Blog — "Browns"

My winter break was relaxing, but jam packed if that is at all possible. After Christmas, I had a few days to wrap up a few things I had been working on for the shop before heading off to spend New Years in Cleveland. During our time in Cleveland we got to visit with Andrew's family, catch up with a friend of ours that we met while in college at Syracuse, eat cheese fondue with Andrew's parents on New Year's Eve, go to the Steelers and Browns game on Sunday evening (remember the good old rivalry I wrote about here?), and finally make our trek back to Baltimore on a snowy Monday afternoon. And of course this recap wouldn't be complete with a few photos of us gearing up for and at the the game. ;)



All in all it was a fantastic eleven days of my own, to do whatever I pleased. I didn't once pick up a paper to grade or work on a lesson plan-- an absolute, complete break. Today was my first day returning to school feeling rejuvenated and recharged. And to complete my welcome back to Baltimore, jury duty tomorrow. How appropriate for this city! I hope you all had a wonderful New Years weekend and continue to have a wonderful 2012!

Fall means football season. Without my Steelers I wouldn't quite know what to do with myself on Sundays. My dad's family is from the Pittsburgh area, so growing up we always watched the Steelers. I remember enjoying a good Sunday football game just as much as when I was a kid as I do today.


I'm not really sure why I like putting myself through the agony of being a Steelers fan. It usually involves heart attacks. People often tell me "It must be real agony to have won six Super Bowls." But that's just the point. Sure, we've won six of them, but the horrible seasons and games between are enough to make me squirm! Take this weekend for example. A complete self-destruction. I knew within the first two minutes of the game that we'd lost. Such losses usually include unexplainable and absurd number of turnovers that make it appear as though Big Ben were passing on purpose to the other team, stupid penalties, MVP receivers dropping balls left and right, defensive players standing there instead of making sacks, and a general doofus look on all of the players faces. And just when you think the game can't get any worse and a team couldn't self-destruct more than they already have, they find a way to do just that.

And there are rivalries too. The oldest Steelers rival of all is the Browns. Lucky for me, Andrew is from Cleveland. I have to put up with hearing about the stupid Browns all season. During football sesason, most people ask us how we even happened to end up together considering our team affiliations.  And the first question my dad asked him the first time they met was if he was a Browns fan. The first time my extended family met him, they really let him have it. Yet somehow he stuck around.

at Heinz Field

Getting ready for a showdown at Browns Stadium

Football is fun for many reasons-- the competition, the food, the beer, the friends. But most of all it's fun because of this:

via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Yes. Nothing is better than watching a Browns quarterback getting sacked.