Real Fans Don't Miss Kickoff

We’re doing great, but we’re falling short of the goal of 2,001. WE NEED YOU! Join us and let’s make it 750, then 1000, then 2001! By reaching the 2001 goal, we’ll surpass the alleged pile of email messages Dawg Pound Matt delivered to Browns owner Randy Lerner stating that they agree with everything DPM has been saying on his national media tour about boycotting the team at kickoff this Monday. Join our Facebook Group!

Let’s pack the stadium this Monday night and support our team – AT KICKOFF!

We’ve now got 640 followers on Facebook and (probably) many, many more who don’t even know we exist. Our message is plain and simple – Real Fans Don’t Miss Kickoff!

And this Monday Night, we want YOU to bring your best creativity to the upper and lower bowl.

Remember back in the old stadium?…(insert time warp)…Banners filled the walls covering every square inch with bed sheets and tarps…”Siper Bowl,” “We (heart) Our Kardiac Kids,” “Bernie for MVP,” “NBC – Nobody Beats Cleveland”…

We had the spirit and the atmosphere.
It was REAL. It wasn’t manufactured.
And it wasn’t driven by a guy who wears a giant bone plastered with his website on his head.

This Monday Night, the REAL FANS take our team back. And we’ve got a little contest to help fuel your creativity. Introducing the “Real Fans Don’t Miss Kickoff Banner Contest!”

Here’s how it works (and keep in mind, we’re making this up as we go):

1.) You take a bedsheet, poster board, whatever, and paint or draw something clever. You MUST have “Real Fans Don’t Miss Kickoff” or at the very least, “Real Fans” on the banner.

2.) Take a photo – either at the game or before – and send it to us at browns@realfansdontmisskickoff.com.

We’ll post all the entries here after the game (probably Tuesday) and pick a winner. Entries will be judged by a handful of people (and if you’d like to be a judge, email me that as well). We’ll limit the number of judges to 10 and award the winning entry the distinctly worthless honor of being “Monday Night Real Fan of the Year 2009.”

If you are a business owner, or have something cool to contribute as a prize, please email browns@realfansdontmisskickoff.com and we’ll give you a free plug as part of the contest.

Again, this is all for fun – but isn’t that what it should be for?

(UPDATED : 11AM, Wednesday : We’ve added 22 new fans since last night and now have 620. Let’s get to 700 by midnight! Spread the word!)

While two self-proclaimed “superfans” are frantically trying to get themselves booked on ESPN and the Tonight Show to demand that Browns fans boycott the Browns Monday Night Football kickoff, REAL FANS are standing up and letting themselves be counted – loud and proud! As of this evening, the “Real Fans Don’t Miss Kickoff” Facebook Group has amassed 620 supporters who pledge that no matter where they are – at the stadium or at home – they’ll be standing, shouting, and supporting the Cleveland Browns at kickoff next Monday night.

Now…WE NEED YOU! Join us and let’s make it 700, then 1000, then 2001! By reaching the 2001 goal, we’ll surpass the alleged pile of email messages Dawg Pound Mark delivered to Browns owner Randy Lerner stating that they will follow DPM to the ends of the earth…or at least to the tunnel of Section 120.

Thanks to some chatter on local sports talk and the one line of coverage in the Plain Dealer, our movement is growing and we’re starting to gain some ground on the fans who are planning to boycott the Browns in front of a national television audience.

Your reaction has been overwhelming and it’s getting stronger every day. We’ve now jumped up to 400 550 friends on Facebook. Let’s keep this thing going and try to match “Dawg Pound Mike” and his alleged 2000 emails. Invite your friends to stand up and be seen and heard Monday Night!

First time visitor here? Learn about the protest of the protest here.

Self-proclaimed “superfan” Dawg Pound Mike announced on SportsTalkCleveland.com this morning that his manufactured and pointless protest of the Cleveland Browns Monday Night Football kickoff will have 42,000 supporters standing in the tunnels of Cleveland Browns Stadium as the national spotlight shines on our city.

If Mike’s claims are indeed true (and we’ve got to believe he doesn’t really speak for 42,000 people, right?), we’ve got a bit more work to do. Even if his 42,000 followers boycott the kickoff or even the game, here’s hoping the other 20,000 plus can scream even louder. I guess it’s up to the rest of us to carry the weight and protect the legacy of Browns fans being the best in the NFL.

Rest those vocal cords friends. It’s going to be a long night.

We’ve been getting some support via the email bag the last few days. This one is pretty good, so we asked the author if we could share (name withheld):

I love your site!! I have been rolling my eyes and straight disgusted at the horseshit I have been reading about this “Brown Out” before MNF by 2 douche bags that just want their 15 minutes of fame. We finally stopped hearing about Big Dawg after his DUI arrest, less his suit against EA sports for using someone who looked like him :rolls eyes:, Bone Lady, on and on. The fact that DPM has met Lerner “multiple times” shows he did anything to grab the limelight and if you don’t think so look at his twitter and joke of a self-promoting webpage. Good God. Browns Fans back when I was a kid (80’s) took pride in being from Cleveland, being blue-collar, hard working, and intimidating fans! Not a bunch of pussy cry-babies who turn their back on their team in front of the whole country. I don’t need to wear a stupid hat, I don’t need to wear Browns colors each day (I do have a Browns tat and this email lol), I will NEVER turn my back on this team. The Browns don’t owe me shit! Frustrated? Damn straight, but I always have been, always will be, a Browns Fan!

Send your stories, opinions, or words of support (or even discouragement) to us at browns@realfansdontmisskickoff.com

They’ve met with Randy Lerner, but still plan to keep the boycott going on Monday, November 16th. Well, your reaction has been strong and it’s getting stronger every day. We’ve now jumped up to 220 friends on Facebook and even more showing up here each day. Let’s keep this thing going and try to match “Dawg Pound Mike” and his alleged 2000 emails. Invite your friends to stand up and be seen and heard Monday Night!

There hasn’t been much to cheer the last ten years.
Let’s make this the loudest moment in Cleveland Browns Stadium history. Because there’s no “I” in FAN.

Maybe Dawg Pound Mike and Mobile Dawg need to meet with Jamal Lewis for two hours this week too. The future Hall of Fame running back brushed off the duo’s call for fans to boycott the Monday Night Football kickoff in an interview with the Akron Beacon Journal this afternoon.

And now the talk that I hear about the fans not coming to the game and doing all this, you should just take a step back and look…

“What is that going to do? They should just know that one day there might not be a game going on when it’s supposed to be, so enjoy it now and take advantage of it. You never know what you might miss.”

Even the players get it. This boycott makes no sense.

Thank goodness. We can all stop worrying now. We’ve been heard! (Oh, but the protest is still on).

Good grief. 15 minutes isn’t enough?

We’ve had a nice opening day and a half. The response to this effort has been very positive and I’m encouraged by the direction we’re headed. In the last 24 hours, we’ve added over 100 friends to our Facebook Group and had lots and lots of comments here at the website. Let’s keep it growing! While I think it would be great to have over 60,000 people as “friends” in our Facebook Group, I’m realistic. We’re simply not going to reach everyone before kickoff and it’s even less likely we’ll get them to join in. However, I’m sure a lot of us would love to top the alleged 2000 emails of self-proclaimed “superfan” Dawg Pound Mike. I’m pretty sure we can collectively invite 2000 people to join us on Facebook or Twitter or both.

Why will this effort succeed? Because of YOU. This effort isn’t about anything more than fans who love this team and the tradition. We’re sending a message that we might not be happy with the state of the team, but we’re certainly not happy with the calls to boycott them at kickoff.

Dawg Pound Mike said on WKNR yesterday, following his two hour meeting with Randy Lerner, that he doesn’t speak for the Browns fans. He’s right. He doesn’t.

We speak for ourselves.
And on Monday Night, November 16th, we’re going to speak louder than ever.

From our seats – no matter where they are.