Sam, Sipe and the Kardiac Kids

Sam, Sipe and the Kardiac Kids

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By STEVE KING

How do you get through tough times, such as what we’re all going through now with this coronavirus pandemic?

First and foremost, I rely on my faith, and perhaps you do, too. I’m not trying to preach or anything, because that’s not the focus of Browns Daily Dose. At the same time, though, I’m not backing away from it, either.

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And perhaps like you, I also find a release – a distraction, a diversion – in sports. That includes football, and, in fact, specifically the Browns. Imagine that, huh?

There’s a lot from which to choose.

Those great early Browns teams had so many stars, including on the coaching staff. Their 10 championship game appearances in 10 years, with seven titles, is unprecedented.

The Browns of the 1960s had a bunch of high points as well, the highest of which being the resounding 27-0 victory over the Baltimore Colts in the 1964 NFL Championship Game.

The Browns of the 1970s had some moments – but certainly not as many as the previous three decades – and they came only at the beginning and end of that decade. The middle was rough.

The Browns of the last half of the 1980s – the Bernie Kosar years – were fantastic. Three AFC Championship Game appearances in four seasons, and twice getting to the doorstep of that elusive first Super Bowl appearance, made for a lot of great memories.

The Browns of the first half of the 1990s – when the original franchise was finishing its 50-year stay in Cleveland – are interesting because some guy named Bill Belichick was cutting his teeth as a head coach. Who knew then what he would turn out to be?

The expansion-era Browns? Ugh. Other than getting the team back, the last 20 years have been an unmitigated disaster, with very few things worth watching, or remembering.

All of these eras, except for the last one with those seasons from 1999 on, serve as comfort “food” for me.

But my real go-to Browns era – the one that will bring me the most happiness no matter how out of sorts I am, including in this coronavirus nightmare – is with Sam, Sipe and the Kardiac Kids, especially in 1980, which is my favorite season not just in Browns history, but also the history of any team (also the Indians, Cavaliers and Ohio State) I follow.

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I know that – 1980 — was 40 years ago, and that’s a pretty long time even though it seems like only yesterday. But it was oh, so special. Those who watched it and remembered it will agree, and those who weren’t alive then or were too young, owe themselves a look-see at it. Y’all won’t be disappointed.

Although I really think those Browns, coached by Sam Rutigliano and with quarterback Brian Sipe as the triggerman, had a chance to go all the way because the stars seemed to be aligned in just the right way for that to happen, the 1980 season didn’t produce a Super Bowl championship or even close to it, just a spot in the playoffs after they captured the AFC Central title. The allure of the season was, instead, all those close games, with 14 of the 17 games not being decided until the final two minutes. It was great theatre each and every week, the likes of which I’ve never seen. It kept fans on the edge of their seats, waiting to see how the Browns were going to pull it out at the end. You can’t make up that kind of stuff.

So. when things get depressing, upsetting and challenging in these days, weeks and probably months ahead – and we’re all in for more of that, and perhaps a lot more, before we’re done with this pandemic to any degree at all – I’m going to keep dialing up videos of the 1980 Kardiac Kids. It won’t make the bad stuff go away, but it will make the bad moods subside for a while.

And that’s the best that we can hope for right now.

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