DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Planning a trip to Berea for training camp... I need info...

I am just wondering when the best times are to come? Do the players sign autos and so on?

Just give me all the information you guys know because I know nothing about it. I just know that I really wanna go this year.

Go on the first day - probably the last Friday in July. It's really about a 45 minute afternoon session - no pads, then they all sign afterwards.

If you then by chance "get lost" and wind up in the parking lot of the Courtyard on Engle Rd. in Middleburg Hts. you're sure to see them there too. That's where they stay. Not sure how security is in that lot. I don't think too many people know about it.

Later that evening, a few vets might also head to Damons for a late night snack. It's right across the road.

Don't go .....talk about the rudest experience ever. The dumbass security guard was brave enough to literally push Big Ted away from the fans the day I went to prevent him from signing. Two days in a row of morning and afternoon practices, noone was allowed to sign. Plus the fact that the setup for the fans is horrific and drills often seemed to be run on the farthest point possible away from fans until they split up into individual groups and they didn't seem to have a choice. I was completely dissapointed and upset since it never used to be like that again. Needless to say, I'm never coming from Florida to camp again.

Ya know, I've thought about going, but from what I hear from those of you that have been there - it gets worse every year. If that truly is the case, that's too bad - for the Browns.

I'm just like most of you - for me to go means taking a day, at the least, off work. That costs me money, and not the money it takes for me to get there, pay the tolls, eat a time or 2, etc......Seems to me, no, let me correct that, it would be nice if the Browns gave just a smattering of satisfaction to those people that give up part of a pay check to watch these rich young kids do drills......

I don't understand what those two are talking about but the times I have been there have been excellent. Last time there Big Ted came looking for me cuz of my Browns Tattoo. Joe Andruzzi, Cosey Coleman and the rest of the OLine were signing autographs for the AM session when we were there. I was able to get some good pictures of the OL and talked to Joe A and showed off the Browns Tat!!! (no, no shame to my game!) I also got to meet Darnell Dinkins after the PM session. (embarrassed the hell out of him too )

I also took enough pictures that day that I actually had 7 good enough for the local paper here. This season I plan on going up every week on the same day and take enough pictures that the Sports Editor will be able to have a picture to accompany any and all articles during the pre-season.

It's hit and miss. I go every year as an autograph collector.

The first day is packed, but they do sign. Other days are just luck of the draw. The AM practices have less people there, so your odds are a little better. Last year at one of the AM practices a few us starting calling out some guys' names and most of them came over to sign. Sometimes it pays to be a little proactive.

I think it's a good time. Recently it has been getting worse if you like to get autographs. The autograph sessions are set up for kids. No adults. You can still get autos if players want to sign. But the scheduled ones are kids only.
They have Browns alum serve beer which is cool. Tom Cousineau served me last year and I got him to sign the cup after I drank it.
It's nice to see those orange helmets again after a long layoff.

I'm not into autographs but did have Gene Hickerson sign my Brownie Hat.

They give kids plastic chips to get in line for autographs.

Camp is awesome. I go 3 times a week

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Last time there Big Ted came looking for me cuz of my Browns Tattoo.

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Liar.

I know this is true because I happened to be there that day. I was with my one true love. She was very happy because she got her picture with her one true love, Brian Brennan. That's not really true, she has two loves. Brian Sipe is the other.

She should have crashed the private party with me. It was a good way to talk to Brian

WOW,, one says don't go, another says stand in a hotel parking lot,,,, Great info guys,,,

Anyway Mercer, I don't know where you are coming from, but if you need hotel, there are plenty of them right off the highway near Berea,,, to me, one is as good as the next so just take your pick.

You have to park pretty much on the BW campus. There are signs pointing to designated parking areas... wear comfy shoes cause you are gonna have to do some walking.

Once you get to the rear entrance to the facility which is basically on a residential street, you will be greeted by some nice folks giving out some stuff. There are also various vendors selling things from Hotdogs and coke to Browns Gear and Media Guides.

There basically are two practice fields.. it always seems that there are 4 practices going on at once... Linemen over here, QB's and receivers over hear, DB's over there...Then they all get together and go against each other.,

It can get spirited at times, but for the most part, the players are pretty laid back until it's thier turn to work a drill... then the heat goes up a notch.

I've never been to a morning session, but I know that at the conclusion of the afternoon practice, there are 4 or 5 players on each side of the field that sit and sign autographs for you..

I don't think your allowed to bother players while they are practicing,, heck, that would be rude anyway.. this is there work place.... not cool to bother them at that point.

You never know who's gonna be signing that day.. so it's a catch as catch can kinda thing..

All in all, it's fun. You get to see guys that you might not otherwise get to see. you get to meet some players.. if they are in a playful mood, they'll joke with fans a little (very little)...

I was on the sidelines right next to where the TE's were working a drill and I happened to say to a fan standing next to me,,, Winslow is looking fit and ready to go... KW2 must have heard me because he turned around, smiled and gave me the then he chuckled... turns out he was right...LOL

It used to be a little better for Dawgtalkers,,, we had our own day and everything,,, we got treated like VIPs.. don't know what happened to that, but not so much anymore... we are just fans like everyone else... in the grand scheme of things,,, not a overly important thing really!

It's a fun day,,, each year, we have an Unofficial DTD (dawg talkers day) it's talked about on here.... that would be the best day cause you get to meet some of the folks you chat with on here...

Can be fun as long as GM doesn't eat beans,,,then it's just down right nasty!

Just kidding GM! NOT!

If you traveled 1,000 miles and got treated like that, would you ever go back? Somehow I don't think so.

Also don't forget, I'm on a limited college budget. My money could be spent on better things like tuition than to have that happen again.

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If you traveled 1,000 miles and got treated like that, would you ever go back? Somehow I don't think so.

Also don't forget, I'm on a limited college budget. My money could be spent on better things like tuition than to have that happen again.

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I read your original post on the subject,,., I get it. You don't feel you were treated fairly!

My comments in red:

Don't go .....talk about the rudest experience ever. The dumbass security guard was brave enough to literally push Big Ted away from the fans the day I went to prevent him from signing. the reason for that is that there are dedicated areas for autographs,, some players would sign anytime and anyplace,, but that disrupts the flow of practice

Two days in a row of morning and afternoon practices, noone was allowed to sign. Again, I don't know about morning practices, but in the afternoon everytime I've been there, they allow a group of players to sign autographs in designated areas

Plus the fact that the setup for the fans is horrific and drills often seemed to be run on the farthest point possible away from fans until they split up into individual groups and they didn't seem to have a choice. Holy smokes man,, get up off your butt and walk to where the practices you are interested in are being done...

I was completely dissapointed and upset since it never used to be like that again. Needless to say, I'm never coming from Florida to camp again.
We'll miss your outgoing personality and vibrant sense of what is right and wrong in the world

Just a side note to you Con,,, the person that started this thread is doing his due diligence to determine what's what BEFORE he makes his plans to come here... had you done that, you may have found out that there is not random signing and that the practices are split up into different parts of the field and that you are free to roam around and view whatever you want....

Just a thought!

Personally, I've had nothing but positive experiences at the camp. A little hint to cut the 1/4 mile walk from BW in half - park at the Berea rec center on Front St.

Let me state this in bold:

If your main priority is autographs, find a way to attend the first day.

Don't pee and moan how only the back-ups were signing at the practice you attended, or that only kids could get autographs at the designated tents, etc, etc. Happens every year on here. You want an autograph bad, be there around 3pm on July 27th. From the days of Palmer, Davis and now Romeo - they all cut practice short and all sign on day 1.

In regards to the "VIP" treatment, if you are fortunate enough to get that distinction and special pass, it has progressively gone a bit downhill since Uncle Al died, but still nice to have access to the tent on a hot day with free pop/bottled water.

(Back in the day, they used to have interns offering wet towels to all VIP's for the backs of their necks while watching practice on a hot day, got to park in the lot across the street on Lou Groza, media guides, etc.)

Nice summary Daman!

I would only add that, aside from the guys that are scheduled to sign autographs on most days, some guys will come to the west sidelines (left as you face the Browns indoor facility) as they head to the locker rooms after practice. That is kind of hit or miss, however. Beer is right about the first day: it is the only day you can count on almost every Brown signing autographs. Unfortunately, it is also the most crowed practice, by far so you'll need to pick your spot carefully to get the guys you really want.

I've been taking my son and his buddies to training camp practices since the Browns returned to the league and we've always had a good time (even when nobody signed). I'm not sure what some people expect, but as I told my son and his friends, remember these guys are at work. If they have time and aren't dying in the heat of the day, I've found the guys who come over to sign to be very gracious and engaging. Some of my favorites over the years: GBax, Cribbs (who actually gave my son one of his gloves -- soaked and smelly, but what a prize!), Braylon, Tuck, Droughns (who almost ALWAYS signed until the last possible minute before meetings), Joe J., Frye, Druzzi (super-nice guy), Shaffer and Heiden. That's just a few of the many players I've had a chance to meet as they signed my son's book.

Some tips:

Bring your own bottled water, gatorade, etc. You can get that stuff inside, but it's a bit pricey. There are also a few people selling water and snacks on the residential street on the way in (still cheaper than inside the gate).

Sunscreen and a good hat on sunny warm days are a must. There is very little shade within the facility.

There are short bleachers scattered around the practice fields so you don't need to carry in anything to sit on. Except for the first day of training camp, you can generally find a place to sit without too much difficulty.

If you are going to be in town for a whole day and are interested in something other than fast food for lunch between practices, head into downtown Berea to the Quarryman Tavern & Brewery. Good food and spirits plus a cool place on the square. Bucci's is also pretty good if you're looking for something a little more substantial.

Enjoy!

It was a guy, and I can't remember his name but, I remember what you are talking about, they were nice.

iambrown takes some very nice pics also.

I attended a weeknight practice with my (then) 7 year old son last summer. We parked about a 10 minute walk away, there were shuttle buses running every 20 minutes if we didn't want to walk.

There were a couple of street vendors outside the camp selling candy/chips/drinks. You could also get personal pan pizzas inside the training camp for a reasonable price.

We sat in the bleachers near the entrance - mostly watched kickers/punters and returns. We could have gone further down to the left to get closer to the main practice.

All of the workers were very courteous to us. They seemed genuinely happy to see so many viewing the practice.

My son got one of the coins to get autographs after the practice. He got Ted Washington and Eason. They came directly after practice in a golf cart and went straight to the autograph booth. Edwin was so thrilled to get the autographs. Only about 10 kids in each line - not sure if there were other kids who weren't able to get the autographcs.

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I never said during practice,

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The person that started this thread asked for advice and information,, the comment above tells me that you have given only partial info,,, you are giving your negative remarks on your expectations which may or may not be reasonable...

You clearly want the players to stand around after practice to sign autographs after just spending several hours practicing in full pads and perhaps on a hot day... nice!

I'm not sure what it was you expected,,, but clearly, it wasn't what you got.

I don't really give a crap about that, but I'd expect a little appreciation and to not be cussed out for not doing anything wrong. Apparently that is too much to ask for in your book though. There is absolutely no reason why a Browns employee should cuss out the fans because a player was nice enough to come over to sign some autographs on his own will and the fans were nice enough to be civil enough to not even push around a little bit (most likely cuz noone wanted to bump Big Ted and make him mad, lol). There is no reason for a Browns employee to cuss out fans when nothing bad happened.

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. I have gone to camp many times and have never seen anything like that. I don't doubt your story but think it isn't the norm.

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I don't really give a crap about that, but I'd expect a little appreciation and to not be cussed out for not doing anything wrong. Apparently that is too much to ask for in your book though.

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LOL,,First I thought you were saying that I cussed you out,,,,LOL man did I ever read that wrong,,

Con,, I don't expect you to think you did anything wrong, but what about the guys that cussed you out, what do you think they would say..

Would that maybe say, hey, we told you not to bother the players,,, and what do you expect the players to say if you shove a pen and paper in front of them in a place that is not designed for or is not designated for autographs.

Do you think they would think you did something to deserve being cussed out? Generally, I'd say that if you were cussed out and hadn't done anyting wrong, you should have reported him to someone,,, anyone,,, I'd have gotten his and asked to speak to someone in charge of the attendents or guards, whichever he was..

But it doesn't sound like you did that,, so I can only deduce that you either A. Didn't actually feel you had a leg to stand one or B didn't have the courage it takes to take such an action or C it never really happened at all,,

You take your pick!

I'm really done discussing this with you... it's a waste of time and it isn't helpin the guy who just wanted info,,, so if you got something else to say,, either say it in PM or drop it!

It's hard to report it when most of the people were already inside. I did send an email explaining the situation but I don't know what happened to it. I'm assuming that one comment was a typo since you said "in an area that is not designated" twice but if you would have bothered to read my post, you would have seen that I did in fact say that it was in the proper area and that noone was shoving or putting items in front of his face.

Why are you two arguing about this? Play nice.

It will probably be on Mondays every week and possible another day during the week like a Wednesday. (Considering I always have M-W off, I can always make it those days.....especially since I bought myself a new toy today). Just PM closer to training camp and we will set some stuff up.

Holy smokes,,, Atomic is gonna get you for that!