Monday, November 20, 2006
All proceeds benefit the American Heart Association.
By ELISE McKEOWN SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
HOWLAND -- Gold and orange pennants lined the walls of the church hall, and people wearing Cleveland Browns sweat shirts joked and laughed with others sporting the gold and black of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Members of Blessed Sacrament Church and their families and friends were at the church Sunday to watch the football game between the Browns and Steelers, but they were also there for another reason.
The family party is a fundraiser for the American Heart Association, said David Starr, chairman of the event, sponsored by the parish heart walk team.
"One hundred percent of what we raise here is going to be donated to the American Heart Association," Starr said. "We've always been an organization that contributed to things like Relay for Life and the Heart Association."
This is the third such event in four years. They skipped last year, Starr said, because the Browns-Steelers game was on Christmas Eve, not good timing for a family football party. The event each year has averaged 150 to 200 participants and raised 3,000 for the heart association.
Game day
The football game is projected onto the walls at both ends of the hall, so every fan can see it. Tables loaded with food donated by area businesses line another wall. In the middle of the hall black, gold, orange and brown decorations adorn tables.
The day also includes a 50/50 raffle, a Chinese auction and some friendly betting on the game, Starr said.
Sporting gold and black feltlike "hair," Samm Lewis was in charge of the betting events including guessing which team would score the first field goal and which would be the halftime leader.
"We have a great time," Lewis said. "Everybody trash talks and roots for their own team. It's all in good fun."
A Pittsburgh fan, Lewis said it's easy to get along with the Browns fans. "We always know we're going to win, so that helps. And we will just feel sorry for them."
Bob Hogan, a Browns fan, attended the party for the second time. He was at the event with Steelers fans, but said a Browns fan is the only kind to be.
Though the Steelers have won 11 of the last 12 games between the longtime rivals, Hogan noted that this year the teams had the same number of wins and losses going into Sunday's game.
"You've got to go year by year when you're a Browns fan," Hogan laughed. "We take anything we can get."
Unfortunately for Hogan, what he and fellow Browns fans got was a loss: Pittsburgh beat Cleveland 24-20.