Cleveland Browns game day drew thousands of tailgaters Sunday -- even a few from the Pittsburgh area. Fans at a West Third Street parking lot had a short walk to Cleveland Browns Stadium.
CLEVELAND, Ohio --
Browns and Steelers fans have much in common when the tailgate swings down hours before the big game – a robust hankering for beer and meat, seasoned with a mutual hatred for the Baltimore Ravens.
They also relish giving each other a hard time, if Sunday's bumper-to-bumper clash of brown-and-orange to black-and-gold is any indication.
Yes, clusters of Steelers fans had the courage to tailgate among the legion of tents, grills, folding tables, banners, corn hole games and booming speakers that transform the Municipal Parking Lot off the Shoreway into a swarming Browns bacchanalia on game day.
You had to look hard to find a Pennsylvania license plate. But there was Karl Pizza, 38, and buddy David Lizanich, 32, of New Castle, Pa., with the back of a Nissan Murano open and festooned with a string of Steelers banners.
A slab of marinating ribs sat in ice while a charcoal grill heated. Bud Light, the Steelers edition, was within easy reach.
Steelers and Browns fans are "frenemies," Lizanich declared. Steelers backers enjoy greater camaraderie these days, he said. Constant losing has left Browns fans grumpy, though Sunday's 20-14 battering of the Steelers lifted the pall for a week.
A short walk to the west, about 20 Steelers fans gathered around two oversized vans and a Jeep 4x4. Their arrival at 8:30 a.m. was greeted by profane chants from hundreds of Browns fans.
"That kind of set the tone," said a laughing Josh Walters, 34, of Erie, Pa.
That didn't deter the rollout of several grills to cook eggs, sausage, bacon, pancakes and french toast. Chili with three pounds of beef bubbled nearby for lunch.
One of their crowd, Angel Masangcay, 34, ventured into the Muni Lot to check out the tailgate scene. His Steelers regalia drew ribbing and catcalls, making Masangcay feel like a "superstar." Then a Browns fan snatched his wool cap and threw it onto a grill, where it quickly caught fire.
A shrugging Masangcay said there wasn't much he could do. "If it were good natured, it wouldn't be fun," he said.
Right next door, tailgating veteran Jason Czerwien, 33, of Walton Hills, rolled his eyes at the gaggle of Steelers fans.
Veggie burgers and sausage sizzled beneath propane heat. Ribs warmed in a slow-cooker. Four friends relaxed and drank under a tent.
Inside a carpeted trailer sat two wicker chairs, a heater, an assortment of beers, vodka and Maker's Mark bourbon -- a getaway from the cold temperatures.
"It's all about coming together," Czerwien said of football tailgating. "We don't make a lot of money, we have to sacrifice a bit. We get down here at 6 a.m. and do what we have to do to support a losing team.
"Frankly, I think anybody out here would love to have a Steelers-type team," Czerwien said. "It's a no-excuses mentality."
Some of Sunday's tailgating highlighted split allegiance, even among couples.
Steelers and Browns flags fluttered from the back of Dave Buffington's red Chevrolet pickup, parked in a lot near East 18th Street and Davenport Avenue.
Buffington, 45, is all Browns. But his partner, Andrea Reiss, 38, wore a Steelers winter coat and scarf. Both flags fly in front of the their Ravenna home.
The walk to Browns Stadium can be stressful. Buffington runs interference for Reiss, whose garb occasionally draws elbows and stiff arms.
They agree on the game-day food. New York strip steaks, with onions and mushrooms, awaited a grill.
Indeed, beef is an essential on game day, along with canned beer and a backdrop of Lake Erie, said Rocco Whalen, executive chef at Fahrenheit restaurant in Tremont.
He helped host a monster tailgate party at West Third Street and Summit Avenue.
The site, beneath the Shoreway bridge, drew at least 250 fans. Most were friends and associates of Frank Gallucci, a principal at the Plevin & Gallucci law firm.
He kicked his usual tailgate party up a notch on Sunday, to honor the Steelers rivalry and Cleveland's love affair with football and food.
Gallucci strained mounds of french fries from a fryer. Friends doled out sandwiches. Barbecue expert Rob Marion rolled in his custom, 13-foot-long grill to help prepare 75 pounds of pork, 32 pounds of brisket and 25 pounds of lamb.
It was Marion's first ever tailgate party.
"The people watching, and the blue-collar loyalty to the Browns, it's just unbelievable," Marion said.