PDQ decided to try to find out exactly who these people are who worship at St. Muni every Sunday. So we spent a few hours in the storied parking lot asking tailgaters 10 questions. You can take our poll, too.
Scott Keserich of Richfield makes a fingertip grab while tailgating with friends at the Municipal Lot before a Browns game in 2004. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Browns fans who tailgate in the Muni Lot -- that's the huge, city-owned parking area east of the stadium and just south of the Shoreway -- have earned a reputation, accurate or not.
Their image is not unlike that of a drunken fraternity, only with lower grade-point averages and higher blood-alcohol percentages. They are a drunken gang, the reputation goes, rowdy, loud and itching for a chance to verbally assault (or worse) any person wearing the opponent's colors.
The people inside tell a different story, one of a huge community of fans where strangers treat one another as friends and everyone celebrates food, drink and Cleveland football.
PDQ decided to try to find out exactly who these people are who worship at St. Muni every Sunday. So we spent a few hours in the storied parking lot asking tailgaters 10 questions.
We believe it is the first-ever Municipal Parking Lot survey.
What time should the Muni Lot open?
Midnight -- 8 percent
4 a.m. -- 47 percent
7 a.m. -- 9 percent
It should never close -- 35 percent
What do you cook most often while tailgating?
Burgers -- 36 percent
Hot dogs -- 27 percent
Brats/sausage -- 17 percent
Beef/steak -- 8 percent
Chicken -- 5 percent
Other -- 7 percent
What kind of beer are you drinking?
Bud Light -- 39 percent
Miller Lite -- 19 percent
Coors Light -- 13 percent
Budweiser -- 9 percent
Other beers/alcohol -- 15 percent
Not drinking -- 5 percent
Wearing an opponent's jersey in the Muni Lot is . . .Fine with me -- 17 percent
Stupid -- 31 percent
Dangerous -- 43 percent
Your constitutional right -- 9 percent
While tailgating, how many drinks do you consume?
Zero -- 5 percent
1-2 -- 4 percent
3-4 -- 15 percent
5 or more -- 76 percent
What time do you wake up to go tailgating?
Before 6 a.m. -- 37 percent
6-7 a.m. -- 27 percent
7-8 a.m. -- 25 percent
8 a.m. or later -- 9 percent
The Browns will get to the Super Bowl . . .
This season -- 1 percent
Next season -- 16 percent
In the next four years -- 72 percent
Never -- 9 percent
Charcoal or gas?
Charcoal -- 55 percent
Gas -- 45 percent
View full sizeFood. Beer. Browns. Is there more to a Sunday afternoon?Would you let your son or daughter marry a Muni Lot regular?
Yes -- 79 percent
No -- 21 percent
Would you stop drinking if it meant the Browns would win the Super Bowl?
Yes -- 51 percent
No -- 49 percent
Methodology: PDQ surveyed 75 (mostly) random adult tailgaters in the Muni Lot (we stayed away from those vehicles where loud music made it impossible to communicate) on the morning of Sunday, Nov. 28, and asked them each 10 questions. Some totals do not add up to 100 percent because of rounding. This was not a scientific -- or sober -- sampling.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: jcampanelli@plaind.com, 216-999-4694