, when you're behind at halftime at least you know you start the third quarter with the ball. If you don't score on the first possession, you're in trouble.
But before writing a whole column on the topic, I decided to talk to the two college coaches in town - Tiffin University's Gary Goff and Heidelberg's Mike Hallett - about it.
Hallett and Goff, who have each forgotten more about football than I will ever know, each said they want the ball when they win the toss.
"Obviously, every coach goes into the game feeling great about their gameplan," Goff said. "You have practiced all week taking the opening kickoff down and scoring. So obviously if you take the ball and go down and score, that's a huge momentum swing right there.
"The flip side of that is if you go three and out and gotta punt, the opponent has good field position to start their game."
Still, Goff said he wants to be aggressive.
"We always want to be in the attack mode, and always want to attack defenses right from the get-go, so we've always taken the ball first. That's guaranteed snaps right there."
Goff pointed to TU's week five opponent, Northwood, which uses a run-heavy attack.
"You're talking about a Northwood, who keeps the ball for 40 minutes a game, well, hey, let's guarantee we're gonna get these drives right here," Goff said.
At Heidelberg, Hallett, whose team has scored at least 40 points in each of its four games this season, said he also wants the ball first.
"Typically we take the ball," Hallett said. "If there's weather issues, that can affect your decision-making. "We're pretty comfortable either way."
After those conversations, I paid special attention to the coin tosses this week. In Thursday's Browns-Ravens' game, Cleveland lost the toss, and Baltimore deferred. Cleveland got the opening kickoff, failed to score, and eventually lost.
In Saturday's game between Tiffin and Malone, the Pioneers won the toss, took the ball and eventually kicked a field goal. Tiffin answered that score with a touchdown on its first possession, but lost in overtime.
In Heidelberg's game with Marietta at Mayer Field, the Pioneers won the toss, and deferred. This was interesting because Marietta's coach, Jeff Filkovski, is a former Heidelberg offensive coordinator under Hallett. Heidelberg took the opening kickoff, marched right down the field, scored a touchdown, and eventually won.
I don't think that winning or losing the toss and the ensuing decision has much to do with a game's outcome. And despite my respect for Goff and Hallett's opinions, I still prefer it when my team (the Browns) kicks off. Then again, that may have more to do with Cleveland's offense over the past, oh, 24 years.
It's probably just that staring at a halftime deficit is a little easier to take when you know your team is about to get the ball.
And for the Browns, that's just about every week.
