"Here We Go Brownies, Here We Go!"

usfman

Dec 30

How would you describe a great passion affecting you throughout your entire life?

"The power is between your ears. The power is in your heart." (Jim Brown)

Think back to your entire life and try to identify some events that have driven you to unconditionally embrace the "ups and downs" of your human condition. Recall those unforeseen past events that popped up to inspire thoughts of happiness while alternatively noticing those times of adversity that most shaped the strength of your heartfelt soul. With 2024 soon to arrive, what expectations could you also make that this source of inner and/or outer driven passion would remain a strong motivator of your decision making process? In my case, it's vital to express the importance of being a fanatical Cleveland Browns supporter throughout my entire life. So allow me to cite a few reasons why this violent game of NFL football played by a team with a little elf insignia made such a "big deal" to me?

It started in my childhood in Northeast Ohio, when I attended my first Browns game at the cavernous arena of old Cleveland Stadium. On this momentous day, a young fullback named Jim Brown effortlessly moved his body around the football field seemingly with little effort as opposing defenders failed to tackle him on numerous occasions. When they did manage to bring him down, he'd slowly rise from the ground with little emotion and returned to the huddle to produce his next spectacular run. You might imagine then the lesson impressed upon on my curious mind that day to work hard in life with solitary determination to succeed.

So when I moved to South Florida as a teenager, my heart longed for my former hometown team, the Cleveland Browns team, one of my only living connections to a happy childhood past in this city. I tried out for the high school football team being undersized, yet aspiring to be the next gifted wide receiver like Paul Warfield or Gary Collins. I attended winning Miami Dolphins games at times stubbornly wearing the latest Cleveland Browns hat and jersey attire. I vigorously collected mounds of statistics about my favorite Browns players like Bernie Kosar and Ozzie Newsome before "Fantasy Football" play online ever existed.

It also happened in my freshman year of college at the University of South Florida that I coincidentally met my future wife Ruth in the dorms during the inaugural showing of "Monday Night Football". How coincidental it seemed then that my beloved Cleveland Browns were playing the New York Jets when I met a girl from Long Island who actually liked football. I could definitely "blather " to her at length about my Browns passion and she would willingly listen. As time went on, her cousin would move to Cleveland and thus open up new opportunities for me to visit my former hometown for fun yet challenging Browns game experiences. In this regard, I vividly recall enduring zero weather conditions during a Browns double overtime playoff win and walking miles to the stadium to see a Monday night game thriller.

When the Cleveland Browns unceremoniously left town to become the Baltimore Ravens in 1995, I sadly mourned not having a team to follow. Three years of personal loss would follow until a new Browns team would return to Cleveland in 1999. Unfortunately, my passion for the Browns would again be severely tested as this latest franchise version failed miserably for over a twenty three year period. Over this time, I would witness a losing team led by thirty six different quarterbacks and numerous head coaches fired. Yet I could not "shake thoughts" of a winning tradition of Browns football forty years past and remained stubbornly loyal to the team by vicariously watching many of their games on TV throughout the struggle. Taking advantage of a more flexible travel schedule in early retirement, I would also travel overseas to witness a Browns game in Tottenham, England.

In December, 2023, my Cleveland Browns fortunes suddenly turned for the better. A seasoned quarterback with championship game experience named Joe Flacco who'd previously posted an 18-3 winning record versus the Browns was brought into play for them at end the season. Four straight wins later, the Browns now qualified for the 2023 NFL playoffs With a hugely successful leader at QB, a top notch defense and a savvy front office, this latest version of the Browns has a legitimate chance to play in the coveted Super Bowl for first time in the team's illustrious history. Do you think my dedication to so much emotional pain and suffering for this team's been worth it? You bet it has!