I Took My Talents To South Beach or We Almost Always Have A Chance To Win

Miami is gorgeous, even when it's overcast.



If you've been reading along since the beginning, you know that when I first started planning this journey, I was really excited about this trip. First off, it was a trip to Florida and I had yet to visit the state. Secondly, the Browns Backers club had an amazing Saturday night party/meet-and-greet set up.  And finally, it was a trip to Miami which was guaranteed to have sunshine and warm weather, right?  Well...at least it was warm.
The Browns Backers Saturday night party did not disappoint. Cindy Hunt has been the president there since 2009 so she had been waiting to plan an event like this for seven years.  I got to meet so many fans; it was as if they had a Little Cleveland in Hollywood, Florida.  Browns, Indians, Cavs, and Buckeyes gear was worn by just about everyone in attendance.

After partying through the night, we all met back at the bar early Sunday morning to pregame and meet up for the bus ride to the stadium.  While there were several area Backers clubs in attendance, this group filled FIVE buses full of fans.  When we pulled up to the bus tailgate lot, we were greeted by a throng of Cleveland fans and supporters.  I realized two things; one, Browns fans travel well. And two, most people that move from Cleveland choose Florida as their new home residence.




The Miami fans are a nice group of people who kinda share in our pain as they haven't had a championship since 1974. While they've had better seasons than us in recent history, their win totals weren't better by much. In fact, the same year that the Browns went 10-6 and almost made the playoffs, the Dolphins went 1-15 and almost had a completely lost season.  The fan's struggles coupled with the Browns fans in attendance allowed me to feel completely comfortable walking around the stadium by myself.  (Plus, this guy Chris took one for the team and drank a Dolphins Kickoff Edition Bud Light)







We cheered and cheered and even had Dawg Vadar [sic] to help rally the team, but alas it was not enough.









Honorable mention: EVERY Browns player stood up during the National Anthem.  Hell yeah.







Afterwards, we met back up at Mickey Byrne's Irish Pub to eat some postgame BBQ and drown our sorrows once again. The spread was nice, the drinks were cold, the live entertainment was great, and with the help of these two, I was able to almost completely forget the Browns loss AND I got a little taste of the late night Hollywood scene as well.



Honorable mention #2: I also got to hang out with the Browns Brothers (and crew) all weekend.  Since they also had been to all three games so far, I tried to convince them to keep going and meet me in D.C., but to no avail.

Check out their travels at http://www.instagram.com/brownsbrothers2015/






This trip was as advertised, fun in the (sometimes) sun.  Beautiful people and a great atmosphere.  I look forward visiting again soon.





Next week, I finish out the last few days of the first home base in Maryland and join up with my family in D.C. as we take on the Washington Redskins and their fans.  Stay tuned...

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*During the trip, I used a combination of Uber and Lyft to get around.  If you haven't already tried them, use one of these promo codes to get a free ride:
Uber - vincec1149ue
Lyft - VINCE441580

 **I also booked a nice little studio in Hollywood through Airbnb. If you're ever in the Hollywood/Hallandale Beach area, look for Shoshana; she has a few studio units with a kitchen and she is a wonderful hostess. Book through www.airbnb.com/c/vincec1302 to get a $35 travel credit (and it'll hook me up with a credit too.)
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Location: Miami, FL, USA

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