Viral Browns fan from Garage Beer toss across Cuyahoga predicts his NFL Playoffs fate

The 50-yard beer toss heard 'round the world last September (which can be seen here) represented just the start of a Browns season that defied expectations. Once tethered to Deshaun Watson's contract with no end in sight, Cleveland is now sailing high, buoyed by the resurgent Joe Flacco and a potent defense.

Now, Andrew Butts, the Clevelander whose right arm hucked a Garage Beer across the Cuyahoga River and directly onto a passing ship picture-perfectly ("I thought I could get a baseball across the river completely, so I thought I could get a beer to him!"), is ready for a new level of insanity: Playoff Football. With Flacco at the helm and a Wild Card showdown with the Texans on the docket Saturday afternoon, the Browns' recent winning streak has a chance to remain as unbroken as Butts' laser toss across the water.

The boat, ironically labeled "American Courage," is a seamless standin for Browns fandom. Steady. Unwavering, despite constantly crashing waves. Absolutely covered in beer. But Butts himself told me his tailgate is actually more about the food than the brews, far away from the debaucherous "Muni Lot" that's gotten Cleveland fans a reputation for insanity and tucked away elsewhere, overflowing with gourmet eats.

"We've got the best food you can eat. We're more focused on the food aspect than the power drinking aspect, but ... (sheepishly) sometimes we do," Butts told FanSided. A few of his tailgating partners are chefs, prepping anything from filet mignon to hot dogs, and the crew plans to get together this weekend, even with the Browns on the road in Houston, to exchange a sampling of their favorite local pizzas. And, with so much national focus on the flashy stunts of Bills Mafia, Browns fans don't want to be lost in the NFL's snowstorm after battling back from the loss of Nick Chubb, as well as their starting quarterback, to be in this position.

"Passion and consistency [makes us different]," Butts noted. "It doesn't matter if we're 0-16, we tailgated every single week. We're not frontrunners, and we will always be there for our Brownies, no matter what. But it does feel different this year. We've been through so much already."

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How does a group of Browns tailgaters handle the pressure of a road game? Easy. Their patented cheers -- "Super Bowl? Super Browns!" whether the team is 0-16 or favored in Houston -- as well as renewed faith in Flacco, who Butts was tempted to put on the modern Browns' QB Mount Rushmore already.

Flacco -- "a guy not dissimilar from me," Butts noted -- is poised to climb up Clevelanders' personal rankings if he can put on a show this weekend (and beyond) the way he did in 2013 with Baltimore, the franchise that was swiped from their grasp in 1995.

But even with the Ravens potentially on the horizon, Butts is unwilling to concede that Baltimore is his team's top rival. "It's always been Pittsburgh!" he chuckles, specifically singling out some Cleveland friends of his who defected to the Steelers growing up. "What are you doing?!"

The playoff bracket might not be kind to the potential of a Steelers-Browns showdown, but just a singular win over Houston could send Flacco to face off with the top-seeded Ravens. For the record? Butts has the Browns winning 35-17 this weekend, defeating the Ravens, and then...?

"And then I guess we'll see. Why not? Super Bowl, Super Browns!"

Butts spoke with FanSided courtesy of his relationship with Garage Beer.