By Lynn Saternow
Herald Sports Editor
THERE ARE Steelers’ and Browns’ fans and then there are ... other! I found that out last Sunday at the Browns game in Jacksonville.
My wife LaVon and I had flown to Tampa to visit our son Joel and his wife Kim. On Sunday we made the 3-hour trek to Jacksonville where we hooked up with my brother Ralph and his wife Mandy, who live north of West Palm Beach.
We were all dressed in our Browns attire and we tailgated in a stadium lot. The Jaguars fans were actually nice to us. Not one person gave us a thumbs-down or a one-finger-up salute. No need for expletives deleted. (What fun is that?)
Then after the game, as we left, Jags fans were actually congratulating us on the win by the Browns. Yikes! Could you image Steelers’ or Browns’ fans doing that to opponents’ fans?
During the game, Jags fans are somewhat docile. In our section, it was probably half Browns backers. At one time in the third quarter on a crucial third-down play for his team, a Jags fan stood up and yelled up to the fans: “Come on get up!”
The Jags fans didn’t even move, but we Browns fans immediately jumped up and started barking and woofing. The guy was shocked. Welcome to the world of real fans, buddy! The Dawg Pound travels well.
OK, maybe Florida people have a lot more to do than worry about their sports teams. But while we enjoyed the sunshine, I’ll take the passion of Steelers and Browns fans any day even if it means living through snow and cold.
I predicted that the Browns would lose if Brady Quinn didn’t play, but I was wrong. The Browns won despite quarterback Derek Anderson. In the second half, he was miserable. On one play he threw a pass into the ground and Jags fan behind us said, “This looks like my son’s high school games.”
But obviously, because of the loyalty of the Browns administration to D.A., it looks like we are stuck with him. He will be good enough today to beat the former Browns (Ravens). Look for a 20-9 Cleveland victory.
The Steelers are hoping to avoid a tailspin on Monday night when they visit Washington. But unless they shore up the offensive line, they are in trouble. Ben Roethlisberger has been folded, bent and spindled this season and he’s not going to last. The beating he’s taken is going to shorten his career — shoulders, legs and hips can only take so much.
Look for the Redskins to continue the pounding on Big Ben and Washington to win, 27-23.
Last week my picks went 9-5 for a season mark of 59-56. Following are the rest of this week’s predictions (betting line in parentheses just for fun):
NY Giants (-81/2) over Dallas
New England (plus 6) at Indy
Buffalo (-51/2) over NY Jets
Denver (-3) over Miami
Philly (-61/2) over Seattle
Green Bay (plus 41/2) over Tennessee
Minnesota (-41/2) over Houston
St. Louis (plus 3) over Arizona
Oakland (plus 3) ovr Atlanta
Tampa (-81/2) over Kansas City
Chicago (-131/2) over Detroit
Jacksonville (-71/2) over Cincy
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Steelers', Browns' fans gladly swap nice weather for team passion
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