LeBron James visited Ray Allen in Miami to recruit him to the Cavaliers
January 22, 2015John DeFilippo discusses (more) change in Berea, has no idea who his quarterback will be
January 22, 2015A blast from the past, it feels like I’ve probably even posted this before, but I don’t care. Back on October 24, 1993 Eric Metcalf returned two punts for touchdowns against the hated Pittsburgh Steelers. The Browns finished that season 7-9, but they won that game 28-23. And Metcalf’s 75-yard return for a TD was the game-winning score.
The Browns trailed 23-21 at the time and the Steelers once again punted long and gave Eric Metcalf room to work. And work he did.
This was the season after Belichick cut Bernie Kosar. The Browns were 5-2 after this win over the Steelers and headed into their bye week. I don’t remember any of this mind you, but I looked it all up for kicks. I’m sure Browns fans were talking about playoffs and the Super Bowl and many were talking about how right the Browns were to move on from Bernie and for signing Vinnie Testaverde.
The Browns responded from their bye week by losing four straight and finishing the season 2-7 after their 5-2 start.
15 Comments
This was actually the season they cut Bernie, not the season after. He even had to come in this game in relief of an injured Testerverde, but was unable to do anything. Metcalf’s 2nd return provided the points they needed.
Is that Collinsworth? How old is he?
I was there, with 3 friends – one of whom was a Steelers fan and had a non-trivial amount of money bet on his favorite team. He was not happy…
Eric Turner absolutely levels the punter on the first one.
Just perfect.
I kind of fell into the YouTube wormhole a bit. Watching all that old Cleveland video made me remember just how hungry we were as fans. I don’t think that hunger is the same anymore. Something has changed. The heartbreaking losses? The complete dysfunction? The Decision? Maybe it’s the ticket prices, or the force-fed, in-game entertainment (i thought the GAME was supposed to be the entertainment), but things just don’t seem quite the same in the arenas/stadia these days.
it’s funny. I thought the same thing. But we actually should be asking that question of ourselves.
Eric and Eric…absolutely the two best Browns of the 1990s.
I remember watching this game on TV pretty vividly, and being completely thrilled and stunned at Metcalf’s performance and the ultimate result.
I was there. Believe the Pittsburgh ST coach was fired after that year because of a number of similar incidents. Also remember a few play calls by Pittsburgh on offense that were really mindless and helped them lose that game. Point being: they stuck with the young Cowher through his learning curve and it paid off a few years later, big time. Just saying …
Chicken skin. We are lost tn the desert thirsty. There is always next year…
I can only speak for myself, but yes, something has changed. The seemingly endless losing, coupled with the myriad soul-crushing ways we manage to achieve it, are the main issue. To borrow from a comparison made around here recently, the Browns are the Dementers of my sports fandom. There is never a scenario in which I feel comfortable or confident when it comes to this team, unless you mean “confident that we will fail spectacularly”. The rare highs never last long, and the lows have become progressively lower with time. Following them has increasingly become something I do out of loyalty to home as opposed to getting any actual enjoyment out of. The continuous dysfunction simply adds to the mix by ensuring that no future hope or positive expectations last more than a fleeting moment. Thus, my personal hiatus of late. I would love nothing more than to see the franchise get its collective act together, but I refuse to have any confidence in that happening until I see a genuine difference on the field. Thank goodness for the Buckeyes.
The Cavs are bound to get it together, but I’ll still be bracing for the collapse throughout (because Cleveland) while being thoroughly annoyed by the fans gnashing teeth and rending garments because THEY SHOULD BE THE 95-96 BULLS NOW!!!! And the Tribe? Things like the Scherzer deal just further convince me that the playing field is simply not level in that sport, and teams like ours will never be able to legitimately compete beyond the once a decade or so run at best.
As for in-stadium experiences? I go to the game to watch the game. Decent food that doesn’t cost a week’s pay, a beer selection that goes beyond Mass Produced Light, and a good wi-fi connection are enough to keep me contented. Bells and whistles and fireworks and thumping dub step and constant prodding from a PA guy and animal mascots and tv timeouts every 60 seconds? I can do without all of that. Winning wouldn’t be terrible, either–but I’m trying to be reasonable here.
I had the same thought, and yes, it’s Collinsworth. I cannot reconcile that old-timey, grainy video with the fact that I watched that game in the common area at my dorm in college. Nor the fact the Collinsworth at 34 in that video is more than 5 years younger there than I am now.
As David Byrne sung so eloquently, long before I understood its meaning:
“And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself
Well…How did I get here?”
*sigh*
I’m a Steeler fan and me and my buddy still talk about that game and how great and fun that rivalry USE TO BE! We would go to every Brown Steeler game.
That was the loudest I’ve ever heard a stadium erupt. That really sucked!
But that brought back some great memories.
How’d that decision to fire the cheating hoodie work out?
Haha. Yes. Same as it ever was.
I actually think about the Dylan lyric, “I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.”
That’s something I keep pointing out to some of my fellow Browns fans – if you look at how Pittsburgh operated with Cowher, not every year was a “good” year…but, they stuck with him and it ended up being really good for the franchise. If this organization would ever have the rocks to do it, they should pick their guy and stick with him a while.