LondonBrown Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 I watched the It's a football life documentary on the move to Baltimore and fell for the Browns fans passion first. It made me read up on the history of the Browns and I've been hooked ever since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gipper Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 Serendipity made me a Browns fan. OK, a little more: Unlike many of you...it was not my Dad. My dad was not big sports fan.....well, not stick and ball sports. He was a "sportsman", he did like his hunting and fishing....and for a while I went along with that, but had no love for it. At a certain point we would be out hunting in the fall....and I started thinking about the football games I was missing, so eventually I just begged off going hunting. I got to the point where I didn't like trying to kill things for sport. (though my dad would eat the rabbits/squirrels that he shot....and he would give the groundhogs away to some people who live....well, shall we say, in the local ghetto). At about 15 I stopped the hunting. My brother took after my dad more (to the point where he became a professional outfitter and hunting guide in Wyoming). My son has no love for "sports" either. Though he likes to fish (but not hunt). In fact, he and I went on a fly fishing trip to Montana last year. Though I didn't fish. My job was to get him to the spots for fishing and to relax and watch him. As far as my association with the Browns....quite simple. They were the local team, all the kids and people that I knew that were sports fans were Browns fans, and so I became one. My DNA was just a little different from the rest of my family in terms of sports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gipper Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 FWIW, I now have the added bonus of having to defend and explain football to anyone and everyone that learns I'm interested. Apparently, the sport is boring, girly and unnecessarily complicated for people just starting to get in to it. I can appreciate that, because about 15 years ago I had the same impression, but know better now That is what we say about soccer....that it is boring, girly......but not that complicated. The difference is, we are right, and they aren't. (If they think it is girly....just ask them to allow you to demonstrate by letting you run at them full force, then slam your shoulder into their chest and driving them into the ground. And tell them that 11 men do this to 11 other men virtually on every single play. As for boring....show them this link: the last 0-0 game in NFL history was in 1943. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/game_scores_find.cgi?pts_win=0&pts_lose=0 When was the last 0-0 soccer game? We got over that kind of boring since WWII. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gipper Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 I watched the It's a football life documentary on the move to Baltimore and fell for the Browns fans passion first. It made me read up on the history of the Browns and I've been hooked ever since. And, FYI, the Browns NEVER moved to Baltimore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wargograw Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 OK, a little more: Unlike many of you...it was not my Dad. My dad was not big sports fan.....well, not stick and ball sports. He was a "sportsman", he did like his hunting and fishing....and for a while I went along with that, but had no love for it. At a certain point we would be out hunting in the fall....and I started thinking about the football games I was missing, so eventually I just begged off going hunting. I got to the point where I didn't like trying to kill things for sport. (though my dad would eat the rabbits/squirrels that he shot....and he would give the groundhogs away to some people who live....well, shall we say, in the local ghetto). At about 15 I stopped the hunting. My brother took after my dad more (to the point where he became a professional outfitter and hunting guide in Wyoming). My son has no love for "sports" either. Though he likes to fish (but not hunt). In fact, he and I went on a fly fishing trip to Montana last year. Though I didn't fish. My job was to get him to the spots for fishing and to relax and watch him. As far as my association with the Browns....quite simple. They were the local team, all the kids and people that I knew that were sports fans were Browns fans, and so I became one. My DNA was just a little different from the rest of my family in terms of sports. Yeah I hate when my football fan friends go hunting during the season. I literally don't do anything on weekends during the season. Fortunately football season weddings are unspokenly banned around here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonBrown Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 And, FYI, the Browns NEVER moved to Baltimore. Exactly my point Gip, that they kept the name and everything else hooked me in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nordawg Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 I don't post on this site if ever, but i do read it. My path to the Browns passed thru baseball. I was a big Indians fan back in the late 50's. They had a little league day where all the little leaguer's walked around the field. We were playing the White Sox in a double header. BOTH teams came out of their locker rooms and stood on the field in front of the dugouts and applauded us. I mean Rocky, Herb, Nellie from the Sox. i thought that was soooo cool. From then on i want to support all the Cleveland teams. Hell all Yankee baseball cards went in my bicycle spokes. i had a Milt Plum Card. And Frank Ryan card, but the reason i wore my # in football was because of Gary Collins. Yes i was on the edge of my chair durning the 64 game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkid3 Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 Been a big fan of football. Never had a team really entire fam was 49ers fans. Didn't wanna ride a bandwagon. Found myself watching a Bengals vs Browns game and said to myself "whoever loses this game... that's going to be my team" browns to an L and since then I've been repping Browns in California. There isn't many fans I talk to about the Browns in person. And everywhere I go with Browns gear I get weird looks. I get people ask me if I'm joking or if I know anyone on the team. I always name my o line before the obvious QB WR RB or pro bowler answer. Haha. I was glad to find out that San Diego has a big Browns following. And recently found on in Bakersfield CA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flugel Posted June 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 FWIW, I now have the added bonus of having to defend and explain football to anyone and everyone that learns I'm interested. Apparently, the sport is boring, girly and unnecessarily complicated for people just starting to get in to it. I can appreciate that, because about 15 years ago I had the same impression, but know better now We have a nice little tradition of tucking Pittsburgh Steelers in for nice long naps. Show these to your buddies Chris: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+of+kevin+mack+running+over+greg+lloyd&FORM=VIRE1#view=detail&mid=8A69856C4610CD6208A38A69856C4610CD6208A3 https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+of+turkey+jones+slamming+bradshaw&FORM=VIRE7#view=detail&mid=CA8A4556156453A29549CA8A4556156453A29549 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suomi Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 Love the running game and a stout defense, and you've gotta play outside on grass. In 1985 Byner and Mack each ran for 1,000 yards; Clay Mathews, Frank Minnifield and Hanford Dixon were ballin' out. Even though I was in Connecticut I caught the vibe and locked in - and have been a fan ever since. Favorite Brown to-date: Eric Metcalf Favorite in-person Browns moment: At Giants stadium in 1990, I was screaming at the top of my lungs for Metcalf to take the open kickoff to the house against the Jets. He did. Scariest in-person Browns moment. After the ensuing kickoff the Jets took 4 plays to score a TD. Every Jet fan within 3 sections felt obligated to personally welcome me to the Meadowlands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Muni Lot Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 Living in Nebraska, there isn't really a natural team to root for. A lot of Donkey fans around here, and the Pollocks all root for the Packers. I was never interested in either growing up. I'm a die-hard Nebraska football fan, only missed three games since 1993. So, when Scott Frost entered the league when I was 12, I became a fan of the Jets. NFL was never really my big interest. I'd watch it, but I didn't really care that much about how the Jets did, so when Frosty went to the Buccaneers, it was easy for me to jump ship. Then Frost went to the Browns, and being a douchebag teenager, I didn't want to be a Browns fan, and went back to the Jets. Fast forward to Bill Callahan running NU football into the ground, and running off to NY. Being a Husker fan made me question my allegiances again. Bear in mind, I still wasn't much of an NFL fan, just felt like I needed to have a team. I decided to give the Browns a shot. They had classic uniforms, have probably the most collegiate like fan base, and they were really the rightful heir to my allegiance. Turns out, being a Browns fan was what I needed to jump start my NFL fandom. Nebraska football is still first and foremost, but I find myself living and dying with the Browns on Sundays, just as I do with the Huskers on Saturdays. I'm ashamed to say I shunned the Browns at one point, but I'm proud to say they're my team now. That may seem like a stupid reason to be a Fan of a team, or like I'm not really invested in it as much as others, but I am full-fledged Brownies till I die. It's also a lot better reason than why I'm a Knicks fan. I loved their arena music when I was 8, and just stuck with them. I'm a Browns fan in Nebraska too. I guess we were just lucky. I've lurked on this board for a long time but your post inspired me to respond. In all seriousness, when you grow up in Nebraska you generally aren't born into an NFL team. I mean we are a bit of a no man's land for that kind of thing. The western part of the state is mostly Broncos and the eastern part is mostly Chiefs I guess (with a handful of Bears, Vikes, and Packers fans), but really everyone just kind of falls into a team for various reasons. I guess no one can accuse me of bandwagoning on a team due to recent success, haha. (By the way I've had 18 county plates on my car before. My 96 year old grandma still lives in Gothenburg.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrb12711 Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 I actually have a pretty cool story to this. I was born in Dayton at good ol' Wright Patterson AFB in the glorious year of 1989. Moved around a lot as a kid naturally but I always between my 2 brothers and I drew my heritage most near and dear to Ohio. I had an interesting choice and two unique backgrounds to choose from. My grandfather (dad's dad) played in the MLB with the Indians and loves Cleveland Sports. My dad has always rooted for Cleveland sports as well, but roots hard for the Reds as well. Why you may ask? My grandmother (dad's mom) knew the late great Marge Schott as high school friends and they went to ALL the classic Big Red Machine games. So hear I am, these two awesome reasons to support both major Ohio sports towns. Then came the playoffs of 2002. Mind you this puts me just at 13 years old, just when football starts to make sense. My dad has never been a man to show emotion, but the pure passion he showed for our Brownies during that lone, lone playoff experience of my natural lifetime (let that sink in) was enough to turn me into Cleveland for better or worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broganreynik Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 I'm a Browns fan in Nebraska too. I guess we were just lucky. I've lurked on this board for a long time but your post inspired me to respond. In all seriousness, when you grow up in Nebraska you generally aren't born into an NFL team. I mean we are a bit of a no man's land for that kind of thing. The western part of the state is mostly Broncos and the eastern part is mostly Chiefs I guess (with a handful of Bears, Vikes, and Packers fans), but really everyone just kind of falls into a team for various reasons. I guess no one can accuse me of bandwagoning on a team due to recent success, haha. (By the way I've had 18 county plates on my car before. My 96 year old grandma still lives in Gothenburg.) Wow, small world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob806 Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 I grew up a Browns fan because I was born in Euclid and grew up 30 miles east of Cleveland back in the Collier, Ryan, Jim Brown, Groza, Warfield, Kelly, Bo Scott etc etc days..... I was transplanted to Florida in 73 as a young man and became a Bucs fan at their inception.. I vividly remember 0-26.. No fan anywhere should have to endure that. So, as a result I am a Bucs fan first.. And a Browns fan second.. I never thought I would see the Bucs win a Super Bowl... I believed without question I would see my Browns win one first. FUCK YOU ART MODEL!!! I WILL see the Browns win a Lombardi in my lifetime.. I'm not really a fan of TBay anymore, but that was the team I rooted for when the commie Art took the team to Ratbird area. I liked Warren Sapp & Warrick Dunn. I still think it was stupid for them to erase Buccaneer Bruce and the creamsicle uniforms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tour2ma Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 I mean Rocky, Herb, Nellie from the Sox. i thought that was soooo cool. From then on i want to support all the Cleveland teams. i had a Milt Plum Card. And Frank Ryan card, but the reason i wore my # in football was because of Gary Collins. Yes i was on the edge of my chair durning the 64 game. Colts D focused on Warfield and Collins made them pay. Colavito, Score and... Nelson Fox??? Saw one of "The Rock's" 3-homerun games. How good could Herb have been excepting that line drive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comeonman Posted June 24, 2015 Report Share Posted June 24, 2015 Father, that's why he gets no card todayLOL. Man if I only had read this in time. Would have been a good one to pull on my dad. Same for me though. Grandfather returned from WW2 and saw the first Browns game ever played. He was from Xenia. Father was born in Columbus and had no other choice but the Bucks and Browns like my grandfather. I followed suit and am a diehard for life even though I have never stepped foot in CLE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco918 Posted June 24, 2015 Report Share Posted June 24, 2015 I moved to NE Ohio right before the Browns came back. I actually (thought I) hated watching the Browns when I lived there as I was accustomed to watching the Cowboys in their heyday and the Packers with peak Farve. We moved three years later and by about the second week of the season I realized I missed watching the Brownies. I've been hooked, probably to my detriment, ever since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieDawg Posted June 26, 2015 Report Share Posted June 26, 2015 I became a browns fan in 1988. My first trip to the US was when I was about 13 in 1981. I was so excited about being in America - I had always wanted to go, the first night we got to the hotel in Orlando i put the TV on and this game I had heard about was being played on TV. The big crowds, the pads, helmets, razmataz and bone crushing hits grabbed me instantly. What I couldn't work out but loved, was that you were allowed to flatten opponents who WEREN'T CARRYING THE BALL! I played Rugby at school and that certainly wasn't allowed. I was hooked. I flirted with becoming a Tampa Bay Bucs fan as this was the first place I set foot on in the US, but a waiter at the hotel told me that they were awful and I should think hard about that before I committed!! So the next 7 years saw me becoming an overall NFL fan, a fan of the game but with no family in the US, no real connection, I didn't have a team. Then one night I met a guy called Jamie Berger. Jamie was from Cuyahogha Falls Ohio. he was the friend of a friend working in London and over a discussion he realised that I loved football. He asked me what team I followed and I told him none - he told me straight out that i was now a Browns Fan. He did not give me a choice. He went into great detail telling me that they were the best team i the history of the game, practically invented the modern game. He told me about Paul brown, the Municipal stadium, no logo, no cheerleaders, blue collar, hall of fame inductees, the fans, the dawgpound and thorwing dog biscuits at the opposition whilst stripped half naked barking like rabid wolves in something called the Dawgpound. How could I say no to that. I was a Browns fan and proud. Then the NFL announced a series of exhibition games that were to be played in pre-season in Wembley Stadium in England. Guess what, Kosar's Browns would face Cunnigham's Eagles in August 1989 in London. Jamie's parents bundled up a parcel with hats, shirts and banners and shipped it all to us in the UK. I was actually going to see the Browns play! I remember that day so clearly - we tailgated at Jamie's house and then hopped on the train to Wembley. I got to see the team that went on to beat the Steelers 51-0 in the opening game that season. I saw Webster Slaughter haul in a one hander right in front of me. I saw Bernie's ducking and diving, foot back stance under center, Clay Matthews hit people really hard and a young rookie called Eric Metcalf takes some reps for his new team. We lost, but hey it was pre-season and, little did I know then, I would get used to losing. So that's how it all started for me. I followed the browns via newspapers until the internet came about. Cried into my beer like you all did when modell made his decision and got excited when we came back. But what turbo charged my addiction to the Browns was actually coming to Cleveland. I live in a small village in England, population of about 200. we have a pub. I met this guy there in 2003 called Gareth, G-Man o this board. We had known each other for about 3 years before I mentioned to him my love of Amercian football. Bizarrely, he was also a Browns fan. It's hard enough to find anyone over here who likes the NFL never mind has a team, never mind lives in your tiny village never mind a damned Browns fan!!!! We decided to go to Cleveland together and later that year it's exactly what we did. Browns beat the Seahawks in overtime in 2007 via the sweet boot of Phil Dawson. What a first game. Seriously one of the best moments of my life. Well, this september we make it back "home" to Cleveland to see our gang of close close friends and the Browns for our 10th home game on 9 trips. record so far is 3-6. But what the hell - we love the Browns, Cleveland, Ohio and the amazing people we know and are yet to make friends with. Go Bloody Browns! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasAg1969 Posted June 26, 2015 Report Share Posted June 26, 2015 "and a young rookie called Eric Metcalf takes some reps for his new team." - now that alone was worth the price of the ticket, the only U. Of Texas player I ever liked watching even against us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudfly Posted June 26, 2015 Report Share Posted June 26, 2015 Go Bloody Browns! That was a great read HowieDawg.....Interesting to see so many Browns fans posting here from across the pond..... As a twist of fate, I have a brother who lived in the UK for a number of years and now he(and his son) are soccer fanatics who cant enough.....first time I visited him, I was ready to hit the road and start seeing the sights, but had to sit & wait the whole day till their games were over......ha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gftChris Posted June 26, 2015 Report Share Posted June 26, 2015 That was a great read HowieDawg.....Interesting to see so many Browns fans posting here from across the pond..... As a twist of fate, I have a brother who lived in the UK for a number of years and now he(and his son) are soccer fanatics who cant enough.....first time I visited him, I was ready to hit the road and start seeing the sights, but had to sit & wait the whole day till their games were over......ha! To be fair, that way round the games are less than 2 hours, unlike if he had to wait for a browns game to finish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gipper Posted June 26, 2015 Report Share Posted June 26, 2015 Go Bloody Browns! Great Tale Howie Dawg. Whatever happened to your friend, Jamie Berger? Cuyahoga Falls isn't far from me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tour2ma Posted June 28, 2015 Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 Go Bloody Browns! "Right, (quite right) you're bloody well right You know you got a right to say Right, you're bloody well right You know you got a right to say" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Italian DawgPound Posted June 28, 2015 Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 I think I told this forum already once about how I became a Browns fan, but I think it's worth telling it once more. I'm Italian and Italy is definitely not an American Football country (we have a local league but the number of supporters is quite limited and the level of the game quite low). We started getting some NFL games on TV in 1981 and the first game I watched was 1982 Superbowl between 49ers and Bengals. I got hooked on football since that game, but I could not quite grow any particular relationship to any NFL team until...until January 1988. In January 1987 we got an NFL playoff game live on TV for the first time ever. That game was Denver Broncos at Cleveland Browns. I did enjoy the game and admired the drive that John Elway put together to tie the game and then win it in OT. I felt somehow sorry for the home team fans for that game they almost won, but I could not know that one exact year later I was actually going to become one of them. January 1988: sitting on my couch I watched the replay of the Cahmpionship of the year before, this time at Denver. I saw that team in orange and brown, that I remembered losing the crazy game the year before, coming back to almost win the Championship until a crazy goal line fumble ended the game. There was the spark and I had found the team to root for. Since January 1988 I've been a true Cleveland Browns fan. Before the internet era it was extremely difficult to follow my Browns from Torino, Italy. Imagine the difficulty in following what happened in 1995 and the years after... But the Browns came back in 1999, and internet made it easier to keep track of the news and games. Today with NFL Game Pass I spend my Sunday nights watching the Browns games (and many others) and sometimes I get in the tavern and have some Browns talk with other fellow supporters from Cleveland. I think we all deserve a great season from the Browns: is this the year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffer X Posted June 29, 2015 Report Share Posted June 29, 2015 Great stories guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldBrownsFan Posted June 29, 2015 Report Share Posted June 29, 2015 This is a nice thread you started Flugel. I have liked reading these stories on how we all came to be Brown's fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieHardBrownsFan Posted June 29, 2015 Report Share Posted June 29, 2015 Being brought up on W. 47th St. between Dennison Ave. and Storer Ave. Father used to take me and older brother to games on a CTS bus for a dime a piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuwoohio Posted June 30, 2015 Report Share Posted June 30, 2015 The '64 championship game was my introduction to the Browns. We moved here from the Eastern Shore of Maryland in '63 and football wasn't a big thing. Started paying attention in '65, and I'd have to give Gib Shanley and Jim Graner a lot of the credit. Loved listening to the games on the radio. Leroy Kelly and Gene Hickerson were my favorites and still are to this day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErnieCamacho84 Posted June 30, 2015 Report Share Posted June 30, 2015 I killed several people in a previous life.It's true what the Hindus say, Karma is a bitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasAg1969 Posted June 30, 2015 Report Share Posted June 30, 2015 I killed several people in a previous life. It's true what the Hindus say, Karma is a bitch. LOL!!!!! :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.