What Made You a Browns Fan?
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Dad always rooted for the local team. I guess I got that from him. "Always root for the home team and always root for the underdog." He always hated the "greats" like MJ, the Yankees, Cowboys, or any other popular "dynasty" of my life time. Made me never be a front-runner and made me love Ohio teams, unless they're playing against my team...
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Born in 63, in Toledo and when you leave St. Charles Hosp. in a Browns Onezie you really got no chance. Thanks Dad. Happy Father's Day to all. My father a 25 year season ticket holder and those memories never go away. Seen The Drive and All the Mistakes by the Lake. I was raised on the L. Kelly, Pruitt's, Mack and Byner and still my Greatest memory with dad was the 2 years we would watch his projector game film of Jim Brown and reading his books on his Hero. Dads doing well at 80 in Alpena, Mi. but could never convince him that the My Buckeyes were better than his alma mater Wolverines but I am still trying but it will never happen. Great game at The Big House was when Pitt came in with Marino and Dorsett and he will always hate everything in Pittsburg always #1 except for when you drive threw the Tunnel at Night and Pop out into the city Skylights, It is Amazing. Thanks Dad and Happy Fathers Day To All..
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As with most of us here it was Dad. He was a big Paul Brown fan so that made me a Browns fan too. Dad started following the bungles after Brown got the boot but by then it was too late for me. Browns for life!!
I lost my dad in March after 10 long suffering years and I'm sure I'll shed a tear, as I'm doing now, every time we play cincy but just as sure either one of us will be laughing depending on which team wins. LOVE YA, DAD!!
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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..
Our musical works to date http://www.arielsatticmusic.com/ -
I was never interested in the NFL or football at all growing up. I remember getting back from the pub around 1am one night, and turned on the tv and it happened to be the superbowl, colts vs saints I think. I had no idea what was going on but I loved it. Trouble is, next day I didn't really remember much, and it being the offseason, the interest went away. A couple years of just watching superbowls later, I decided I wanted to get more interested, and nothing makes things more interesting than having a team to follow. So rather than just going generic, like so many fans here, and picking patriots, giants, or whoever just won the most recent superbowl, I wanted to find a team I had a legitimate connection to. Since I have distant family in Ohio (newark), I ended up gravitating towards the browns. Because, ya know, fuck the bengals - seriously, I never really even considered them and especially once I found out the browns were the original and best, it became a no brainer.
After that, it became evident that the passion of browns fans, and the history and suffering of browns fans, matched that of my soccer team, and basically I was hooked. Haven't looked back since.
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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
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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.
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Serendipity made me a Browns fan.
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.
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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
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
And, FYI, the Browns NEVER moved to Baltimore.
Exactly my point Gip, that they kept the name and everything else hooked me in.
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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.
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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.
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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
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:
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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.
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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.
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.)
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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.
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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.)
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.
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