Dawg Pound
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The Dawg Pound is the name of the bleacher section behind the east
end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on the opposite side of the field ...
in
Huntington Bank Field Huntington Bank Field is a stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. It is the home field of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL), and serves as a venue for other events such as college and high school football, soccer, hockey, and con ...
, the home field of the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
, a
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) franchise based in
Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
,
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
.


Formation

According to Hanford Dixon, then a
cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...
with the Browns, Dixon himself gave his defensive teammates the name "Dawgs" to inspire them before the 1985 season. The Dawg Pound started during the 1985 training camp at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland. Dixon and fellow cornerback Frank Minnifield started the idea of the pound by using the dog-versus-cat relationship between the quarterback and the defense. "We had the idea of the quarterback being the cat, and the defensive line being the dog," Dixon said. "Whenever the defense would get a regular sack or a coverage sack the defensive linemen and linebackers would bark." This attitude carried into the stands at the training camp, where fans started barking along with the players. Dixon and Minnifield then put up the first "Dawg Pound" banner in front of the bleachers before the first preseason game at old
Cleveland Stadium Cleveland Stadium, commonly known as Municipal Stadium, Lakefront Stadium or Cleveland Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball and foot ...
. The bleacher section had the cheapest seats in the stadium, and its fans were already known as the most vocal. They adopted their new identity whole-heartedly, wearing dog noses, dog masks, bone-shaped hats and other outlandish costumes.


Notoriety

Dawg Pound fans quickly developed a reputation for misbehavior as well as vociferousness. Team officials banned the carrying of
dog food Dog food is specifically formulated food intended for consumption by dogs and other related canines. Dogs are considered to be omnivores with a carnivorous bias. They have the sharp, pointed teeth and shorter gastrointestinal tracts of carn ...
into the stadium, as bleacher fans would shower the visiting team with
Milk-Bone Milk-Bone is a brand of dog biscuit. It was created in 1908 by the F.H. Bennett Biscuit Company, which operated a bakery on the Lower East Side of New York City. Originally named "Maltoid", the biscuit was a bone-shaped treat made from minerals, ...
s, along with eggs, batteries, and other objects. Dawg Pound fans also consumed hefty amounts of alcohol, even sneaking a keg into the stadium inside a doghouse. Their reputation was such that other teams' rowdy fans would often be compared to them—in 1989, when a
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...
game was halted by the throwing of debris at the visiting
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
, Bengals coach
Sam Wyche Samuel David Wyche (; January 5, 1945 – January 2, 2020) was an American professional football quarterback and coach. He was a quarterback and head coach for the Cincinnati Bengals and a quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers. As hea ...
addressed the crowd, angrily reminding them, "You don't live in Cleveland, you live in Cincinnati!" On at least one occasion, Dawg Pound rowdiness affected the outcome of a game. In the fourth quarter of a 1989 game against the hated
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
, the rain of batteries, rocks, eggs, and other debris coming down from the bleachers endangered the safety of the players. To move the action away from the east end, referee Tom Dooley had the teams switch sides. That put the wind at the Browns' back. The Browns won on a
Matt Bahr Matthew David Bahr (born July 6, 1956) is an American former professional American football, football placekicker in the National Football League (NFL), and professional soccer player in the North American Soccer League (1968–84), North Americ ...
field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...
that barely cleared the crossbar. At the final game at Cleveland Stadium in December 1995, fans, including members of the Dawg Pound, ripped the bleachers and seats from the stands, many having brought
wrench A wrench or spanner is a tool used to provide grip and mechanical advantage in applying torque to turn objects—usually rotary fasteners, such as nuts and bolts—or keep them from turning. In the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand ...
es, crowbars, and other tools to dislodge the seats. Some fans threw the seats onto the field, while others took them home as souvenirs. "Here We Go Brownies Here We Go! - Woof! Woof!" is the most common chant heard in the Pound, especially on drives (either offensive or defensive) going towards that end of the field.


The new pound

When
Huntington Bank Field Huntington Bank Field is a stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. It is the home field of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL), and serves as a venue for other events such as college and high school football, soccer, hockey, and con ...
, then known as Cleveland Browns Stadium was completed in 1999, team officials named the sections in the stadium's east end the Dawg Pound. The new Pound differs from the original in having two decks, but like the Dawg Pound of Cleveland Municipal Stadium, the new stadium's Dawg Pound seats are all bleachers. The Dawg Pound
personal seat license A personal seat license, or PSL, is a paid license that entitles the holder to the right to buy season tickets for a certain seat in a stadium. This holder can sell the seat license to someone else if they no longer wish to purchase season tick ...
was one of the most expensive in the new Stadium. The new Pound also has official recognition from the team. The team
trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...
ed a Dawg Pound
logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...
, which it uses on select fan memorabilia. This logo was created by NFL Properties and is the only such logo developed for an NFL fan base by the league. It is featured on officially licensed Browns merchandise such as T-shirts, pennants, bumper stickers, etc. The establishment nature of the new Pound, as well as the more-sterile atmosphere of the new stadium, turned off some veteran fans, especially the old "
blue-collar A blue-collar worker is a person who performs manual labor or skilled trades. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involve manufacturing, retail, warehousing, mining, carpentry, electrical work, custodia ...
" fan base. This has resulted from what was originally a player and fan movement - the Dawg Pound - having been made "corporate," by the Browns organization, including trademarks, copyrights and an official "Dawg Pound" logo. Also, the more sterile, corporate atmosphere at the new Huntington Bank Field (as opposed to the near anarchy at the old stadium in the 1960s-1990s) has been viewed by more traditionalist Browns fans and Dawg Pound season ticket holders as tarnishing the history and traditional passion of the fanbase.


"Bottlegate"

In a crucial late-season 2001 game against the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...
, the Browns were driving toward the east end zone for what would have been the winning score. A controversial call on fourth down gave the Jaguars the ball. Browns' receiver Quincy Morgan had caught a pass for a first down on 4th and 1. After
Tim Couch Timothy Scott Couch (born July 31, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons with the Cleveland Browns. He played college football for the ...
spiked the ball on the next play, referee
Terry McAulay Terry McAulay (born December 24, 1959) is a former American football official who worked in the National Football League (NFL) for the 1998 through 2017 seasons. He was the referee for seven conference championship games and three Super Bowls ...
reviewed Morgan's catch, claiming that the replay officials had buzzed him before Couch spiked the ball. (NFL Rules state that once the next play is completed, the officials cannot under any circumstances review any previous plays.) Upon reviewing the play, McAulay determined that Morgan never had control of the ball, thus the pass was incomplete, and the Jaguars were awarded the ball. Fans in the Dawg Pound began throwing plastic
beer bottle A beer bottle is a bottle designed as a container for beer. Such designs vary greatly in size and shape, but the glass commonly is brown or green to reduce spoilage from light, especially ultraviolet. The most widely established alternatives to ...
s (a recently introduced concept from the team's beer sponsor,
Miller Lite Miller Lite is a 4.2% ABV reduced calorie light American lager beer produced by Molson Coors. It was introduced in 1973 in limited markets by the Miller Brewing Company (then owned by Philip Morris, Inc.) and began being distributed nationa ...
) and other objects on the players and officials. McAulay declared the game over and sent the teams to the locker rooms. NFL Commissioner
Paul Tagliabue Paul John Tagliabue (; born November 24, 1940) is an American lawyer who was the National Football League Commissioner, commissioner of the National Football League (NFL). He took the position in 1989 NFL season, 1989 and served until September ...
then called to override the referee's decision, sending the players back onto the field, where the Jaguars ran out the last seconds under a hail of debris. The incident then would become known as " Bottlegate", and resulted in the immediate ban of plastic beer bottles from future Browns home games.


"GPODAWUND"

In October 2016, a group of Browns fans accidentally swapped two parts of a large three-part banner, causing it to read "This is the GPODAWUND." The hashtag #GPODAWUND was then used by fans as a microcosm of what would be a 1–15 season, which was then followed up by a 0–16 2017 season - only the second such record in NFL history - which the fans "celebrated" with a "perfect season" parade around Huntington Bank Field.


Dawg Pound fans

Current ticket prices for the Dawg Pound are $50 per game, and usually require purchase of season tickets. Since construction of the new stadium, the Dawg Pound is populated by more affluent attendees compared to the generally
blue collar A blue-collar worker is a person who performs manual labor or skilled trades. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involve manufacturing, retail, warehousing, mining, carpentry, electrical work, custodia ...
fan base that made the Municipal Stadium's Dawg Pound famous. Baseball Hall-of-Famer
Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. Considered one ...
often attended Browns games at Municipal Stadium and would sit in the Dawg Pound among the fans, albeit incognito. One of the more famous Dawg Pound season-ticket holders is John Big Dawg Thompson (he had a legal
name change Name change is the legal act by a person of adopting a new name different from their current name. The procedures and ease of a name change vary between jurisdictions. In general, common law jurisdictions have looser procedures for a name chan ...
to include his nickname), known as the "Canine-in-Chief." Television cameras often showed the offensive-lineman-sized man in his dog mask and No. 98 jersey, although recently he has undergone
gastric bypass Gastric bypass surgery refers to a technique in which the stomach is divided into a small upper pouch and a much larger lower "remnant" pouch, where the small intestine is rearranged to connect to both. Surgeons have developed several differen ...
surgery and lost considerable weight. In 1995, Thompson became an unofficial spokesman for Browns fans fighting the move of the team to Baltimore. He testified before the
U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, f ...
and appeared on ''
Politically Incorrect "Political correctness" (adjectivally "politically correct"; commonly abbreviated to P.C.) is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society. ...
'' with
Bill Maher William MaherStated on ''Finding Your Roots'', January 12, 2016, PBS; on a series that lists "Jr." and "Sr." distinctions, Bill Maher's birth name was listed simply as William Maher, while his father was William Aloysius Maher Jr., and his pa ...
. Other recognized fans include the Bone Lady (Debra Darnall), Pumpkinhead (Gus Angelone), and The Macho Fan (real name unknown)


See also

* Bleacher Bums *
Bleacher Creatures The Bleacher Creatures are a group of fans of the New York Yankees who are known for their strict allegiance to the team and their fierce attitude towards opposing fans and teams. The group's nickname was coined for the first time by ''New York ...


References


Other sources

* Grossi, Tony. ''Tales From the Browns Sideline'', n.p.: Sports Publishing LLC, 2004. . * Associated Press (Dec. 17, 2001)
"Football Turns Ugly"
CBS News. * Nash, Bruce and Allan Zullo. ''The Football Hall of Shame 2'', New York: Pocket Books, 1990. .


External links




U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich's tribute to John "Big Dawg" Thompson in the Congressional Record
{{Cleveland Browns Cleveland Browns Culture of Cleveland Spectators of American football