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Football Fans Tie The Knot During an Epic Tailgate Wedding in Cleveland

Cleveland Browns fans are known for their passion, but two superfans just took their devotion to another level: they got married in the Muni Lot.

On September 7, just hours before the Browns opened their season against the Cincinnati Bengals, DeSiree “First Lady” Wheeler, 50, and Charles “Brown Spider” Bevel Jr., 57, exchanged vows under the shadow of a rented RV near the tailgate lot’s entrance. Wheeler wore a white sundress, veil, and her trademark Chuck Taylors painted with a Browns helmet. Bevel wore white pants, a vest embroidered with a spider, and his signature Spiderman sunglasses.

For them, the Muni Lot wasn’t just a backdrop. “The Browns Twitter community really has given a sense of extended family,” Wheeler said. “These folks have really become family to all of us, and we all really support each other and stay connected.”

Both were empty nesters and long-time Browns fans when they found each other. Bevel, a psychiatric nurse, earned the nickname “Spiderman” from colleagues for always wearing superhero shirts to put patients at ease. In 2019, he took the persona to a Browns game in New Jersey, launching a tradition that grew into his “Brown Spider” identity. Wheeler, who works in leadership consulting, embraced the Browns after marrying a Sandusky man at 19. “I got rid of him but kept the team,” she joked.

Despite attending many of the same games, they only connected years later, first through social media and then at away games in Kansas City and Miami. Their bond grew through tailgates and road trips, eventually turning into a relationship.

Football quickly became a framework for their marriage. They start each season by predicting the Browns’ record together, plan their year around the NFL schedule, and even use off-field controversies or coaching drama as springboards for conversations about family, leadership, and values. “It really always gives us something to connect on and something to come back to together,” Wheeler said.

Their wedding, like their fandom, didn’t go smoothly at first. Rain poured all morning, drenching the lot and forcing friends and family to dry chairs with paper towels. But as Wheeler walked to the altar holding a brown-and-white bouquet, the sun broke through. Surrounded by about 100 invited guests and hundreds of tailgaters, Bevel shouted his vows with a cheer: “I do, I do, let’s go!”

The crowd barked along, true to the Browns’ Dawg Pound tradition. For Wheeler and Bevel, it was more than just a ceremony. It was the payoff after years of heartbreak and hope, in football and in life, and a reminder that for some fans, the Browns really are family.

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