Peyton Hillis: Where Does His Sudden Popularity Come From?

It has been a tough few years for the fans of Cleveland, who have been without a championship since 1964, but the popularity of running back Peyton Hillis of the Cleveland Browns could have him emerge victorious and on the cover of Madden 2012.

The Browns finished the 2010 NFL season with only five wins, hold the sixth pick in the upcoming 2011 NFL draft, and still have somehow managed to have a player represent them in the Madden cover selection.

Peyton Hillis deserves every bit of publicity he gets.

Hillis was the Browns’ offense for 2010. He was 12th in rushing with 1,164 yards and 11 touchdowns and was 36th in the league in receptions with 60, third among running backs in that category.

Go ahead and try to find another white running back who has amassed at least 1,000 yards rushing; you won’t find one in 2010 other than Peyton Hillis. In fact, the last white running back to gain at least 1,000 yards was Craig James of the New England Patriots in 1985.

Peyton Hillis has publicly said that during the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens games,  many of his opponents would talk trash by saying, “Come on white boy, you can’t run,” and etc… Hillis was only inspired and it has showed.

Despite those that believe race has no place in the NFL the fact that his opposing teams call him out for being white proves that it’s not just speculation.

Peyton Hillis, who was ranked 10th in the bracket challenge, knocked out Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, just edged Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, smoked Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles, and in a shocker K.O.’d Aaron Rodgers of the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers.

In another odd appearance, his competition is Michael Vick, who was going to get knocked out early by all those haters.

The winner of the Hillis-Vick showdown will be announced April 27 at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Is the reason for Peyton’s sudden popularity because of his play, because of the Browns faithful, or is it because he is a minority as white running back?

While on the Dan Patrick Show, Hillis stated he was a team player and kept his mouth shut. He wanted nothing else but to get on the field. When the Broncos traded him he was upset at first, but now that he has found a home in Cleveland the Broncos are nothing but a distant memory.

“When you walk around Cleveland, the fans are starving for a winner and a successful team, and you saw how upset they were when LeBron left,” Hillis said. “You just want to win it for them. …The fans support you, and even in my home state I don’t get as much recognition as I do in Cleveland.”

He’s even started getting nicknames like Chuck Norris and the Albino Rhino, but despite the trash being talked to him by the other players he continues to excel.

Kelly Carroll, manager of the Cleveland Browns team’s official fan club “Browns Backers”, said earlier this week “It’s no surprise to me that he ended up pulling ahead, and I’d attribute that a lot to our Browns Backers across the country.”

Carroll praised Browns fans nationwide for a social-media-driven grassroots campaign that led to the upset, but now that Peyton Hillis is up against the media monster that is Michael Vick, will his race and good natured status be what actually propels him to be the winner?

No matter what is propelling him to the cover, this running back continues to power over others and has the entire city of Cleveland behind him.