With Help From a Steelers Fan, Myles Garrett Visits a Family That Lost Everything

PITTSBURGH —The Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers have the oldest rivalry in the AFC, with games dating back to 1950. The rivalry has and continues to produce intense moments, although the Steelers have lost just seven games to the Browns since their return to Cleveland in 1999. Due to proximity and common blue-collar themes shared between the two cities, the fuel for the fire may never be extinguished between the teams and fan-bases.

This is exceptionally true when speaking on Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, who etched his name forever in Browns/Steelers history on a fateful Thursday night that likely needs no further explanation.

Needless to say, there's a good chunk of those in western Pennsylvania that despise Garrett. Tommy Abrams isn't one of those people. In fact, he could be classified as a die-hard Browns fan.

"My dad's a huge Browns fan and he lived in Cleveland for a long time, so growing up as a kid that's how I became an inherited Browns fan. I am 41, so to my credit the Browns were actually good in the Bernie Kosar years when I was a kid." said Abrams as we laughed and went down the list of a few Cleveland quarterbacks through the years.

On April 2, Abrams and fiance Liz Smego departed their apartment for the hospital early in the morning to welcome their second son, Beckham Thomas Abrams (Yes, partly derived from Odell Beckham and Joe Thomas). The day was to be celebrated, as the Abrams family welcomed another healthy child to the world, one that would hopefully take after their father and cheer for the Browns.

Later that evening, they arrived back home to find everything completely wiped away due to a house fire.

Abrams, well known in his community as a DJ and on twitter as an avid Browns fan, says the outpour from everybody was overwhelming, receiving everything from food to clothing donations after posting a video online describing his family's loss.

However, tragedy knows no sports teams, recognizing no jerseys or status in life. This sentiment, although harsh, may have struck oldest son Landon the hardest, as he lost coveted dinosaur toys while he and his family were away welcoming his baby brother to the world.

"My oldest son Landon, he has autism. He stacks his dinosaurs all over the place." said Abrams.

Abram's cousin, Kevin Adams, is about the most passionate fan you could find when it comes to the Steelers. "The Steelers have been my life, forever. It's probably the most passionate I am about anything in life" said Adams. His twitter profile picture, bio and overall online presence lives up to the statement.

Of course, there's a natural rivalry between Adams/Abrams thanks to the Browns/Steelers rivalry, a rivalry the two enjoy together. "He goes to the game with me out in Cleveland, and then he comes to Pittsburgh for when the Browns come to town." said Adams.

The two cousins saw that fateful Thursday night debacle unfold in front of them live, in the heart of Browns country. Garrett was suspended for the rest of the season after an altercation with Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph, and will likely have the helmet swing attached to his name for quite some time.

However, when tragedy struck, the power of social media led Garrett back to Pennsylvania, with a little help from a Steelers fan that couldn't stand him on a football field.

BIG THANKS to @MylesLGarrett for stopping by for a visit today. Our home burned down in April, so #95 delivered some toys for Beckham and Landon! Go @Browns!! @ESPNCleveland @espn #DawgPound pic.twitter.com/cwrcTig3PL
— DJ TOMMY GUNNZ (@DJTOMMYGUNNZ) May 12, 2020

While Abrams has previously chatted with Garrett through the last few years, Adams says he also reached out to Garrett, putting aside his terrible towel to help a family member out.

"I knew that if I put something out there, there was a chance. You never know, swing the bat. So after about two hours then is when he (Garrett) sent a direct message, reaching out and trying to make the connection happen" said Adams.

As for the die-hard Browns fan in Pennsylvania that lived a fairly decent drive away from Cleveland, Abrams and his family didn't believe he would actually show up after communicating with him the weeks leading up to the visit.

Garrett showed, and that's when Adams received a quick phone call from his cousin, who exclaimed in excitement "Holy sh-, Myles Garrett just pulled up in a Porsche!"

"We were out sitting in the dining room" said Abrams, reflecting on the moment Garrett came. "Liz's mom said, 'Hey, Myles Garrett just pulled in', and I'm like 'what?', I thought she was joking. We were sitting here wondering if he was really going to show up, and there he was."

Abrams said he went outside to meet Garrett, his girlfriend Sarah and their pet dog. The best gift Garrett brought? Dinosaurs for Landon, a common interest the two share.

"We welcomed him into the home and he stayed here for about an hour" said Abrams. "He talked to us about life, a little bit of football. Took some pictures and all that, it was a good experience."

Garrett certainly has his fair share of critics, and the gesture of driving to Abrams' house wasn't received well by everybody on social media, as some still keep Garrett's antics in their minds.

"I had posted the pictures on my Facebook page and on my Twitter" said Abrams. "There's some folks who don't care, calling him garbage and blah blah blah. There's other people that are in-between that say 'Hey I don't like the player, but mad respect for what he did' and others that said "Wow that's really awesome, I'm not going to speak bad on him after this'"

As for the man who might literally bleed black and gold, Adams shared his views on Garrett after the Browns Pro Bowl defensive end visited his cousin in a time where the family continues to build their life back together.

"He's a twenty-something year old person. People make mistakes in their 30's... You're gonna do things you regret, especially in the heat of the moment... I'll never forget that he swung a helmet at Mason Rudolph, but one mistake doesn't define you as a man, either. It's an act of kindness, and all the football stuff aside, that's a nice thing he did." said Adams.

There will be a lot of varying opinions on Garrett, and that likely will carry into the future. However, for a brief moment in time regardless of allegiance to Cleveland, Pittsburgh, or any team on this planet, we were all on the same team as human beings.