Kardiac Kids Turn Boy Into Lifelong Fan

In August 1980, a boy just seven years old asked his mother and father what they were watching.

Dad explained it was the Cleveland Browns. “Your hometown team boy,” he said.

I sat down with them and began to watch the game.  At the time, my parents thought it was cute having their little guy watch the game with them. What they didn’t realize was their boy would not only take to the Browns, but would also learn to love them.

In Cleveland, every Sunday during football season starts and ends with the Browns. 

You cheer when they win and weep when they lose. It is all part of the experience of Sunday’s on the lakefront. 

My life changed as a boy during the 1980 Cleveland Browns season. My father would watch them play every Sunday. If a game was not televised we would turn on the radio to listen to our team. 

It didn’t matter what I was doing. Once I heard the sounds of Browns football, it was like Pavlov’s dogs responding to mealtime. I had to join my dad in rooting for our favorite team.

The closet was full of Browns' jerseys.  As a little guy, I was convinced you couldn’t watch a game without wearing one. 

I asked my mom to grab the Brian Sipe one. He was my favorite player. But, every now and then, I would wear the Greg Pruitt one.  It was a great time to be a kid and a Browns fan.

The Kardiac Kids, as they came to be known in 1980, were an addiction.  You couldn’t leave your seat or even turn your head away.

They were always one play away from making the impossible seem possible.  Brian Sipe dropping back to survey the field.  Ozzie Newsome breaks open in the end zone. Throw it Brian! Throw it!

Touchdown Browns! They win again.

There was nothing like it. Another Sunday, another Browns win.

Other children couldn’t wait to call their grandparents to say hello and talk about school.  Not me. 

I would get excited knowing I was going to talk to Grandma soon and tell her all about the Browns winning the game.  She didn’t follow football much, but being the grandmother, she humored me.

At the time, I had no idea the Browns would become such a big part of my life. Different hobbies have come and gone, but football in Cleveland has always held an important place in my life. 

It was the excitement of Sunday and watching the game with my dad that made me a fanatic. 

Football season never ends for me now. Once the regular season commences, the new season starts.

At that time, I start to review the free agent lists. Who is a solid affordable option for my team?

Early March tells me which direction the organization would like to go. Then you wait in anticipation to see how the draft unfolds. Which drafted rookies will impact the Browns most?

The Browns aren’t just the NFL team that played in the city I grew up in.

They are like a part of my family. 

The 1980 Cleveland Browns were truly my first love. This love will last a lifetime, and it all started in the fall of 1980.