MMQB: Who is Your Favorite NFL Team?

We know there will be no Penn State football this fall, but perhaps we will still have the NFL for our gridiron fix?

The one thing I’ve noticed about the Penn State fanbase is that it covers a large swath of NFL teams. While we all bleed blue and white, it seems like we have many different rooting interests on Sundays.

Who is your favorite NFL team and how did they become “your team”?

I am a...sigh...diehard Cleveland Browns fan. Unfortunately, it’s in my blood and there’s not much I can do about it. They will always be my team no matter how much constant frustration and disappointment they bring in to my life.

They became my team the same way it works for many of us — family and location. When I was a kid the earth stopped whenever the Browns were playing. I am just old enough to have some memories of the Broncos torturing them in the late ‘80s to prevent them from three Super Bowls in four years, before the franchise went into the nosedive that they are still trying to pull themselves out of (although you could argue that technically that franchise went on to win a couple Super Bowls, but let’s not get into that right now).

Some of my favorite memories from childhood were going into the ancient, creaky Cleveland Municipal Stadium to watch the Browns play in horrendous conditions. The cold and wind never bothered me though, I was filled with enough adrenaline to notice. I remained a fanatic even as the losses pilled up, but they tore my heart out of my chest when they suddenly cut my favorite player, Bernie Kosar. A couple years later, they would announce the move to Baltimore and things were never the same.

During the three-year hiatus with no NFL in Cleveland, I became more interested in the college game, and especially Penn State. My first game in Beaver Stadium was the ‘97 classic against Ohio State. After witnessing the atmosphere of a packed stadium as the Nittany Lions came back for a late victory against the #4 Buckeyes, it was all over. The Browns became an afterthought, which has become even more so over the years because...it’s the Browns, do I really need to explain?

So let’s hear your stories. Who is your favorite NFL team and why?