Signs are interesting things. Some signs tell you when to STOP and when to GO, some give you guidance, some might even show you what lies ahead, and finally - some signs point to hope.
Wednesday, the night before the Browns first preseason game against the NY Jets, Emily and I went to Walmart with one thing in mind: giving a sign to the Browns fans. We found some thick poster board and some bright markers that would do the trick, but it still did not feel like enough. We also bought some face paint; I was excited about this in spite of (or maybe because of...) the fact that we did not have a plan.
What would you want to say if you were a Browns sign? Of course the plain vanilla ideas come out first: "Go Browns!", "Beat The Jets", etc. We both knew we needed, the fans needed, the city needed, something more. We eventually came up with "Dawgs fly in Cleveland" and were going to put the wide receiver numbers under the text with little wings to represent them flying across the field.
After sleeping on the idea, one thing was clear: it was too complex. Over lunch we talked about what it should say and what we wanted to get across to everyone else: we arrived at "World Champs 09". It was simple, powerful, and to the point. It did not concede to the "There is always next year" garbage I that grew up with. I am an admittedly a young Browns fan and am sick of hearing the "woe is me" story.
We made our sign with an extended lunch break and Emily delayed a trip to her lab to finish the coloring. After work & lab, we now had another major problem to tackle: what to put on our faces. For my face it was a simple choice: a Browns helmet. We mixed the few face paint colors we had to make Orange and Brown (we already had white). Don't ask me what we combined - I got a C in art at Saint Ignatius.
Emily painted my face with grace, speed, and precision - It looked absolutely amazing. It was now my turn to do some painting. I am admittedly horrible at art (remember that time I told you I got a C in art?). Because of my ability (or lack there of) we decided to keep things simple - just painting "BROWNS" across her face. I picked up the brush and it was as though I was a new person. I was making strokes and forming letters as though I had been doing this since I was a child...the paint went on so easily and it looked amazing.
Just kidding. It looked horrible and we both knew it. Luckily, it was water soluble paint and I tried again, and again. Finally we decided just a "BROWNS" on one side of her cheek would be a better idea. I made the letters really small so everything would fit. First the B, then the R, onto the O, then the W, and finally the S. Wait...what? Yeah, that's right - I forgot the N. How could I do that? I am not sure. It ended up taking me about 5 tries and 45 minutes, but we got Browns on her face and it looked...good enough.
We left for the stadium and managed to get there about an hour before game time. I was holding up our World Champs sign high above my head - I wanted to convey the message to everyone. Once we got in the gate we realized we had a lot of time. I stood by the NW gate (I think) holding the sign high above my head so everyone walking in would see it. Within a couple of minutes a Browns official wearing a tie came over to me...great - there goes my sign, I thought. Nope - he just patted my back and said how much he liked the sign.
I stood in that spot for the next 30 minutes holding that sign above my head. Patricia and Bill from the Browns came over to give us a survey about the team as fans of all ages looked at our poster. The younger guys cheered and encouraged me. The older guys immediately shook their heads and thought how funny the young guy looked - what does he know? Does he know about Jim Brown, Otto Graham, or even Brian Sipe? We did not have time to explain ourselves - Emily would simply shout out: "If no one says it, it will never happen!". It was the best 30 minutes I have spent at a Browns game so far - expect to see us there every week.
The game started and the Browns' first team scored on the opening drive with Edwards making an amazing left handed catch in the end zone. Then, it rained, and rained. Not the "oh, it is raining a little out today" type of rain - this was the "Holy Crap! What they heck is going on, lightning" kind of rain.
At first we refused to leave our seats. I used the backside of our sign to shield Emily from the rain. As people were walking up to the concourse they yelled out things like, "Now that is true love". We stayed out there till the lines went down a little. It was this day that we found out that every fan could fit in the concourses around the stadium...it was very...uhmm...cozy if you were wondering.
If God was trying to test the fans through this rain, I would have to say we passed. After nearly an hour lightning delay everyone piled back into their seats - families with small children included. Our sign was severely damaged, but our message had already been delivered. A new sign can be (and will be) created for the next game.
That night many fans stayed at the stadium till 11:30 watching a game that "did not matter". Oh, it mattered - thousands of fans, soaked to the bone, shivering in the summer, cheering for the Browns was a sign to the team and to ourselves that this is the year, this is our time.
Wednesday, the night before the Browns first preseason game against the NY Jets, Emily and I went to Walmart with one thing in mind: giving a sign to the Browns fans. We found some thick poster board and some bright markers that would do the trick, but it still did not feel like enough. We also bought some face paint; I was excited about this in spite of (or maybe because of...) the fact that we did not have a plan.
What would you want to say if you were a Browns sign? Of course the plain vanilla ideas come out first: "Go Browns!", "Beat The Jets", etc. We both knew we needed, the fans needed, the city needed, something more. We eventually came up with "Dawgs fly in Cleveland" and were going to put the wide receiver numbers under the text with little wings to represent them flying across the field.
After sleeping on the idea, one thing was clear: it was too complex. Over lunch we talked about what it should say and what we wanted to get across to everyone else: we arrived at "World Champs 09". It was simple, powerful, and to the point. It did not concede to the "There is always next year" garbage I that grew up with. I am an admittedly a young Browns fan and am sick of hearing the "woe is me" story.
We made our sign with an extended lunch break and Emily delayed a trip to her lab to finish the coloring. After work & lab, we now had another major problem to tackle: what to put on our faces. For my face it was a simple choice: a Browns helmet. We mixed the few face paint colors we had to make Orange and Brown (we already had white). Don't ask me what we combined - I got a C in art at Saint Ignatius.
Emily painted my face with grace, speed, and precision - It looked absolutely amazing. It was now my turn to do some painting. I am admittedly horrible at art (remember that time I told you I got a C in art?). Because of my ability (or lack there of) we decided to keep things simple - just painting "BROWNS" across her face. I picked up the brush and it was as though I was a new person. I was making strokes and forming letters as though I had been doing this since I was a child...the paint went on so easily and it looked amazing.
Just kidding. It looked horrible and we both knew it. Luckily, it was water soluble paint and I tried again, and again. Finally we decided just a "BROWNS" on one side of her cheek would be a better idea. I made the letters really small so everything would fit. First the B, then the R, onto the O, then the W, and finally the S. Wait...what? Yeah, that's right - I forgot the N. How could I do that? I am not sure. It ended up taking me about 5 tries and 45 minutes, but we got Browns on her face and it looked...good enough.
We left for the stadium and managed to get there about an hour before game time. I was holding up our World Champs sign high above my head - I wanted to convey the message to everyone. Once we got in the gate we realized we had a lot of time. I stood by the NW gate (I think) holding the sign high above my head so everyone walking in would see it. Within a couple of minutes a Browns official wearing a tie came over to me...great - there goes my sign, I thought. Nope - he just patted my back and said how much he liked the sign.
I stood in that spot for the next 30 minutes holding that sign above my head. Patricia and Bill from the Browns came over to give us a survey about the team as fans of all ages looked at our poster. The younger guys cheered and encouraged me. The older guys immediately shook their heads and thought how funny the young guy looked - what does he know? Does he know about Jim Brown, Otto Graham, or even Brian Sipe? We did not have time to explain ourselves - Emily would simply shout out: "If no one says it, it will never happen!". It was the best 30 minutes I have spent at a Browns game so far - expect to see us there every week.
The game started and the Browns' first team scored on the opening drive with Edwards making an amazing left handed catch in the end zone. Then, it rained, and rained. Not the "oh, it is raining a little out today" type of rain - this was the "Holy Crap! What they heck is going on, lightning" kind of rain.
At first we refused to leave our seats. I used the backside of our sign to shield Emily from the rain. As people were walking up to the concourse they yelled out things like, "Now that is true love". We stayed out there till the lines went down a little. It was this day that we found out that every fan could fit in the concourses around the stadium...it was very...uhmm...cozy if you were wondering.
If God was trying to test the fans through this rain, I would have to say we passed. After nearly an hour lightning delay everyone piled back into their seats - families with small children included. Our sign was severely damaged, but our message had already been delivered. A new sign can be (and will be) created for the next game.
That night many fans stayed at the stadium till 11:30 watching a game that "did not matter". Oh, it mattered - thousands of fans, soaked to the bone, shivering in the summer, cheering for the Browns was a sign to the team and to ourselves that this is the year, this is our time.
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25 comments:
Well said.
Bravo, the excellent message
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