Didn't we go over the paper clip question when it happened, like last year? There isn't enough crap being written about the Browns, we gotta recycle it?
Divergent thinking is a real thing. I'm guessing the Browns want to make sure a guy can figure out the complexities of the NFL game. In plain english, they're trying to make sure the guy isn't a mental midget (insert Johnny joke). About the Johnny joke you're making, it's called alcoholism and many smart people are ruined by it.
In being able to decipher more uses for the item than another, the interviewer can learn how well that person diagnosis a situation and better yet, how quick they can come up with real solutions to said issue. Improvising.
But, let's just do the 19 year old college kid thing and make fun of it because we don't understand it.