Before the 1987 season I had been to 2 Cleveland Browns games. I remember that one of them was against the Broncos. That was before Elway and The Drive. I can’t remember the other opponent, but I was pretty young. In ’87 though we were positive the Browns were going to the Super Bowl. My dad had the opportunity to buy a couple of tickets for the division playoff game against the Colts, and I was on my way to my first playoff game.

A couple things stand out about that game. First, it was really cold. We had worn our snowsuits to the game, but I had only worn tennis shoes with 2 pairs of socks. Not a good choice. My toes went through the numb stage, followed by the stinging pain every time you take a step phase. The snowsuits also kept us from wearing our Browns gear, at least Browns gear that you could see. Fortunately, dad bought me a playoffs t-shirt that fit over the snowsuit. It was about 2 sizes too big for me to wear in public after the game, so I think it became a night shirt.

That game also marked my first real experience in tailgating. We didn’t actually go and set up a tailgate, but we parked and walked through the muni-lot. I had never seen anything like it before. People had painted their cars and vans in Browns colors. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen, and I began to realize that while dad loved the Browns and would be affected by each Sunday’s game for a couple days afterward, there may actually be people out there that were a little more, oh let’s say committed to the team. That’s a nice way to put it. [Read more...]