The holiday season offers time to pause and reflect on…

December 20, 2012

The holiday season offers time to pause and reflect on past memories and bygone traditions. While pondering such things, it has become a personal habit to look through the Icehouse archives in search of old Christmas memories.
A recent discovery offered exactly this kind of peek at the prose of yesteryear — and it provided a seasonal, personal reflection about one of the Cleveland area’s most enduring heroes:
Cowboy Christmas (1999)
Bernie Kosar offers more than merely the image of a veteran athlete. He is a former gridiron star who embodies goodwill and discipline in public life. As a favorite son of our region, his is an enviable position. Few others enjoy such universal acclaim.
Recently, fans were treated to the birth of a website dedicated to this notable fellow. (www.kosar.com) One can only imagine what tidbits will be available here. With the rebirth of NFL football on Ohio’s Northcoast, such developments are even more intriguing.
For this writer, a personal connection to ‘Bernie’ came as he exited the Belichick-era Browns. Tossed aside by Art Modell (who once claimed to have thought of Kosar a son) and professional object of loathing BILL B., he found a home in Dallas. (Plus, a Super Bowl ring!) During explosive outbursts of fan unrest, a Boardman home address was posted at Chardon’s GIANT EAGLE, for those who wished to offer personal greetings and goodwill gestures.
Thus it was that my wife suggested a note of our own. I wrote to B.K. of the admiration and respect that we held for his memory as a Brown. Somehow, we had discovered a Texas-shaped Christmas ornament at a local thrift store. (An investment at fifty cents!) I vowed to Bernie that this decoration would adorn our tree as a token of the esteem in which he was held. It was an emotional moment. Truly, a heartfelt goodbye!
Soon after, a curious parcel arrived in the mail. With surprise, I opened the package to see an autographed glossy photograph of Mr. Kosar in his COWBOYS uniform. The inscribed message was simple, and straightforward. “Thanks for your support!”
This kind reward still hangs in a place of honor at our home. Lately, I have been moved to pause in reflection before the black-and-white image. Thoughts of resurrection are ripe in my mind. It is poetic, indeed, that revived BROWNS football will be borne on the shoulders of heroic men such as Bernie. I am electrified by thoughts of our first competition versus the Baltimore Ravens. Imagine watching chief blackbird Art choke on his cigar as Kosar waves to admiring thousands of Cleveland devotees, just before the titanic contest begins. Is there a more appropriate metaphor for the hopes and dreams of area folk?
We hold not only a great reservoir of game history in the region, but also, love for fundamentals that comprise its soul. Here, football as we know it was sired. So it is not at all unusual that the citizens of northeastern Buckeye soil would so deeply revere their pro franchise. The struggle to gain yardage on a muddy field is not unlike our individual yearnings for accomplishment.
As an example of these emotions, I recall seeing rock ‘n roll icon Chuck Berry at the late FRONT ROW theatre in bygone days. After an energetic set of popular anthems like “Johnny B. Goode” and “Maybellene”, someone in the audience threw an orange & brown jacket on stage. When Berry reacted with confusion and indifference, the fan leapt into action. He quickly draped the music star with our beloved colors, so that everyone at the venue could cheer! Such is the love for this progeny of Paul Brown. It transcends all boundaries of culture.
The archives of DAWG history include many great feats. What other group can claim the incredible roster of historic events that have graced our BROWNS? An NFL Championship was earned with their first year in the league (1950). Later, was a victorious result from the initial Monday Night Football game (in 1970). Jim Brown played here, arguably one of the most gifted and exciting athletes ever to occupy professional turf. So did Leroy Kelly, Greg Pruitt, Marion Motley, Paul Warfield, Dante Lavelli, Lou Groza, and Otto Graham. But in modern times, no other figure can replace the beloved Bernie. He is a fixture of post-Modell life in Cleveland sports.
Kosar navigated through success and sorrow in his career with dignity. Such poise served him well as an ambassador of the game. Now, that legacy will help mold a future for the new group that proudly wears our hometown colors.
With candor, I have to admit that the Dallas Cowboys have never been one of my favorite sports franchises. Their self-aggrandizing moniker of “America’s Team” has always struck me as being both arrogant, and nakedly incorrect.
But, I willingly decorated our tree with the Texas ornament mentioned here as an act of love for Bernie. In the years that have followed, I’ve sent Christmas cards to his addresses on Boardman, Ohio, and in Florida.
For us, Kosar represented more than simply affection for local sports, or a hometown hero.
He was part of our “family.”
And in the holiday season, family means more than anything.
Yesterday and… today.