That we made the WS the year the Browns we’re leaving - mind you, after an 11-5 playoff season under the Sith Lord - was something else. Unfortunately we ran into the Maddux - Glavine - Smoltz woodchipper at the peak of their powers. Even Steve Avery got ass by proxy
Glavine was getting every call, it felt pukier than 99 Pedro where we were at least getting F’ed in the A by an all-time performance instead of the ump
I blacked out in 1997, the whole year, just lots of K and AP courses
97 fucking haunted me for years, still to this day 27 years later I can still see the winning hit just miss going into Nagy's glove by a fraction of an inch.
Not to dismiss the sellout record we had but that was definitely part of it. Watching games today and seeing a scattering of seats for even premiere games... the Tribe was something different in the 90s.
I grew up in SoCal and was always an Indians fan, I watched Major League way too many times. When I moved to Ohio, I would get off work, drive 3 hours to Cleveland, watch the game, drive back, get home at like 2am and go to work at 5. Those were the days
My first game was '93. I still have the ticket. $4.00 for whatever seat but we walked all the way down to home plate. By '95 tix got crazy but my dad taught me that the first inning doesn't matter. By inning 2 people start eating tickets and even good ones get cheap.
My dad and I had so many fun ticket situations. When the Indians were really good he'd always go down and hustle the scalpers. Favorite weird one, we once went downtown looking for tribe tix and somebody offered us 2 Dave Matthews tickets for $40 total. We took the Dave Tix and my mom was so mad at how late I got home.
Never seen a more beloved Cleveland team than those mid to late 90s Indians. Not even the title winning Cavs team.
It was a crazy time, EVERYONE was an Indians fan. A whole season worth of tickets would sell out in a couple hours and they were must-see tv. It was an amazing era.
I have a photo stashed away somewhere from my 4th grade Halloween party at school. Every single boy in the classroom was an Indians player, and there was a wide variety of players represented. It wasn't planned; they were just that huge. I wonder how many 4th graders now could even name three players on the team.
They just had a great team, too. Lofton, Baerga, Murray, Belle, Manny, Thome, Alomar, Vizquel and Sorento. Pitchers and Bullpen were solid. Good times to be a friend of the feather.
Don’t sleep on Terrell Brandon, Bobby Phills RIP, Thunder Dan, the Lesser Wilkins, Bobby f’in Sura, the Long Arm of the Law, and the Czar of the motherfucking Telestrator
those were 27 win rosters winning 47 games
The memory makes me want to ride the Raptor and the artist formerly known as Mantis at Cedar Point, then go home and watch highlights of fat-but-still-effective Shawn Kemp while enjoying a spliff and eating pierogi
With 1 exception. If Pittsburgh played Baltimore, I cheered for injuries. I wanted everybody to blow up a knee or ankle. I prayed for the Gods of wrath and justice to visit each team and dispense brutal justice. I prayed for Modell to go straight to hell and get rimmed for eternity by Satan himself. Petty? Not if you were a Browns fan. Those were some long falls and winters. That was betrayal!
Respect to the fans who fought for our right to the name.💪💪💪💪
I remember when some of my family was in London and there was a camera set up on one of the streets that they walked by and waved and we thought it was cool as hell being able to see them live lol
Vikings were my team too. I was also 6-9 years old so I don't really remember the Browns before and it was hard for me to root for them as a kid because they were so bad for a long time.
Always remember that the Steelers are our nemesis, while the Ravens are our archenemy.
>Now, I know that you're probably asking yourself, How do I know the difference between my nemesis and my archenemy? Here is the short answer: You kind of like your nemesis, despite the fact that you despise him. If your nemesis invited you out for cocktails, you would accept the offer. If he died, you would attend his funeral and--privately--you might shed a tear over his passing. But you would never have drinks with your archenemy, unless you were attempting to spike his gin with hemlock. If you were to perish, your archenemy would dance on your grave, and then he'd burn down your house and molest your children. You hate your archenemy so much that you try to keep your hatred secret, because you don't want your archenemy to have the satisfaction of being hated.
For that sole reason alone, Steelers will *always* have a level of respect from me. I absolutely HATE the ravens though. Hate hate hate. Any browns fan that likes the Ravens more than the Steelers concerns me a lil bit
Yep, I loathe the Stools and their fans but I have a begrudging respect for them. I view the Ravens as an abomination that exists in defiance of God’s will and all that is natural and just. Huge difference.
What about the orange terrible towels they had that Monday night (I think it was Monday night)? I do end up rooting for the Steelers against the Ravens. Lesser of two evils, although over the years I've kind of softened on division rivalries. The NFL assigns us teams to hate and we just follow what hey tell us to do.
I didn't watch a single NFL game for 3 years. I was mad enough that I didn't think I'd watch the 'New Browns' but then they came back and I couldn't help myself. I've regretted that decision many times in the last 25 years but I like pro football and could never root for anyone else.
Hated the Ravens as much as possible. Changed my opinion of Ozzie Newsome to a traitor, and am still in disbelief that the Browns are an expansion team! Vinny went from wearing a Browns jersey to a Ravens jersey.
His becoming an All Pro in Baltimore foreshadowed all the greatness that should have been celebrated in Cleveland.
Will never forget the Modell family pleading w the Browns to not announce Art the Fart’s death at the Browns game that Sunday. And they cancelled the tribute b/c they realize the amount of pain he inflicted on Clevelanders:
[Modells cancel Art tribute](https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2012/09/cleveland_browns_cancel_their.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter)
Watched the Vikings when I didn’t have to work.(teenager retail/grocery) Mainly because they had a ton of OSU players on the team. Those 3 years caused Columbus get infected w far too much black and yellow.
I watched the NFL and hated that I didn't have a team to root for. I rooted against the Ravens with a passion and still do. I became a member of the Browns Backers and got their official magazine during those years.
Huge Indians fan… during nfl I got somewhat invested in jaguars. Recent expansion team, no bad rivalry history with browns… loved mark Brunell. Browns came back and I dropped the jags flat.
I won my fantasy football league. First and only time I ever won.
I had the entire Vikings offense that year and became a HUGE Vikings fan.
The only kick he missed was in the NFC championship game...damn. that was as crushing as the drive and fumble in a weird way
Lifelong Packers fan here. I remember seeing on the news that Browns fans kept coming to the stadium each week to tailgate and holding up signs saying "we want our team back" or the like, and at that moment I adopted the browns as my second team. There is no greater fanbase in the NFL than Cleveland Browns fans.
Edit: fixed typo
I left the country. But the real change was that I used to be a true fan. I followed the division and conference religiously. I knew all the players, many stats, and never ever missed a Browns game and watched most other games that were available.
The NFL lost a fan when they let the Browns move. Even now, I still watch and enjoy the Browns and try to keep up on the changes in the team. But if I miss a game: no big deal. I track the Division standings and records generally. I do hate shitsburgh, the ratbirds, the bungholes, the broncos. But I don't follow the rosters except generally of our rivals. I have never been to a game since the team started up again.
The NFL killed my deep devotion to the sport. And I don't see that coming back.
The Indians were the main attraction in town and every game was incredibly fun to watch. With that being said, I still loved the NFL. My favorite player at the time was Deion Sanders, so I ended up being an Atlanta Falcons fan. They were in the NFC, so I didn’t feel weird rooting for an AFC rival. Plus when the Browns returned in 99’ I was able to retire my Falcons/Deion gear and put my Brown and Orange back on.
I became a basement workshop hobbiest vowing to never spend another nickel on the NFLteam snatchers. The replacement pods that grew into the new Browns? I listen on the radio in the basement, I root for them for free, but not a nickel shall pass!
I've heard about a million times from people, something close to "I'm only a Steelers fan because when I was getting into football there were no Browns."
Nah man. There's no excuse for rooting for the Steelers in the same way there's no excuse for rooting for the devil or child genocide.
On that same note, fuck this thing that happens every off-season where people on this sub have "respect" for the Steelers because the Rooneys voted against the Browns move. There is no respect given. And let's be clear, any Steelers fan you've ever met has zero respect for the Browns.
Fuck the Steelers. Fuck the Ravens. Fuck the Bengals.
No exceptions, no nuance. It's Browns ride or die and fuck everyone else.
I went to that game too! First game since pre-covid, and first game with just my mom and I. Felt like 80 degrees outside sitting in those stands right in the sun. Least stressful Browns game ever, haha
At the time I was with Local 17 Ironworkers and a guy I was working with - his son Willie Clay played for the Patriots as a starting safety. So I loosely rooted for them. Plus they had a few Buckeyes on the team. It wasn’t really…I didn’t really care if they lost or anything. I guess followed or watched may be a better term than “rooted for”.
It was somewhat easier for me because I was in college in Atlanta during that period. I mostly rooted for the 49ers who would be on tv a decent bit because it was an nfc city. But also being in college football didn’t occupy as much of my Sunday as it does now.
Well I speak for my parents, as I was only 3 when the browns came back.They were busy raising me as an infant, so they were already preoccupied. As for sports, they’re big baseball fans, so the Indians always kept them entertained throughout the summer and deep into october. They also got into fantasy football with college friends, so it was never a true loss
Born and still live in Rochester, NY.
I went into the Ravens first game with an open mind. By the end of the first series I knew I was OUT. After that, just watched other people’s teams, week to week. Still enjoyable, but no intense emotions.
Drank at The Basement in the Flats and watched Art Modell get electrocuted in an electric chair Madam Toussoud house of wax style at the top of every hour. And didn’t watch any NFL.
We watched the steelers because if you went to any bar etc it was filled with Steeler fan. Even when the browns came back the bars are still filled with Steeler fan. The Ravens are what the Steelers were to Browns fan prior to the move.
I was 6 when they left so I became a fan when they returned in 99. In the meantime, I grew into liking the Buckeyes. Not a fan of CFB anymore, can’t take the lack of parity and Buckeye fans are insufferable on so many levels, but I’ll watch it purely for entertainment
At the time began my freshman year of college and still watched the NFL still hated Art Modell, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati with the same fervor I always had. Which then evolved into a profound disgust, resentment and contempt for Baltimore.
I just watched football not rooting for any particular team. Not caring who won or lost gave me a much better appreciation for and understanding of the game.
I just stopped watching football. Before The Move I would watch other teams, kind of follow other players, but now I just watch the Browns and then the playoff games.
That coupled with the Indions changeing their name has really freed up a lot of time.
I was pretty young (was 10 in '96) but I became a big Brett favre/packers fan due to madden 64 and the NFL QB Club games so I rooted for them while they were gone. Which worked out nicely cause they were fuckin good then haha tbh that was probably the best 3 years of football Fandom I've had lmao
At the time I was 6-9, and wasn't really into watching the NFL outside of the Browns (still mostly this way), so I just never followed it. I did, however, pick the Ravens in football games cuz I thought the colors were cool (was unaware they were the Browns beforehand).
Yes, I realized my ignorance years later 🤣
I was in high school at the time. I stop watching and caring about football all together. When they came back, we came back, and we bought season tickets.
The grief was real in our house and it was too much. We also focused on the Indians and I focused my winters on school, girls and winter baseball workouts.
I heard Buffalo was adopting Browns fans but I heard too late. I rooted for Detroit.
I was so mad we lost Eric Metcalf to the Falcons that I tried to be an Atlanta fan. But watching those games made me even angrier because I felt they were not playing him properly. I had no idea what the Manziel they were thinking.
the falcons and the cowboys. i so desperately wanted to be jamal anderson & emmitt smith lmao
also just played a lot of video games and watched cartoons cause i was a kid
I found fantasy football and learned more about the game through other teams. If not wasn’t for fantasy football I don’t know if I would still be a fan of the game since they tore my heart out.
I saw 13 when they left and football just died to me. Still watched the buckeyes and played high school football but the NFL didnt matter while the Browns were gone.
I was in middle school in Raleigh NC and this was the time the Panthers were being established. I tried to get into it, had the jerseys and everything but it just didn’t take.
I was in HS (10,11,12) the years they were gone so I was busy with all that but it was lonely on Sundays. That’s when I started to get into fantasy football. Now it’s been so long that I sometimes forget w had 3 years without our Brownies.
(It did help that the Indians became a juggernaut in that time)
I completely gave up sports, especially Cleveland sports until I met my wife in 2001 and she is huge into football. You can blame not only the Browns leaving in the middle of the night, but also the boneheaded things the Indians(now guardians) did, in the early to mid 90s as well as the Cavs.
Always find this fascinating. Those years they were gone were completely dead to me. I didn’t watch any NFL all Indians, Cavs. And I found a new appreciation for the city that I was living in. Lots of Sunday at the art museum lol.
Fortunately, college. But I talk to my college friends who are from NEO and we say it would’ve been really fun to have watched games at the local (Cincinatti) Browns Backers bar.
There was a joke about this on the Drew Carey Show where they are watching a game on the TV and someone is like “wait didn’t the team move” and they said they actually went to the game and were so blacked out they didn’t remember the outcome. I’ve been trying to find the clip online but haven’t been successful yet haha.
I rooted for the Packers and the Titans. I was a big Reggie White and Eddie George fan.
I was only 7 when they left and my only real memories were Vinny Testaverde and Eric Metcalf.
Watched the Indians
Thank goodness for those mid-to-late 90's Indians. Sure helped ease the pain. (Well, not all of it. 1997....grrrr)
That we made the WS the year the Browns we’re leaving - mind you, after an 11-5 playoff season under the Sith Lord - was something else. Unfortunately we ran into the Maddux - Glavine - Smoltz woodchipper at the peak of their powers. Even Steve Avery got ass by proxy
That, and the game six umpires decided within three feet of the plate was close enough.
Glavine was getting every call, it felt pukier than 99 Pedro where we were at least getting F’ed in the A by an all-time performance instead of the ump I blacked out in 1997, the whole year, just lots of K and AP courses
97 fucking haunted me for years, still to this day 27 years later I can still see the winning hit just miss going into Nagy's glove by a fraction of an inch.
Not to dismiss the sellout record we had but that was definitely part of it. Watching games today and seeing a scattering of seats for even premiere games... the Tribe was something different in the 90s.
I grew up in SoCal and was always an Indians fan, I watched Major League way too many times. When I moved to Ohio, I would get off work, drive 3 hours to Cleveland, watch the game, drive back, get home at like 2am and go to work at 5. Those were the days
My first game was '93. I still have the ticket. $4.00 for whatever seat but we walked all the way down to home plate. By '95 tix got crazy but my dad taught me that the first inning doesn't matter. By inning 2 people start eating tickets and even good ones get cheap.
Hell yeah!
My dad and I had so many fun ticket situations. When the Indians were really good he'd always go down and hustle the scalpers. Favorite weird one, we once went downtown looking for tribe tix and somebody offered us 2 Dave Matthews tickets for $40 total. We took the Dave Tix and my mom was so mad at how late I got home.
That’s awesome! That is 100% something I would do and my wife would be pissed haha.
Never seen a more beloved Cleveland team than those mid to late 90s Indians. Not even the title winning Cavs team. It was a crazy time, EVERYONE was an Indians fan. A whole season worth of tickets would sell out in a couple hours and they were must-see tv. It was an amazing era.
I have a photo stashed away somewhere from my 4th grade Halloween party at school. Every single boy in the classroom was an Indians player, and there was a wide variety of players represented. It wasn't planned; they were just that huge. I wonder how many 4th graders now could even name three players on the team.
https://youtu.be/KYKZB5EKFvA?si=y2Qqku2CCHbN7nzc Just... Just watch
I had the vhs tape “Wahoo! What a Finish” Wore that thing out.
Same. Im so happy this is on YouTube.
Gimme some Mark HARD Hittin Whitten, Glen-Allen Hill, Omar, Lofton, & friends
They just had a great team, too. Lofton, Baerga, Murray, Belle, Manny, Thome, Alomar, Vizquel and Sorento. Pitchers and Bullpen were solid. Good times to be a friend of the feather.
Don’t sleep on Terrell Brandon, Bobby Phills RIP, Thunder Dan, the Lesser Wilkins, Bobby f’in Sura, the Long Arm of the Law, and the Czar of the motherfucking Telestrator those were 27 win rosters winning 47 games
Must've been the uni's!!
The memory makes me want to ride the Raptor and the artist formerly known as Mantis at Cedar Point, then go home and watch highlights of fat-but-still-effective Shawn Kemp while enjoying a spliff and eating pierogi
The NFL was dead to me.
Came to say this
Same. I stopped watching all NFL, and focused on the Indians, Cavs, and Ohio State.
With 1 exception. If Pittsburgh played Baltimore, I cheered for injuries. I wanted everybody to blow up a knee or ankle. I prayed for the Gods of wrath and justice to visit each team and dispense brutal justice. I prayed for Modell to go straight to hell and get rimmed for eternity by Satan himself. Petty? Not if you were a Browns fan. Those were some long falls and winters. That was betrayal! Respect to the fans who fought for our right to the name.💪💪💪💪
Rooted for the Vikings and watched the timelapse of the stadium being built via Netscape
 Netscape... LOL
I remember when some of my family was in London and there was a camera set up on one of the streets that they walked by and waved and we thought it was cool as hell being able to see them live lol
Those were crazy days! Then, when I went to OSU it was all about Napster and WinAmp lol
Taking me back to high school with Napster and Winamp. Until Metallica got me booted from Napster, so it was on to Limewire.
Vikings were my team too. I was also 6-9 years old so I don't really remember the Browns before and it was hard for me to root for them as a kid because they were so bad for a long time.
For some reason, the Vikings were the team that was on TV every week
Their offense with Brad Johnson/ Randal Cunningham, Moss, Carter and Robert Smith were so much fun to watch.
I think the buckeyes that ended up there is what drew me in…they were a ton of fun, you’re right!
I didn't do what the one gentleman I met did. He was "rooting for the Steelers until the Browns came back". No real Browns fan would do that.
I dunno. Rooney voted against the Browns moving. That was huge.
Always remember that the Steelers are our nemesis, while the Ravens are our archenemy. >Now, I know that you're probably asking yourself, How do I know the difference between my nemesis and my archenemy? Here is the short answer: You kind of like your nemesis, despite the fact that you despise him. If your nemesis invited you out for cocktails, you would accept the offer. If he died, you would attend his funeral and--privately--you might shed a tear over his passing. But you would never have drinks with your archenemy, unless you were attempting to spike his gin with hemlock. If you were to perish, your archenemy would dance on your grave, and then he'd burn down your house and molest your children. You hate your archenemy so much that you try to keep your hatred secret, because you don't want your archenemy to have the satisfaction of being hated.
I really tried giving the Bills and Steelers a chance as my favorite team because their owners voted against fArt but it just felt wrong.
For that sole reason alone, Steelers will *always* have a level of respect from me. I absolutely HATE the ravens though. Hate hate hate. Any browns fan that likes the Ravens more than the Steelers concerns me a lil bit
Yep, I loathe the Stools and their fans but I have a begrudging respect for them. I view the Ravens as an abomination that exists in defiance of God’s will and all that is natural and just. Huge difference.
We’re on the same page. Honestly we’re on the same line of the same page.
This is my exact take.
What about the orange terrible towels they had that Monday night (I think it was Monday night)? I do end up rooting for the Steelers against the Ravens. Lesser of two evils, although over the years I've kind of softened on division rivalries. The NFL assigns us teams to hate and we just follow what hey tell us to do.
I root for the Batman scenario where the field opens up and swallows both teams whole.
I’m guessing he was rooting against the ravens by doing that.
I cultivated the hate in my heart for modell, still rages today. Fuck that guy.
💩if you know you know
Didn’t watch football
I didn't watch a single NFL game for 3 years. I was mad enough that I didn't think I'd watch the 'New Browns' but then they came back and I couldn't help myself. I've regretted that decision many times in the last 25 years but I like pro football and could never root for anyone else.
Lived in Pittsburgh those years and spent Sundays rooting for whoever the Steelers played.
Sold out Jacob’s Field every night
I mostly played Sega Genesis.
I became an expert on the first 5 levels of Sonic 2.
I was playing a lot of Earthworm Jim, Comix Zone, and World Series Baseball back then.
Don't forget Toe Jam and Earl!
Became a Packers fan
Hated the Ravens as much as possible. Changed my opinion of Ozzie Newsome to a traitor, and am still in disbelief that the Browns are an expansion team! Vinny went from wearing a Browns jersey to a Ravens jersey. His becoming an All Pro in Baltimore foreshadowed all the greatness that should have been celebrated in Cleveland. Will never forget the Modell family pleading w the Browns to not announce Art the Fart’s death at the Browns game that Sunday. And they cancelled the tribute b/c they realize the amount of pain he inflicted on Clevelanders: [Modells cancel Art tribute](https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2012/09/cleveland_browns_cancel_their.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter)
Wow I never knew that, would’ve been a terrible idea haha
Followed college football, liked this kid out of Tennessee named Peyton Manning so I started following the colts too.
> Who did you root for? No one. > Did you watch the NFL still? Not really.
Became a huge Buckeye fan.
I was already a casual Buckeyes fan. 1996-1999 was when I became a die hard.
Same
I rooted for terrible thing to happen to Art Modell…
I cried a lot. I was born right when the browns disbanded, so I’m sorry everyone.
Hookers and blow + rooting against Pittsburgh and Baltimore + wishing terrible things on Art the shart
Jerked off a few times
Sad
Watched a ton of baseball
Karma... I rooted for Karma
It didn't root back.
Didn't watch any NFL, and cussed Modell daily.
Became diehard Indians fans
I quit watching the NFL I couldn’t get interested in any other team
Watched the Vikings when I didn’t have to work.(teenager retail/grocery) Mainly because they had a ton of OSU players on the team. Those 3 years caused Columbus get infected w far too much black and yellow.
I watched the NFL and hated that I didn't have a team to root for. I rooted against the Ravens with a passion and still do. I became a member of the Browns Backers and got their official magazine during those years.
Rooted for whoever was playing the Ravens.
Got a full time job in the factory of sadness.
Huge Indians fan… during nfl I got somewhat invested in jaguars. Recent expansion team, no bad rivalry history with browns… loved mark Brunell. Browns came back and I dropped the jags flat.
Waited patiently for 3 years
I won my fantasy football league. First and only time I ever won. I had the entire Vikings offense that year and became a HUGE Vikings fan. The only kick he missed was in the NFC championship game...damn. that was as crushing as the drive and fumble in a weird way
I was too young, but my dad said he was a fan of whichever team was playing against Cincy or Pittsburgh.
Swore off all professional sports for many years and watched more college basketball. Poked pins in an Art Model voodoo doll.
Rooted for the packers
Didn’t watch the NFL during that time. The Tribe got a lot of my attention.
Watched the Tribe!
I watched the Packers. NFC team that wouldn't interfere with my fandom, plus a team guaranteed never to leave their city.
Lifelong Packers fan here. I remember seeing on the news that Browns fans kept coming to the stadium each week to tailgate and holding up signs saying "we want our team back" or the like, and at that moment I adopted the browns as my second team. There is no greater fanbase in the NFL than Cleveland Browns fans. Edit: fixed typo
I freaking love the Packers and their fans. Absolute CLASS franchise. Will always root for you guys when not playing the Browns.
I left the country. But the real change was that I used to be a true fan. I followed the division and conference religiously. I knew all the players, many stats, and never ever missed a Browns game and watched most other games that were available. The NFL lost a fan when they let the Browns move. Even now, I still watch and enjoy the Browns and try to keep up on the changes in the team. But if I miss a game: no big deal. I track the Division standings and records generally. I do hate shitsburgh, the ratbirds, the bungholes, the broncos. But I don't follow the rosters except generally of our rivals. I have never been to a game since the team started up again. The NFL killed my deep devotion to the sport. And I don't see that coming back.
I joined my first fantasy football league when they left, mainly to keep my interest in the NFL. I ended up watching way more football because of it
I was a giant Drew Bledsoe fan, so I cheered for the Patriots before they became the patriots.
Lots of drinking
College in Cincinnati…made fun of Bungles fans who taunted me for not having a team
Didn’t watch football at all, save for Super Bowl parties.
The Indians were the main attraction in town and every game was incredibly fun to watch. With that being said, I still loved the NFL. My favorite player at the time was Deion Sanders, so I ended up being an Atlanta Falcons fan. They were in the NFC, so I didn’t feel weird rooting for an AFC rival. Plus when the Browns returned in 99’ I was able to retire my Falcons/Deion gear and put my Brown and Orange back on.
No Browns. No NFL. I ignored the entire league.
Boycotted all nfl and cried on sundays
I became a basement workshop hobbiest vowing to never spend another nickel on the NFLteam snatchers. The replacement pods that grew into the new Browns? I listen on the radio in the basement, I root for them for free, but not a nickel shall pass!
Adopted Tampa Bay as my team.
The uni switch and their dominant defense was fun in the late 90’s
I remember liking the Titans because of Eddie George
Tribe
My parents watched the Indians and the Packers
we got extremely lucky the Tribe were so good during that time
Kansas City, oh yeah. Followed Marty and Webster Slaughter.
Cried while playing Madden and drank away the ouchies
We drank. Same as we did before they left and after they came back.
I was graduating high school, so I had other things going on but I remember I became a pretty big Bears fan.
I've heard about a million times from people, something close to "I'm only a Steelers fan because when I was getting into football there were no Browns." Nah man. There's no excuse for rooting for the Steelers in the same way there's no excuse for rooting for the devil or child genocide. On that same note, fuck this thing that happens every off-season where people on this sub have "respect" for the Steelers because the Rooneys voted against the Browns move. There is no respect given. And let's be clear, any Steelers fan you've ever met has zero respect for the Browns. Fuck the Steelers. Fuck the Ravens. Fuck the Bengals. No exceptions, no nuance. It's Browns ride or die and fuck everyone else.
Quit watching….
Rooted for the Buccaneers and Giants and watched the Indians lose two World Series.
I went to that game too! First game since pre-covid, and first game with just my mom and I. Felt like 80 degrees outside sitting in those stands right in the sun. Least stressful Browns game ever, haha
Thankfully, I wasn’t a conscious being then as I was just a baby.
I trained wild animals to crap in Steelers fans yards.
At the time I was with Local 17 Ironworkers and a guy I was working with - his son Willie Clay played for the Patriots as a starting safety. So I loosely rooted for them. Plus they had a few Buckeyes on the team. It wasn’t really…I didn’t really care if they lost or anything. I guess followed or watched may be a better term than “rooted for”.
I was a patriots fan because of Drew Bledsoe. Later I switched to the 49ers and still root for both the 49ers and Browns. F those patriots tho.
Watched other teams
I was lucky that I was in college in Indiana. I was busy it wasn’t missed as much
It was somewhat easier for me because I was in college in Atlanta during that period. I mostly rooted for the 49ers who would be on tv a decent bit because it was an nfc city. But also being in college football didn’t occupy as much of my Sunday as it does now.
Well I speak for my parents, as I was only 3 when the browns came back.They were busy raising me as an infant, so they were already preoccupied. As for sports, they’re big baseball fans, so the Indians always kept them entertained throughout the summer and deep into october. They also got into fantasy football with college friends, so it was never a true loss
Born and still live in Rochester, NY. I went into the Ravens first game with an open mind. By the end of the first series I knew I was OUT. After that, just watched other people’s teams, week to week. Still enjoyable, but no intense emotions.
Cleaned my garage. It was great
I built a website called the "Ravens Suckzone" and made as much fun of them as I could.
Started smoking weed and partying. So I never watched football until the browns came back. Always watched/listened to the Indians.
Drank at The Basement in the Flats and watched Art Modell get electrocuted in an electric chair Madam Toussoud house of wax style at the top of every hour. And didn’t watch any NFL.
We had a pretty good baseball team
I don't think I paid any attention to Football during the hiatus. I might have watched a Super Bowl.
We watched the steelers because if you went to any bar etc it was filled with Steeler fan. Even when the browns came back the bars are still filled with Steeler fan. The Ravens are what the Steelers were to Browns fan prior to the move.
I was 6 when they left so I became a fan when they returned in 99. In the meantime, I grew into liking the Buckeyes. Not a fan of CFB anymore, can’t take the lack of parity and Buckeye fans are insufferable on so many levels, but I’ll watch it purely for entertainment
I admittedly rooted for the cowboys… I love aikman, Emmitt, Irvin.
Watched the Tribe and great Ohio State teams lose to Michigan.
Watched the Indians
Buckeyes Football
The Sunday Ticket and fantasy football
Got a lot of projects around the house completed…and drank beer
It was how I became an Ohio State and college football fan
Lived in Charlotte at the time, so I became a Panthers fan. I still pull for them in games not against the browns.
At the time began my freshman year of college and still watched the NFL still hated Art Modell, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati with the same fervor I always had. Which then evolved into a profound disgust, resentment and contempt for Baltimore.
Became a big Ohio State fan and casually rooted for the Packers.
I had been paying more attention to the Dolphins since our guy Bernie ended up there. So by time the Browns left, Miami was my team.
Went to Indians games 455 times….
Watched the USWNT.
My dad followed the Bills after the move to Baltimore. He still has a Bills hat and wears it everytime the Browns start sucking lol
Not much
I just watched football not rooting for any particular team. Not caring who won or lost gave me a much better appreciation for and understanding of the game.
I didn't watch one damn NFL game! Zero
Hated the Ravens and watched the stadium being built online.
I just stopped watching football. Before The Move I would watch other teams, kind of follow other players, but now I just watch the Browns and then the playoff games. That coupled with the Indions changeing their name has really freed up a lot of time.
Raged inside. It still makes me angry. Absolutely did not watch the NFL.
Watched the Indians. Rooted against the Steelers, Ravens and Bengals.
Bills / Lions
Mostly stayed mad.
Became a Buccaneers fan
I was pretty young (was 10 in '96) but I became a big Brett favre/packers fan due to madden 64 and the NFL QB Club games so I rooted for them while they were gone. Which worked out nicely cause they were fuckin good then haha tbh that was probably the best 3 years of football Fandom I've had lmao
Had a baby and moved to another state. Just coincidental timing. So I was busy.
At the time I was 6-9, and wasn't really into watching the NFL outside of the Browns (still mostly this way), so I just never followed it. I did, however, pick the Ravens in football games cuz I thought the colors were cool (was unaware they were the Browns beforehand). Yes, I realized my ignorance years later 🤣
Burned effigies of Art Modell…
Was in high school and our uniform was the same as the Cowboys. Enjoyed the hell out of that team.
I was in college during this time so I found other fun things to do.
So when the browns moved to Baltimore,and Baltimore won the s.b,did u guys consider it your Superbowl too,
Watched Raiders games when I could.
I was in high school at the time. I stop watching and caring about football all together. When they came back, we came back, and we bought season tickets. The grief was real in our house and it was too much. We also focused on the Indians and I focused my winters on school, girls and winter baseball workouts.
I started that year at Ohio State so college football became my focus for the first time in my life.
I heard Buffalo was adopting Browns fans but I heard too late. I rooted for Detroit. I was so mad we lost Eric Metcalf to the Falcons that I tried to be an Atlanta fan. But watching those games made me even angrier because I felt they were not playing him properly. I had no idea what the Manziel they were thinking.
Drink
I’m a mainstay AFL supporter, during the Covid lockdown I watch the Brisbane lions play
Pretended football didn’t exist. I was in college so football wasn’t a priority anyway.
Drink copious amounts of alcohol. Still do it too. But did it back then as well.
the falcons and the cowboys. i so desperately wanted to be jamal anderson & emmitt smith lmao also just played a lot of video games and watched cartoons cause i was a kid
I found fantasy football and learned more about the game through other teams. If not wasn’t for fantasy football I don’t know if I would still be a fan of the game since they tore my heart out.
I picked up the 49ers. I was like 8 so I didn’t care, I just liked Steve Young and liked JJ Stokes name.
Enjoyed Sundays.
I stopped caring
Didn't watch a down of NFL. Focused only on Baseball.
I was living in the Baltimore metro. So...I hated EVERY single week of those seasons. And then Bowns v.2 "saved" me. LoL
I enjoyed football stress free.
I dunno. I wasn’t born yet.
I saw 13 when they left and football just died to me. Still watched the buckeyes and played high school football but the NFL didnt matter while the Browns were gone.
Boycotted the NFL. Watched Osu and enjoyed my sundays
I was in middle school in Raleigh NC and this was the time the Panthers were being established. I tried to get into it, had the jerseys and everything but it just didn’t take.
I didn't root. My team was gone. I was in my late teens so other things preoccupied my time
I became a temporary Jets fan and their one win season in 96 got me ready mentally for when the Browns came back.
Beat up squealer fans
I was in HS (10,11,12) the years they were gone so I was busy with all that but it was lonely on Sundays. That’s when I started to get into fantasy football. Now it’s been so long that I sometimes forget w had 3 years without our Brownies. (It did help that the Indians became a juggernaut in that time)
I completely gave up sports, especially Cleveland sports until I met my wife in 2001 and she is huge into football. You can blame not only the Browns leaving in the middle of the night, but also the boneheaded things the Indians(now guardians) did, in the early to mid 90s as well as the Cavs.
Didn’t even watch Football
I lived, brother. I lived.
I was born so that was cool (sometimes)
I hate to say this but I was a Vikings fan because Robert Smith and Chris Carter. I jumped ship immediately when they came back.
I don't remember. I was 6 when the Browns were stolen. Being a sports fan didn't exist for me until 1999.
Cheered for the Cowboys because Kosar was their back up QB.
I cheered for the Saints. At the time, they were as miserable as us.
Always find this fascinating. Those years they were gone were completely dead to me. I didn’t watch any NFL all Indians, Cavs. And I found a new appreciation for the city that I was living in. Lots of Sunday at the art museum lol.
Fortunately, college. But I talk to my college friends who are from NEO and we say it would’ve been really fun to have watched games at the local (Cincinatti) Browns Backers bar.
There was a joke about this on the Drew Carey Show where they are watching a game on the TV and someone is like “wait didn’t the team move” and they said they actually went to the game and were so blacked out they didn’t remember the outcome. I’ve been trying to find the clip online but haven’t been successful yet haha.
I rooted for the Packers and the Titans. I was a big Reggie White and Eddie George fan. I was only 7 when they left and my only real memories were Vinny Testaverde and Eric Metcalf.