CHARGER REVIEW : NOTEBOOK : Snowballs Get Team’s Attention

As the game came to a close, running back Ronnie Harmon took a snowball in the helmet and the snow splattered into the face of Coach Bobby Ross.

This is not what ESPN meant when it came up with that “In your face” promotion for Sunday night football.

“There were a couple of snowballs that hit me in the back,” Charger quarterback Stan Humphries said. “They were pretty hard. I think they made them overnight.”

The Chargers were pelted by snowballs after they were introduced, and the fans greeted Chargers receivers with snowballs each time they ran a pass route in front of the “Dawg Pound.”

“It was kind of crazy,” Charger wide receiver Anthony Miller said. “Somebody could get hurt. They should penalize the team or something. That’s pretty ignorant on the fans part.”

While the Browns’ fans used the snow as ammunition, Charger linebacker Gary Plummer employed it as a teaching tool.

“My wife and kids went to the pool (Saturday) and it was 78 degrees in San Diego,” Plummer said. “My son’s teacher had told him it was winter and he said it’s not winter.

“I told him to watch TV and he’d understand it is winter someplace.”

Plummer said he was also amused by the suggestion Charger players would have more trouble playing in the cold than the Browns.

“We got seven guys from California on the team,” Plummer said. “Three-fourths of our guys have played in the cold. We only have seven who went to college in California . . . No, it’s seven whose hometown is in California. I counted them a couple of weeks ago.”

Obviously, he didn’t use a calculator. There are 15 players on the Chargers’ roster with California hometowns, and another who grew up in Hawaii. Nine players attended California colleges.

Linebacker Junior Seau, however, had never played in the snow, and when he awoke to see five to six inches of snow on the ground, he was excited.

“It was like we were going to go sledding or something,” said defensive end Burt Grossman, who is Seau’s roommate. “He was jumping up and down.”

Tough guy awards go to Steve Hendrickson, Donald Frank, Blaise Winter, Floyd Fields, Deems May and Seau for playing in their short sleeves.

“I thought about putting long sleeves on at half, but I was superstitious,” Seau said. “I was cold, and I’ll tell you next time I’ll wear long sleeves.”

Grossman claimed that he removed his long sleeves after the first quarter, but how could anyone tell? He was wearing a coat and dominating one of the heaters on the sideline.

“I even took my gloves off,” Grossman said, but again no witnesses could be found to support his story.

The Browns’ defense had forced a turnover in 23 of their last 24 games. Now make that 24 out of their last 25.

On the Chargers’ first possession, Harmon went right on third down and Cleveland defensive end Anthony Pleasant forced him to fumble. Safety Eric Turner recovered at the Chargers’ 26-yard line.

The Browns’ defense picked up three turnovers, but the Chargers’ defense replied with three forced turnovers of their own.

Browns kicker Matt Stover kicked a 28-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to inch his team ahead, 13-7. Grossman, however, thought the Chargers trailed by 10.

“Stan kept going deep to throw the ball so I thought we were down by 10,” Grossman said. “After they kicked the field goal, I said, ‘Damn, we’re down by 10.’ ”

Grossman was immediately informed by reporters--one hour after the game now--that the Chargers had won.

“Sweet, I thought we lost,” Grossman said. “My ankle hurt. I wasn’t paying any attention. I was just trying to walk.

“No wonder everybody was cheering, and the (postgame) prayer was so upbeat. The prayer gets shorter when we win, when we lose it’s one of those long half-hour prayers.”

John Carney’s field-goal attempt in the fourth quarter went awry when holder John Kidd failed to cleanly field the snap from center.

“I just dropped it,” Kidd said.

Later, Kidd had to field the snap to set up Carney’s conversion attempt to put the Chargers ahead 14-13. As he prepared to receive the ball, the fans threw snowballs at him.

“The Cleveland Indian scouting department should go up there and look for some pitchers because there were some good arms out there,” Carney said. “They were right on us.”

It wasn’t quite the same as “The Drive,” the Browns now know how John Elway feels.

In 1986, Elway took possession of the ball at his one-yard line and drove the Broncos the length of the field to earn a 20-20 tie, and send the game into overtime. The Broncos eventually won the AFC Championship game 23-20, and Elway’s reputation for last-minute heroics became immortalized in “The Drive.”

The Browns took possession at their one-yard line--the same end of the field in which Elway had begin The Drive-- and went 99 yards to score on quarterback Mark Tomczak’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jackson.

“I was darn ticked off,” Ross said after watching the Browns take a 10-7 lead.

Imagine if it snowed in San Diego and the Chargers were playing at home. How many fans would stay home rather than attend the game?

In Cleveland Sunday there were 2,214 no-shows. Another 58,396 chose to drive the slippery roads, sit in the snow-packed seats and shiver for more than three hours.

Their reward: A one-point loss.