CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns are going into the weekend at the top of the AFC North after a 12-point win versus the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the players aren’t the only ones who scored big at the game.
What You Need To Know
- Some Cleveland Browns fans received a special Thursday Night Football experience during the game against the Steelers on Sept. 22
- Fans got to stand on the sidelines during pregame and walk on the field during postgame
- Former player Hanford Dixon also shared with the fans how the team’s Dawg Pound started
Jackie Kelly is a lifelong Browns fan. She said she grew up watching former player Hanford Dixon on the field.
“He’s always been a wonderful personality,” she said. “His smile just lights up a room.”
So, when she got to meet the former cornerback Thursday night, it brought back a lot of memories.
“I’m a little too emotional,” she said, holding back tears.
Former Browns Cornerback Hanford Dixon shared with fans the start of the team’s Dawg Pound. (Spectrum News 1/Jenna Jordan)
The meeting was a part of the Thursday Night Football experience, which invited a group of Amazon Prime members to get closer to the action. Amazon streams the NFL’s Thursday evening games.
“When I played, we had a good defensive line, but we didn’t have a guy like Miles Garrett,” Dixon said.
He answered questions from the group of fans and explained why the defensive line he had started barking after his suggestion during training camp at Lakeland Community College.
He said it came from a thought about dogs chasing a cat.
“I was thinking of those guys, the defensive line, and I said, ‘We’re gonna bark at you guys. We want you guys thinking the quarterback as the cat and you guys are the dogs,’” Dixon said.
Fans enjoyed the view from the sidelines as the teams warmed up for Thursday’s game. (Spectrum News 1/Jenna Jordan)
He said it was the beginning of the team’s Dawg Pound.
“The fans were so close to us on the field, so before we know it, the defensive line were the dogs,” Dixon said. “The whole defense, the whole team, everybody was the dogs.”
But the team is still the Browns, and for Kelly, stepping foot on her team’s sidelines and field is an experience she won’t soon forget.
“I’m in heaven,” she said. “Heaven. For an old lady, this is heaven.”
The Thursday Night Football fan experience will travel to Cincinnati next week when the Bengals take on the Dolphins.
