Browns fans would come
The Browns have yet to have that long-awaited trip to the Super Bowl, so, then, they have yet to have that long-awaited big Super Bowl celebration in Cleveland.
BDD Weekly 4 questions; Built Different; Mobile Game; a party that could of been and more
But, along with the NBA championship parade for the Cavaliers in June 2016 that drew three million people, a good way to gauge what a Super Bowl title celebration for the Browns in Cleveland might look like occurred in that Kardiac Kids season of 1980.
A crowd of 15,000 showed up at Hopkins Airport on the evening of Nov. 30 to greet the Browns team plane following the important 17-14 road win over the Houston Oilers that afternoon. The crowd was so huge that it, in essence, it all but shut down the airport by clogging all the access roads, bringing traffic to a complete standstill. Fans who were stuck in that gridlock just abandoned their cars and trekked to the airport on foot.
The crush of fans in the Hopkins concourse made it almost impossible for the Browns players, coaches and support staff to get through. Some players, in fact, were crushed into the wall and feared for their lives.
It was unbelievable. Fortunately, there were no injuries.
Then three weeks later, on the early evening of Dec. 21, another crowd of 15,000 stormed the airport to await the Browns’ return from Cincinnati after a 27-24 road win over the Bengals in the regular-season finale that clinched their first AFC Central crown in nine years. But the people in charge of the Browns’ travel were ready this time and had the plane diverted to the old Tank Plant next door.
The fans got wind of it and went there. Fencing kept them from interfering with members of the traveling party while deplaning.
Yes, Browns fans are that rabid. They are the best fans not just in football, but anywhere in team sports, pro or college.
If the Browns can provide them with a Super Bowl victory — or, for that matter, even just an AFC Championship Game victory that would punch their ticket to the Super Bowl — they would follow what James Earl Jones said in the movie, “Field of Dreams,” “Oh, yes, Ray, they will come. They will most definitely come.”
By Steve King
Browns sign P Joseph Charlton to reserve/futures contract
BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns have signed P Joseph Charlton to a reserve/futures contract.
Charlton (6-5, 190) was originally signed by the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2020. He appeared in 21 contests with the Panthers and one with the Jacksonville Jaguars over the course of the last two seasons. For his career, the South Carolina product kicked for 3,055 yards on 69 punts, with 29 landing inside the 20-yard line, and a 44.3 average. He’s a native of Columbia, S.C.
