The Dogs’ Warm-Weather Fans

They file into the bar each Sunday during football season, their bodies covered with Cleveland Browns regulation jerseys, Cleveland Browns caps, Cleveland Browns T-shirts and Cleveland Browns sweat shirts. They scream and yell. They bark loudly when the Browns’ defense--The Dogs--takes the field.

They are the Cleveland Browns fan club.

Nothing unusual about that. Every NFL team has a loyal following.

But this club is a bit different--these Cleveland Browns fans are in Southern California. Instead of bundling up against the cruel winter wind screaming off of Lake Erie, they bask in the warm breath of the Santa Ana winds. They eat quiche at Sunday brunch and wear sandals instead of triple-layer wool socks and hunting boots.

Most once called Cleveland home. Now, they call home to Cleveland.

They live throughout Southern California, from Redlands to Santa Barbara. At least 50 of these Browns fans live in the Valley--Canoga Park, Sun Valley, Calabasas, Van Nuys.

The idea for the West Coast version of a Cleveland Browns fan club began with Mark Breyer, who noticed the giant satellite dish atop Apples Saloon in Santa Monica. Breyer asked manager Bill Roof if he would intercept the television signal for each Sunday Browns game. In return, he promised Roof 10 or 15 patrons who would drink lots of Stroh’s beer.

If Schlitz made Milwaukee famous, Stroh’s made Cleveland tolerable.

The following week, about 25 crazies showed up bedecked in orange. The next week, 50. Last Sunday, the Browns (8-8) lost to the New York Jets and became the first team in NFL history to reach the playoffs without a winning record. More than 100 screaming Browns fans packed Apples and barked for The Dogs.

“It’s a noisy crowd,” Roof said. “For the 10 a.m. games, they show up at about 7:30 and just wait. Then the game starts, and there’s a lot of barking going on.”

Could the playoffs bring mayhem to Apples? Roof thinks not.

“They can’t get any louder than they already are,” he said.

Earlier this season, the fan club was unable to pull in the satellite signal. Undeterred, more than 50 members squeezed into an apartment, called a friend in Cleveland and listened to the three-hour radio broadcast over a telephone speaker.

“It’s a very dedicated bunch,” Roof said.