No Time for Losers…
October 14, 2008The 5-Hole, CBJ News and Notes – 10/14/08
October 14, 2008Every May, when I write my best friend a check for anywhere between $400 and $450 (depending on ticket prices over the last few years), I do so with the mindset of “hope springs eternal”. The Browns are always going to be good in May. They’ve always drafted to fill some holes, signed good free agents, and the injuries and issues of training camp and a tough schedule are months away. And, I always tell myself, by the time the season rolls around, I’ll have forgotten about the check I’m writing, and it will be like going to games for free! And then…
…the season rolls around. Expectations are high. I am excited. I look forward to going to the games. I think about how long the off-season is, and about how I’ve been looking forward to the season opener for months.
And then…
…the first game invariably rolls around. The Browns lose in some spectacular fashion. The rest of the season is thrown into doubt. I get to work on Monday mornings tired, worn out, demoralized. I have what Craig so eloquently referred to as the Browns hangover. I start to look at my calendar and think about all of the trips from Columbus to Cleveland, and ask myself, “Why do I do this every single year?”
And then…
…there’s a situation like yesterday. I burned a half a personal day to leave work early, so that I could drive up north. I did this fully expecting the Browns to get shellacked. I did this fully expecting the crowd to be bored, to be calling for the back-up quarterback for most of the game, to be calling for the firing of the head coach, to be booing our beloved Browns. I did this knowing full well that I would be getting back to my friend’s house in Medina around 1 or 1:30 AM, and then would have to wake up at the ripe hour of 6:30 and drive to work in Columbus.
And then…
…there was the first half of last night. The “waiting for the other shoe to drop” tension was palpable for most of the first half. As the Browns managed to limp into the locker room at half-time after a lack-luster 2-minute defense, there was a sort of “hey, I can’t believe we’re in this game!” vibe in the stadium. When they showed the “highlights” at halftime, it was nice to actually see some Browns highlights for a change.
And then…
…there was the second half of last night. The Giants had rallied late in the second quarter, and were getting the ball to start the third. The Browns’ defense needed to rise up. On the very first play, Manning dropped back… fired deep… and missed Burress horribly. Brandon MacDonald circled under it and intercepted it, bringing it back into Giants’ territory. The Browns converted a field goal, but more importantly, had gotten the crowd totally into the game. We stood, we cheered, we were into the game again. There’s something electric about a night game, especially a Monday night game. There were times where the crowd was as loud as I’ve ever heard it at Cleveland Browns Stadium. And, while it took the crowd awhile to really get *into* the game entirely, once they did, they gave themselves up completely.
And then…
…the Browns showed they weren’t going away. Largely in spite of themselves and their 30 yards of penalties, the Browns drove 87 yards, ate up over eight minutes of valuable time, and capitalized with a nice touchdown play to Edwards. 27-14, Browns. It no longer seemed like the Browns were just hanging around with the Champs. The Browns were BEATING the Champs. And the crowd started to feel it. We did our best to help will the defense to win the game.
And then…
…there was the play that all but sealed the game. My throat was sore, my voice was shot. The Browns were up 13, but the Giants were driving. Their running backs cut through the interior of the Browns’ defense like a hot knife through butter. First and ten from the Browns 15. Manning rolls right, throws for Toomer… you know the rest. As Wright streaked down the sidelines, I couldn’t even formulate words. All I could do as I threw my hands up was to scream: “HOUSE! HOUSE! HOUSE! HOUSE!” as Manning closed in on the sideline. I actually didn’t see Wright get into the endzone, because once he got past Manning I was jumping up and down so wildly that I couldn’t even focus on the actual play. The crowd was completely and totally ALIVE. The stands shook. I thought the stadium might come down.
And then…
…in those moments, that’s when it hit me: THIS. THIS is why I write those checks every spring. THIS is why I spend so much money on gas to drive to the games. THIS is why I go to work 8 Monday (or, in this case, Tuesday) mornings tired, sore-throated, and worn down. THIS is why we care. Because, on any given day, a team can lift its fans to a higher place. I remembered being there when the Browns beat the Ravens in 2001, just after September 11th… in the rain… and we beat the Super Bowl Champs. I remembered being there when William Green broke a 75-yard run and the Browns defense offered up a goal-line stand to beat the Falcons and essentially put the Browns in position to make the playoffs.
And, someday, I will look back on Monday night, October 13th, 2008, and remember why I wrote all of those checks.
20 Comments
loved the post! Very well written! Got my blood pumping more than the cup of coffee I had @7am!
Redskins you better effing look out!
Greatest. Blog post. Ever.
Wow.
Thank you for making my day DP
amen! I got goosebumps reading this. I loved going through my blogroll this morning and reading all the positive browns news for once. Here’s hoping that I get at least 7 more mornings like this by the end of the season. Go browns!
THIS is why I passed on a chance to buy tickets to last night’s game.
crap.
Yep, no one can take away last night. We might lose every game from here on out but we beat the pee out of the Super Bowl champs on Monday night.
Excellent excellent post. That was Bill Simmons-esque (which is a compliment, lol) except it’s about Cleveland instead of Boston. Couldnt agree more. GO BROWNS!!
Lets hope they can take it to DC.
I was the same as you DP on the interception. Just jumping around….
Watch the play of the game from this page.
http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/article.php?id=8970#
Love the call – BYE BYE
We have 2 weeks to prepare for the Redskins too, right?
no, two weeks to prepare for the Jags…
That Browns kool-aid is delicious today!!!
PLAYOFFS BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks!! Great to re-live the game, I’m “horse” today from the screaming (and I was at home watching it). Loved this post.
Great post, man.
My girlfriend, who I met in the offseason, who generally thinks that I am in a dysfunctional, abusive relationship with the Browns, was jumping up and down with me when EW ran it back – it was just an awesome moment.
It was so sweet because it was long – once he picked it I thought he was gone, and then the tip-toe down the sidelines and avoiding Eli put the icing on the cake – and reminded me how fun it can be to be a Browns fan.
i know there have been upsets flowing in the nfl the last couple of weeks… but i never expected this one.
really if we hadn’t blown the ravens game, i’d be very happy… as is, we need to take one of the next tough games… but in the meantime, i’ll be enjoying the crap out of this win.
Amen.
Let me follow the lead of the commenters to say great post.
I also didn’t see Easy E high step into the end zone.
I did however manage to break my sons two souvenir cups by jumping up and down like a mad man and ended up with a smelly pink lemonade sock.
All worth it.
Kudos to anybody who went down there. My 2nd Browns game ever was a MNF win over the Rams (Eric Dickerson’s last game with LA). As Wright ran the INT, I was thinking back how rare MNF home wins are… There was last night, the 49ers win in ’93, the Rams win…. and I can’t think of any others –
I know the PD had a list today but I don’t have one available – were there any other home MNF wins (Kosar era?) in the last 25 years?
Oh how i would have loved to be there, instead i watched the game from my living room down here in Florida. All was qiet in the house because everyone but me was sleeping, i was jumping around wanting to scream and yell!!!! Hopefully this was the break through game and we can have more posts like this 🙂 Oh and by the way i hate MNF announcers… nothing but negative things to say… loved it when we couldn’t give give them any more fire… we shut them up!!!!
For the most part, my malaise at turning down an opportunity to buy tickets for the game was greatly overshadowed by my joy for the great effort the Browns put forth on Sunday.
Turning down those tickets, which I had dreamt of for quite some time is an quick summary of how most of us Browns fans operate.
Tenativeness, and pessimism generally permeates throughout our mind even during the most impressive of performances. I am not first and will not be the last to describe my “fanhood” this way, but I am proud to recognize the committment of Browns fans.
A teacher at my brother’s High School said today that “Browns fans are stupid, they watch the game even when they’re not winning, unless my team’s winning or its really close I don’t watch”. That quote epitomises the team he supports, the Cincinnati Bengals. That alone is quite a statement.
I got a browns credit card about three years ago and racked up 5,000 points and used it on Monday night to get 50 yard line 2nd row of the club level seats to see the greatest Browns game in my life.
I hate credit cards but wow. What a great idea to buy all of those things I didn’t need so that I could rack up those points.
Thank you Browns.
Thank you for that post.
Thank you for the times in life when nothing matters but the success of one professional football franchise. The greatest sports franchise in the world.
Go Browns