Browns stories - what's your story

[Kosarfan]

Curious and would enjoy reading some of the stories everyone has related to the Browns and their personal experiences.

Mine was something ...

 

1993 Browns vs. Oilers in Cleveland Stadium. Browns played well all game and Moon came back to win it for the Oilers, end of the 4th. DAMN !

I was living in Atlanta and my wife and I flew up for the weekend to see a game IN CLEVELAND - what could be better !

After the game, waited outside the locker room area with alot of other people, to mee the players. There was a barrier between the players and fans as they walked out, so fans could'nt bother the players right out of the gate. Out comes Kosar, dashes into another room nearby for post game. Missed him, damn ! Then the receiving corp. missed 'em, damn. Out comes Clay Matthews and walks down the line next to the barrier. The barrier was a rope, so I walked alongside Matthews and asked him to sign our program. They lost, he's pissed, keeps walking, doesn't say a word. I ask him 'Hey, Clay .... hey Mr. Matthews ... Hey Clay Matthews!' Nothing.

The barrier ends and now the players are mixed in with fans. I step in front of him and say 'HEY, STOP DAMMIT !'

Now I'm 6'4" and at that time roughly 200 lbs. (not anymore) and thinking, damn this is annoying. We just sat through the coldest football game I've ever seen ... on the lake ... snowing ... the week before Christmas ... IN CLEVELAND (GREAT TIME !!).

He stops, and looks at me, suddenly making me think , uh .. maybe this wasn't such a great idea. I slowly look from shoulder to shoulder on this guy that at the time seemed to dwarf me - not really realizing quite how big professional football players can be.

 

Anyway, I say, 'would appreciate it if you'd sign our program'. He says, 'will you leave me alone ?' I respond, 'absolutely !'

He signs, shakes my hand and walks on. Great player, great game, great time !

 

I was raised in NJ surrounded by Giants fans, Jets fans and my father and brother die hard Baltimore Colts fans, but I have always been and will always be a Cleveland Browns fan !

[BuckeyeBulldozer28]

Curious and would enjoy reading some of the stories everyone has related to the Browns and their personal experiences.

Mine was something ...

 

1993 Browns vs. Oilers in Cleveland Stadium. Browns played well all game and Moon came back to win it for the Oilers, end of the 4th. DAMN !

I was living in Atlanta and my wife and I flew up for the weekend to see a game IN CLEVELAND - what could be better !

After the game, waited outside the locker room area with alot of other people, to mee the players. There was a barrier between the players and fans as they walked out, so fans could'nt bother the players right out of the gate. Out comes Kosar, dashes into another room nearby for post game. Missed him, damn ! Then the receiving corp. missed 'em, damn. Out comes Clay Matthews and walks down the line next to the barrier. The barrier was a rope, so I walked alongside Matthews and asked him to sign our program. They lost, he's pissed, keeps walking, doesn't say a word. I ask him 'Hey, Clay .... hey Mr. Matthews ... Hey Clay Matthews!' Nothing.

The barrier ends and now the players are mixed in with fans. I step in front of him and say 'HEY, STOP DAMMIT !'

Now I'm 6'4" and at that time roughly 200 lbs. (not anymore) and thinking, damn this is annoying. We just sat through the coldest football game I've ever seen ... on the lake ... snowing ... the week before Christmas ... IN CLEVELAND (GREAT TIME !!).

He stops, and looks at me, suddenly making me think , uh .. maybe this wasn't such a great idea. I slowly look from shoulder to shoulder on this guy that at the time seemed to dwarf me - not really realizing quite how big professional football players can be.

 

Anyway, I say, 'would appreciate it if you'd sign our program'. He says, 'will you leave me alone ?' I respond, 'absolutely !'

He signs, shakes my hand and walks on. Great player, great game, great time !

 

I was raised in NJ surrounded by Giants fans, Jets fans and my father and brother die hard Baltimore Colts fans, but I have always been and will always be a Cleveland Browns fan !

 

 

 

 

im supprised you didnt get the living shit beat out of you

 

[kshutchins]

im supprised you didnt get the living shit beat out of you

 

I was standing outside the stadium after a loss with my son, who wanted an autograph from a player. We got the same sort of brushoff until I stepped in front of a player (can't even remember who). Now I'm 5'3 and in no way comparable in size to even the smallest player. I looked the guy in the eye and said, "My son grew up in Panthers country. How about making a Browns fan out of him?" and handed him my pen. He smirked, gave us an autograph, and walked on without a word.

 

That's not my favorite memory by any means.

 

The most fun I ever had at a Browns game is the playoff game against the Bills when Clay Matthews ended the game on an interception. My sister and I went and had the time of our lives. The crowd was delirious after that game and I thought we'd never leave because we just cheered and sang and had a great time celebrating the win.

 

I also remember sitting with Stan and Carl at a game. After an exciting finish, Carl picked me up and tossed me in the air. It was hilarious.

 

[Riffer X]

I was at my apartment at OSU when we played the Oilers back in 89 to clinch the division. Mack destroyed them, and I had a new friend I worked with who watched the game with me. He was new to the area and I kinda hung out with him, showed him the ropes on Columbus and all that stuff. Very nice guy that was sort of a Skins fan but after that night he became a full blooded Browns fan from watching the game with me. He couldn't believe what a hardcore fan I was and thought it was the coolest thing I invited him, especially since I usually always watched games by myself back then.

 

Afterward we went out on campus and drank a bucket in celebration, high fiving and having a blast with all the fans that were out. Back then the Bengals and us hated each other and fans on campus were no different. Browns fans owned campus that night. I think that was the happiest I've ever been after a win, what a great game.

 

There have been so many great times but for some reason that just sticks out in my head. I had some great times in Gainesville living there. The peeps I met at the local bar for games and I all became good friends and always had the most fans at the satellite bars. When they built a BW#'s we started going there and kinda made it our own unofficial Browns Backers club. For national games I had everybody come to my house and we had a blast.

 

I also had a good cracker buddy that I converted to being a Browns fan from hanging out with us down there. Those are the types of things I remember is the camaraderie we share as true fans. Other people see it and know it's real the love we have for our Brownies. Seems the general consensus of lots of non Browns fans I know is that we are the biggest asshole fans out there, but the bond we have is inseparable. Even our tailgates are great times cuz of our common bond. Just look at the fact guys like Howdawg, G Man and Keith come all the way from England and the UK to be with us---and our team sucks!!!

 

I grew up in Kingsville (Ashtabula area) and I remember the anticipation I would have of going to a game back when I was a kid. I would be fired up all week and when we finally would start our drive to the game I'd have butterflies. The drive seemed like forever but when we would get close enough to start smelling the city it would get intensified. There was no bigger thing for me then going to a Browns game back then, I would soak up the whole aura of everything and just thought it was the coolest thing ever.

 

So many great memories but we need some new ones badly.

[rich4eagle]

I was standing outside the stadium after a loss with my son, who wanted an autograph from a player. We got the same sort of brushoff until I stepped in front of a player (can't even remember who). Now I'm 5'3 and in no way comparable in size to even the smallest player. I looked the guy in the eye and said, "My son grew up in Panthers country. How about making a Browns fan out of him?" and handed him my pen. He smirked, gave us an autograph, and walked on without a word.

 

That's not my favorite memory by any means.

 

The most fun I ever had at a Browns game is the playoff game against the Bills when Clay Matthews ended the game on an interception. My sister and I went and had the time of our lives. The crowd was delirious after that game and I thought we'd never leave because we just cheered and sang and had a great time celebrating the win.

 

I also remember sitting with Stan and Carl at a game. After an exciting finish, Carl picked me up and tossed me in the air. It was hilarious.

 

Carl could that ..........he was well capable

[rich4eagle]

Carl could that ..........he was well capable

 

 

 

my story was being alone in 1964 near Christmas day and watching the greatest experience ever

 

 

never will be topped in Browns history

[lodilobo]

my story was being alone in 1964 near Christmas day and watching the greatest experience ever

 

 

never will be topped in Browns history

I listened to it on my 3 transistor radio with the earplug thing. I made a bet with my stepfather.....he had the Colts, who were heavy favorites. I think it was the last time I bet on the Browns and won.

[Flugel]

Anyway, I say, 'would appreciate it if you'd sign our program'. He says, 'will you leave me alone ?' I respond, 'absolutely !'

He signs, shakes my hand and walks on. Great player, great game, great time !

 

I was raised in NJ surrounded by Giants fans, Jets fans and my father and brother die hard Baltimore Colts fans, but I have always been and will always be a Cleveland Browns fan !

 

That's freakin hilarious Kosarfan but a good job by you! No other way to put it - people from Jersey have grapefruits under the acorn.

 

My dad was such an avid Browns fan that he used to get all kinds of TV antennae's and apparatus from his job at Rochester Telephone to get us network feeds from other locations in the days before satellite television. Anyway, along with that usually came 1 road trip a season from Rochester, NY to Cleveland ~ 4.5 hours away. The very first Browns game I ever attended on Lake Erie was the game David Mays filled in admirably for Brian Sipe to win against the Steelers.

 

I've never seen Jack Lambert so afraid of a QB in all my life. Truth was David Mays was a dentist and it didn't take me very long to realize where and when Lamberts 2 front teeth went missing. Tell me that didn't remind you of the Abominable Snowman in Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. For all you history buffs out there - that was also the game Turkey Jones doubled dribbled Bradshaw and then scooped up the football and ran down the Steelers sideline toward the end zone inspite of the whistles that blew the play as dead as Bradshaw looked. I didn't see ANY of their alleged brave souls interested in taking on Mr Jones. Speaking of Rudolph, your buddy Flugel likes to say "Bumbles bounce and so do Steeler QBs." That's the Karma that comes with Lambert feeling the need to drill Brian Sipe 5 yards out of bounds and 3 seconds after the whistle. We won that game and I'll never forget how good it felt. Forrest Greg was the Coach at the Time and our tickets read: Standing Room Only. I kid you not!

 

I was also at the playoff game where Matthews intercepted Jim Kelly at the goal line to preserve the win which felt pretty damn good too. Greg Pruitt was prolly the most influential player that got me to buy WHY my dad liked this storied franchise with a very proud RB tradition. To this day, I've had an insatiable appetite for adding RBs that can make a difference. Love this team and the culture 31 other NFL cities will never understand.

- Tom F.

[CoachShmaltz]

My first Browns game was in 2000, a preseason game. I was 21.

 

I will make this short and to the point.

 

It was like walking through a Roman vomitorium. Even after 3 years in a hard-partying college fraternity I was completely and thoroughly disgusted.

 

All I saw was puke. And people puking. And trying to start fights. I saw a man, maybe 70 years old, too drunk to walk and his sons (presumably), literally carrying through the lot to their car. At one point he basically collapsed and puked everywhere. Did I mention he was like 70?

 

I saw people hanging their heads over upper deck bannisters puking their brains out on God knows who, underneath. I went into the bathroom and all I heard was the sound of multiple people puking.

 

I saw a guy in his mid-20's so drunk he had puked all over himself and his girlfriend was holding him up so he wouldn't black out.

 

All I saw was puke. All I saw was drunk-a-holes trying their best to pick fights. But mostly- just a whole lot of puke.

 

I was thoroughly disgusted and have not been to a Browns game since.

 

I never miss a game on TV, I read the paper daily, I enjoy talking Browns on this website. I am a huge Browns fan. But still, after 10 years, you couldn't pay me to go to a game and sit through that s### again. Disgusting.

 

 

[Mark O]

I don't believe one word of that story.

[CoachShmaltz]

Every word is true.

 

And it makes me very, very sad to have to share that experience. I grew up in Cleveland, I live in Cleveland, I am from Cleveland- born and raised die-hard Browns fan.

 

As a little kid, I remember watching my dad, my mom, my aunts and uncles, with tears in their eyes, some just flat out crying, after The Fumble, after The Drive. I couldn't understand it, grown men on the verge of tears, my aunt crying. I was very young, and I couldn't understand it- but I knew it was MORE than football- it was CLEVELAND.

 

I bleed orange and brown, dude.

 

That's why it was very sad, and very difficult to tell that story.

 

But I felt, even at 21- this is too much for me. And certainly too much for all the young kids I saw there. Kids shouldn't be exposed to that crap.

 

Maybe you should just kick back on mom's basement couch in the OC and leave the TRUTH to all the real mfr's . . . . . . . RIGHT HERE IN CLEVELAND.

[Mark O]

I've been to a game every year for the past 4 seasons in Cleveland and have seen nothing even close to what you described.

 

I'm still calling bullshit on your story. I'm sure if it was even 1/2 as bad as you describe there would be news stories to back up your story. There's only about 100 reporters at ever game.

[Browns]

Are you sure that wasn't at Heinz Field CoachShmaltz?

[Riffer X]

Ii don't believe it either. First of all, nobody can have that good of a memory to describe everything that well from something that happened over ten years ago.

 

I was wondering if I was the only one who felt this was a BS story.

[Kosarfan]

The game I described above in 1993, was quite the opposite, Coach.

 

I was born in Cleveland, but grew up in Jersey. Always been a Browns fan and could'nt have been poruder when I took my wife there for that game.

It was cold as hell and she was born and raised in Florida, so she REALLY did not take well to what Cleveland's climate dished out that day. Anyway, in the old stadium there was a restaurant / makeshift diner. All they served - to keep the crowds moving - at 11:30am, was eggs, corned beef hash, a danish and coffee (if I remember correctly). Anyway, waiting to get in was crazy, line around the corner. We waited and when we got in, you were lucky to sit next to whomever you brought with you. My wife was obviously freezing, wearing a long jacket, holding the collar up over her neck INDOORS ! When we got in, a few guys made a point to make room for us to sit together. Someone asked where she was from, obviously seeing her freezing her rear off. She told them and a barrage of opinions and pointers about how to stay warm during the game, for obvious 'out-of-towners', from sveral people. Tips like, put newspaper under your feet because the concrete seeps the cold through your shoes into your feet, etc. We talked to a bunch of people in the diner and in the stands. The game was everything I wanted it to be, including the fans.

When we left, she made a point to tell me, the Browns fans and Clevelanders at the game, were some of the nicest people we'd ever met at a sports event. The people made me proud to be a Browns fan and she got a taste of why Browns fans are so committed.

 

.... on another note, I took her to a Monday night game in the Meadowlands for a Jets vs. Raiders game. The Jets fans were a VERY different story, but anybody from NY or NJ knows that. There are Giant fans and then there are J-E-T-S fans .... but that's another thread.

[DieHardBrownsFan]

My first Browns game was in 2000, a preseason game. I was 21.

 

I will make this short and to the point.

 

It was like walking through a Roman vomitorium. Even after 3 years in a hard-partying college fraternity I was completely and thoroughly disgusted.

 

All I saw was puke. And people puking. And trying to start fights. I saw a man, maybe 70 years old, too drunk to walk and his sons (presumably), literally carrying through the lot to their car. At one point he basically collapsed and puked everywhere. Did I mention he was like 70?

 

I saw people hanging their heads over upper deck bannisters puking their brains out on God knows who, underneath. I went into the bathroom and all I heard was the sound of multiple people puking.

 

I saw a guy in his mid-20's so drunk he had puked all over himself and his girlfriend was holding him up so he wouldn't black out.

 

All I saw was puke. All I saw was drunk-a-holes trying their best to pick fights. But mostly- just a whole lot of puke.

 

I was thoroughly disgusted and have not been to a Browns game since.

 

I never miss a game on TV, I read the paper daily, I enjoy talking Browns on this website. I am a huge Browns fan. But still, after 10 years, you couldn't pay me to go to a game and sit through that s### again. Disgusting.

 

 

Horse manure. Mr. "Huge Browns Fan".

[Bob806]

I've been going to the Browns games since 1971, and have many great memories, and it's pretty hard to put a "best one" out there.

 

I will say that my favorite game watching on TV was when we finally broke through at Three Rivers in 1986 and won. "The Cube" ran back a kickoff in the 2nd half, and the jinx was finally over. I was at a clambake in Richfield, everyone was going nuts.

 

That 1986 season was just a blast...too bad we took Puzzuli out on 3rd & 19....I'm gonna get over it someday