My connection to that hallowed 1964 team was made even more personal by the fact that my varsity football coach at Cleveland Central Catholic High School, Stan Sczurek, appeared in 14 games for that ’64 Browns title team. That legendary victory was also the Browns high water mark. It was the first NFL title game to be televised by CBS. I was six and a half years old on Decemwhen Gary Collins caught three touchdown passes from Frank Ryan to defeat Johnny Unitas’ Baltimore Colts 27-0 and win the Browns’ fourth NFL championship in front 79,544 freezing but frenzied fans at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. And while much of these laurels were earned before my birth in 1958, the Browns - led by the Greatest Football Player of All Time, Jim Brown - were still an NFL powerhouse in my youth.
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The Browns dominated professional football in the postwar period, from the mid 1940’s to the early 60’s like no other team before or since. To be a Browns fan (much like being a Cleveland Indians fan) is to swell with pride, imbued with memories of the club’s storied history. So was the Saints Super Bowl championship last year.Ĭleveland is my hometown - so I am first and foremost a Cleveland Browns fan. While living in Chicago in the mid-1980’s, I gleefully jumped aboard the Bears bruising bandwagon just in time to experience Sweetness, Iron Mike, the Punky QB, Refrigerator Perry and the Super Bowl Shuffle in 1985. ( Click here for that story.) Until recently, it has been my misfortune to suffer perennial heartbreak in both the AFC and NFC – and I’ve never had to worry about my two favorite teams meeting in a Super Bowl. Only seven NFL teams have scored that unlikely trifecta.īrowns fans have had precious few accomplishments to cherish since 1964 when Cleveland won its last NFL championship – back in the Mud and Ice Age before indoor stadiums and Super Bowls.įull disclosure: I have a soft spot in my heart for the Saints because my father was born and raised in New Orleans. The Browns beat the NY Giants in 2008, our rival Pittsburgh Steelers in 2009, and now the Saints in 2010. That the downtrodden 2-5 Browns should knock off the celebrated New Orleans Saints was a shocking turn of events - but few NFL fans realize that Cleveland has now defeated the defending Super Bowl champs for the third straight season. But Browns fans, starved for gridiron glory, nonetheless flipped for Bowens’ endearingly enthusiastic but awkward flop. The Browns aggressive defense sacked Saints quarterback Drew Brees three times and pressured him into tossing four interceptions – two of which were returned for touchdowns by the Browns’ 33-year old veteran linebacker, David Bowens.īowens celebrated his second touchdown with perhaps the worst somersault into the end zone in NFL history.
On Sunday, October 24, 2010, the Cleveland Browns went to New Orleans and stunned the Saints with a 30-17 upset victory over the defending Super Bowl champs.
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