Some of the Browns players have said that they got motivation the morning of the game when they left their local hotel and were met by Colts rooters heckling them, with one of them playing "Taps" on a bugle.Bryan wrote:The 1964 loss to Cleveland is almost as much of an upset as SB III. Those 1964 Colts were one of the great statistical teams in NFL history. #1 in offense and defense...pass catching group of Berry-Orr-Mackey...Lenny Moore had 19 TDs...Unitas had a 96.4 rating...Marchetti was consensus 1st team All-Pro at age 37. The 1964 Browns had their share of great players, but I think it was surprising how not only did the Colts lose to Cleveland, they were shut out.Bob Gill wrote:[As for Don Shula in championship games, here's an interesting note that I believe comes from Allen Barra: Shula's teams lost five title games: 1964 against Cleveland, 1968 against the Jets, 1971 against the Cowboys, 1982 against the Redskins, 1984 against the 49ers. And if I'm remember this right, that meaningless TD they scored at the end of the Super Bowl against the Jets represents the only points his teams scored in the second half of any of those games.
Of course, Shula was still a great coach, but that's an unusually bad record. Just like Bobby Layne was a great quarterback, but his playoff passing stats are really poor. Even the great ones have their difficulties.
The San Diego Union Tribune had 15 of their sportswriters pick the game, with 12 of them picking the Colts--including Jack Murphy, who picked them to win by 7. One of the guys who selected the Browns was Jerry Magee, which may have been his way of annoying other NFL writers who referred to him as an AFL apologist.
According to the Arthur Daley of the New York Times, the Colts had "too many weapons" and that his choice was made without any hesitation.
Of course, some of the surviving Browns' memories get a little bit on the delusional side. One who was interviewed a few years ago in conjunction with the 50th anniversary, claimed that the Browns were 24-point underdogs, which isn't in the same galaxy as the truth.