About this item
For the city of Cleveland and the fans of the Browns, it's not just a football team: it's a way of life. From rabid fan clubs all around the country to fans around Northeast Ohio wearing the colors of the brown and orange, time stops when the Browns take the field each week. The team joined the NFL in 1950 and won a championship in their first year in the league, and went on to win three more, the last of which was 1964 when they shutout the Baltimore Colts 27-0 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.Since then fans have been waiting, through good years and bad, for the glory to return to the Browns franchise. They have had to endure the harshest of defeats, losing three times to the Denver Broncos in the 1980's on the doorstep of playing in their first Super Bowl.
About the Author
Matt Loede has been a die-hard Steelers fan since the age of four. Being born and raised in a suburb just outside of Cleveland, it took a pair of Steelers pajamas and a Browns playoff loss in the 1980 season to the Raiders to convert Matt into a follower of Steeler Nation.
The first game he recalls is the 82 playoff loss to Dan Fouts and the Chargers in a game where clearly the Steelers outplayed the Chargers, only to lose 31-28. Over the next few seasons, he went through the struggles of the team but stood by them even when the Browns actually had some good seasons.
Matt's first game at Three Rivers Stadium came in Bill Cowher's rookie season of 1992, as the Steelers beat the Browns on the last week of the regular season to clinch an 11-5 record and home field in the AFC for the playoffs. That would be squandered with a loss two weeks later to the eventual Super Bowl bound Bills.
After a 9-7 1993 season, life changed for Matt and the Steelers, as in 1994 he attended a local broadcasting school in the Cleveland area, and began working upon graduation for an all-sports station in Cleveland, WHK 1420am. He was known simply as "Steeler" Matt, and began making the trek to Steelers games attending the games as a member of the media.
In 1995 after a heartbreaking loss to the Chargers in the AFC Title game in 1994, Matt took a step away from the business, only to land late that season in Canton, Ohio, working for small AM station 900am, WCER, which was a Steelers radio affilliate. In the 1996 season, Matt attended all 11 Steelers home games (preseason and playoffs included) , and did a daily Steelers report, plus a two-hour Monday night Steelers show.
He left Canton in 1997, but continued to work in the business for networks like AP, Fox Sports Radio, ESPN Radio, Sporting News Radio, CBS Radio, and more. Today he runs the Sports Gab Network, a network of sites that includes over 60 for the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, pro wrestling, and more.
Matt attended Super Bowl XLIII as a member of the media, and also was at five Steelers games in the press box at Heinz Field. Today Matt covers 140-160 games per season in all sports.
