Every Sunday morning when the Browns are on the road, Kyle and Rebecca Kovach and their two sons get "Brownsified."
They each put on their Browns gear – with the boys sporting football helmets – and turn on music. They listen to a specific set of artists that consist of the Michael Stanley Band and Bone Thugs, as well as certain songs such as "Cleveland Rocks" by Ian Hunter and "Touchdown Cleveland Browns" by the Ray-Jay Band, and show off their dance moves.
"I see the boys, they don't really know football yet, but they get so excited every morning when they know we're home because they are like, 'Are we going to get Brownsified?'and I'm like, 'oh yeah,'" Kyle said. "It's just something to bring us together more than just a sporting event. Then once the game starts, I kind of watch it, but it's just a great morning every morning with my kids to have that."
It's one of the many traditions Kyle created for his family to support the Browns. The development of the traditions began when Kyle and Rebecca were in their early 20s, as Kyle looked to share his fandom of the Browns. He constructed the phrase, "to beat the team, you have to eat the team," which translated to making a meal based on the Browns' opponent of the week. It's a tradition that has continued over the years to this day, and Kyle finds unique cuisine from each city to base the meal around.
As season ticket holders, Kyle and Rebecca attend each home game, stopping into the Flat Iron Café in Cleveland before heading to Huntington Bank Field. Those traditions and Kyle's continued fandom of the Browns led Rebecca to nominate him for the Browns Fan of the Year. Through the use of Dawg Tags during a Browns home game this season, she submitted Kyle.
"He is the fan of the year," Rebecca Kovach said. "He is just a diehard Browns fan and no matter what we're still going to show up."
Then, during a tour of CrossCountry Mortgage Campus in October, in which the Kovach family stopped in the fieldhouse, rookie DT Mason Graham met Kyle, Rebecca and the boys to surprise Kyle with a special announcement. Graham held up a custom Browns jersey that featured "Fan of the Year" on the nameplate, and shared that Kyle was the Browns Fan of the Year and officially nominated for the NFL's 2025 Ultimate Fan of the Year. Graham also added that Kyle was awarded two tickets to the 2026 Super Bowl LX.
"The one thing I want to say is I love being a Browns fan because I love the city of Cleveland," Kyle said. "Just having that pride for the city, and when I go down to Browns games, it's bigger than just going to see a football game. It's being a part of that community. When I sit there, I think of like the times I had with my aunt and uncle when I was at the first Browns game. I think of going to games with my dad and going to games with my brother and going with my cousin too. […] I just hope that I can make the other Browns fans proud to show them that it's more than just the game."
Kyle's love of the Browns developed from his childhood. His aunt and uncle were season ticket holders at the time and took Kyle to different events surrounding the team's return to Cleveland. He attended his first game when he was about 10 years old and saw the Browns face the Steelers in their first game back in Cleveland in 1999.
"But since then, I fell in love with them," Kyle said. "And I think my aunt and uncle saw like the look in my eyes, like, I want to be a part of this, this culture and just go to these games."
Following his first game, his aunt and uncle bought Kyle a season ticket in their section, and he attended games as a season ticket holder from the age of 11 through his college years. He always held on to the dream of holding season tickets again, and about four years ago, he and Rebecca became season ticket holders.
His favorite memories with the Browns range throughout the years, from watching games with his late father to taking his mother to her first Browns game in 2022 and attending the Browns Week 12 game against the Steelers in the snow in 2024.
"I love football and I love the Browns, and it gives me a reason to spend time with family members. And that's what I love about it," Kyle said. "That's what I want to pass down to them is just have something that's bigger than you to be a part of something."
That encouragement to be a part of something bigger stems from his educational background as a former social studies teacher. Kyle has worked in the education system for about 15 years and currently is a guidance counselor at Orange High School.
When Kyle was growing up, he had a number of teachers and educators that had an impact on his early educational journey. He still keeps in contact with numerous teachers to this day, sending text messages or meeting them in person. Those connections inspired Kyle to pursue a career in education.
"I wanted to help students and kids like how they helped me. They kind of made me the person I am," Kyle said. "I just I love being an educator. The best way I could describe it – I know this is going to sound super corny – but I always think of my kids when I get to make my son smile, when I get to give them a gift or make their day surprise them, I actually get that same moment a lot of times with kids in my office as a school counselor. And just to see like that happiness that comes off of them, that's kind of why I love education, because just to build camaraderie. […] I always tell my students, 'I care a lot about you. I'll be here whatever you need.' And I know that's something most educators say, but I take that to heart because of what everybody has done for me to make me the person I am."
He has built similar connections with his own former students and players, becoming an ordained minister and officiating the wedding of a former student. Rebecca said they run into former students frequently who remember Kyle as their counselor and have attended weddings of others. Former students who have graduated have also stayed in contact with Kyle, reaching out to have conversations during difficult times in their lives.
Even through the challenges that being a school counselor can bring, Rebecca looks to find ways to remind Kyle of the impact he has on a daily basis with students. She has saved all the cards and notes he has received from students who have graduated over the years and will pull them out to leave for Kyle to read.
"It's so nice to know that he makes such an impact on everyone he meets," Rebecca said. "It makes me feel really good that our kids will always have somebody like that. He could talk to anybody, and I think he just has a sign above him that's like 'I'm here if you need me.' […] He makes such a difference in so many people's lives and it's a thankless s job really, and I'm so glad that his students and people around him have him because he's just great."
Connection is at the heart of not only Kyle's work, but also his fandom. Through his interactions with current and former students, family, friends and other Browns' fans, Kyle finds ways to bring groups of people together and celebrate.
"I think people need their tribes. I think there's like a solace in that and like to bring people together and that's what I love. Like I'll go somewhere, wear a Browns shirt and just a random person will say, "Go Browns." And I think that's so important because it kind of breaks down barriers between people," Kyle said. "Everybody's a Browns fan and just being a part of Cleveland that I'm so proud of. And I wear with it a badge of honor being from here and whenever I think of Cleveland, the first thing that comes to my head is the Browns. And that's what I love."
