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Bone Mobile: How a father and son duo are restoring the iconic piece of Cleveland Browns fandom

'The car is history. It's Cleveland Browns history.'

CLEVELAND — Make no mistake, 47-year-old Brian Grill is a Cleveland Browns fan. 

"It means everything," he said. "It's part of everything we do." 

Like so many Clevelanders, it's a passion that started when his dad brought him to his first game at just 4 years old. 

"We've been going to Browns games since," he said. 

A passion that he has since passed down to his son, Otto, whose first game was when he was 3 years old. 

Through the good and the bad, they are there.

"We are very passionate people," Brian said. "You can't buy passion like that." 

But when you have priceless passion like Brian, it will lead you to buy things that reflect your passion.

It's what led him to the Bone Mobile: A treasured piece of Browns fandom that was part of the Muni Lot experience since 1999. A celebration of the Browns returning to Cleveland started by "The Bone Lady."

"She was the face of the Browns when the Browns came back," Brian said. "The license plate says 'We're back.' The car is history. It's Cleveland Browns history."

So when Brian saw that the Bone Lady was selling the Bone Mobile earlier this year, he knew he had to have it. 

"She had posted that she was selling the Bone Mobile and that you had to e-mail her," he said. "So as soon as my son got in the car, I said, 'We're gonna buy the Bone Mobile!'"

Otto rushed to send the e-mail. Within a few minutes, the Bone Lady responded and said it was theirs if they wanted it.

$500 later, it was now Brian's Bone Mobile. 

The problem with their new purchase? Just about everything after too many repairs were needed and the Bone Lady wasn't able to fix them. So it sat in a lot for about six years decomposing.  

It doesn't run, only one door opens and it smells to high heaven. 

"It smells like a dead body," says Brian. 

Despite its downfalls, the memories are still there and Brian and Otto are determined to bring them to life again. 

"We are gonna try and bring it back to the original," he said. 

Carrying on the legacy of the Bone Lady -- aka Debra Darnall. 

"I was so thrilled because the first thing that Brian and Otto said was, 'Oh, we're gonna restore it and we're gonna bring it back,'" Darnall said. 

Bringing it back and continuing to share the passion of the team and the city they love. 

"I just want everybody to come by and see it!" 

Their goal is to have it finished and ready to be re-released by the Browns home opener. 

"It's everybody's car. It's every Browns fans car." 

Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published in an unrelated story on Feb. 7, 2023.

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