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Where were you on October 2nd, 1994?
It’s hard to remember back that far. Many Browns fans weren’t even born yet, having no recollection at all of the last time the Cleveland Browns had a 4-1 record.
Cleveland hit that 4-1 mark for the first time since a Week 5 win over the New York Jets in the 1994 season with Sunday’s 32-23 triumph over the visiting Indianapolis Colts. Bill Belichick’s Browns beat Pete Carroll’s Jets 27-7 in old Municipal Stadium to propel the last 4-1 start in Cleveland.
It was a much different NFL back then. Vinny Testaverde was the Browns QB, leading the team to a 6-1 start. They finished 11-5 and beat Bill Parcells’ Patriots in the Wild Card round for Cleveland’s last postseason victory. The Titans were still the Houston Oilers and AFC Central rivals with the Browns. The Jaguars, Panthers and Texans did not exist yet.
Mike “The Human Rain Delay” Hargrove led the Cleveland Indians to a 66-47 record in the strike-shortened MLB season. One year later they made a trip to the World Series for the first time since 1954.
Mike Fratello’s Cavaliers were just beginning a season that culminated with a 43-39 record, led by Mark Price, Chris Mills and Tyrone Hill.
The Cleveland Crunch had just captured the NPSL title behind Hector Marinaro and Zoran Karic.
It was also a much different world. We were in the immediate aftermath of the O.J. Simpson Bronco chase. Cell phones were rare conversation pieces. The internet was essentially a string of message boards. The No. 1 song was Boyz II Men’s “I’ll Make Love to You” in the middle of a 15-week run at the top of the charts. The Shawshank Redemption was popular in theaters, though it couldn’t knock off action star Meryl Streep in The River Wild.
As for me, I was in the middle of my second junior year at Ohio University…which is why I don’t really remember much about that Browns team.
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