I had just turned 2 years old.
Most of you reading this weren’t even a glimmer yet in your father’s eye.
It was four days after Christmas 60 years ago, Dec. 29, 1957.
It was just as you saw in the movie, “Back to the Future,” in which it was laughable to think that anyone – absolutely anyone! – had two TVs in their home.
We were part of that “anyone,” in that we had just one TV, a big ol’ Zenith that was about as big, and weighed about as much, as Joe Thomas.
And the smallest and youngest person in the house – me — was planted in front of that TV watching cartoons.
My dad dearly loved me, but he was also a big Browns fan, so when it came time for the start of the 1957 NFL Championship Game against the Detroit Lions at Briggs Stadium, my dad turned the TV to WJW (Channel 8) in Cleveland to watch the telecast, as described by play-by-play announcer Ken Coleman, the father of Casey Coleman, and color analyst Jimmy Dudley, the legendary Cleveland Indians announcer.
As soon as Bugs Bunny disappeared from the screen and was replaced by rookie running back Jim Brown, Lou Groza, Mike McCormack, Len Ford, Bob Gain, Walt Michaels, Ren Renfro, Warren Lahr and the rest of the Cleveland Browns, I let out a blood-curdling scream that probably could have been heard across the street at the Perges’ house – and that was with all the windows and doors closed. The temperature at kickoff was 36 degrees.
Then, as now, moms run the house. Their word is law. So when my mom told my dad – a big guy, physically – to turn the channel back to the cartoons, he did so with nary a complaint, but with a definite frown.
Sometimes, though, what’s best for us isn’t necessarily what we think is best for us. The fact my dad missed the first quarter of the game was, for him, a real blessing in disguise. That’s because he didn’t have to watch the beginning of what turned into a lopsided win for Detroit. The Lions led 17-0 after the first quarter, 31-7 at halftime and 45-14 heading into the fourth quarter en route to cruising to 59-14 decision.
It was the fourth time in six seasons that the Browns and Lions, two of the most dominant franchises in the 1950s, had met in the NFL title game. Detroit had gotten revenge for the 56-10 beatdown it suffered at the hands of Otto Graham and Cleveland in the 1954 championship contest.
Why tell that story?
Because it’s a silly, light-hearted way to describe how much different it is now for the Browns and Lions, who meet on Sunday at Ford Field. They are still the only old-line NFL franchises that have not been to a Super Bowl. The Lions could make it this season, but probably won’t as they are just 4-4 at the halfway point of the year. They’ll almost certainly get over the .500 mark on Sunday since the 0-8 Browns are once again one of the worst teams in the NFL – if not THE worst.
The main difference between the teams, other than their records?
The fact the Lions have one of the better quarterbacks in the game in Matthew Stafford, whereas the Browns don’t have a clue if any of their quarterbacks will even be on their roster next season.
That will likely be clear as you watch Sunday’s game play out.
If the game gets too out of hand, then just turn it over to the cartoons. As I can attest, it works every time it’s tried.
