The Cleveland Browns have been through a lot, and that goes especially for their fans as well.
This hasn’t been the season they hoped for, but at least one of their fans will cherish the 2024 campaign for as long as he’s walking this Earth.
The team recently named Larry Schmitz, a Private First Class of the United States Marine Corps veteran, as their Fan of the Year:
“It’s awesome to be picked for this honor,” Schmitz said.
During the Week 9 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, the team showed a video on the scoreboard to announce they were nominating him for the NFL’s 2024 Fan of the Year award.
He was also given a couple of tickets to Super Bowl LIX.
Schmitz has been a Brown fan since 1964 when his brother attended the NFL Championship Game in which the Browns beat the Baltimore Colts.
He’s been a season ticket holder since 1985, buying tickets in the bleachers at Cleveland Browns Stadium with his brother and some friends.
Notably, Schmitz is no stranger to this kind of honor.
He’s been a part of the team’s celebrations of veterans and service members, even participating in holding the American flag on the field twice ahead of the “Salute to Service” games.
Being a Browns fan hasn’t always been an easy or rewarding experience for reasons we’re not going to dig deep into.
Ironically, that has only made the fan base stronger and more in love with the team.
Hopefully, things will be better in the future, and they only need to make a couple of tweaks to the roster to do so.
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