When I was younger, you could catch me in front of the television on Sunday afternoons cheering on my favorite NFL players and team. I. Loved. Football. Going to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio was something my brother, dad, and I did often. Every time I went, I felt like I learned something new about the sport. I had posters of players in my room, and I even had pennants of my three favorite teams: the Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts, and New Orleans Saints.
I know this is an odd combination of teams to enjoy, especially because I am from the Northeast Ohio area. One team that you would never catch me cheering for was the Cleveland Browns, and you'd never see me wearing brown and orange. It's the only Cleveland team I didn't enjoy watching. The Cleveland Indians and Cavaliers were two of my favorite teams, but the Browns were not the team I looked forward to watching.
I've been a lifelong Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Growing up, my dad was a Steelers fan, and my mom was a Browns fan. I am not entirely sure how I picked the Steelers to be my team, but I did, and I never looked back. I had Steelers decorations, a pennant, and several t-shirts and a sweatshirt. I loved reading about the history of the team and the players. Although I absolutely loved this team and watching football when I was younger, I have become more distant from the sport as I have gotten older.
Watching the Steelers is something I still do occasionally, but I am always quick to want to watch the Steelers versus the Browns game. In the past few years, I've found it amusing that the Browns won very few, if any, games during the season. However, this season is different for the NFL team.
When I first saw that the Steelers were playing the Browns for their first game, I was excited to watch, what would hopefully be, a continuation of the Browns' losing streak. However, I was instantly shocked as the final score ended up in a tie. "Okay," I thought, "This was just bad luck."
Throughout the past few weeks during the NFL season, the Browns have been a team to surprise me. After their 0-16 season last year, I expected we'd be seeing another team like this. However, I was definitely taken aback at first. As a Steelers fan, I don't really know how to feel. Because the Browns are in our division I want them to continue on the same path they were on the past two seasons, but coming from Northeast Ohio, I also want to see them win.
I catch myself watching the Browns highlights, and I even silently cheered them on while I watched their game versus the Baltimore Ravens at the gym. After seasons of missed catches, attempts, and throws, it almost feels like I'm ready for them to win. Seeing a team from your area start to win after poor seasons is something great. Although the Browns aren't the perfect team, it's hard not to cheer them on.
