Joseph L. Wagner
Plain Dealer Reporter

The Green Bay Packers were hungry. Not to feast on the Cleveland Browns, but just to get a hot dog, a bag of chips or a slice of cheese. Anything.

They had just arrived in Cleveland and checked into their rooms at the Renaissance Hotel when the lights went out.

"There was no air conditioning, no TV, so we just started sitting here on the stairs watching people," said rookie Nick Marnett, a first-round draft choice from Oregon State.

The Pack is feeling jinxed. Their game last week against Kansas City was canceled by a vicious rainstorm.

"We have some football to play, so I want the power back," said linebacker Steve Josue.

No power meant no meals after their flight to Cleveland. Former Ohio State star Kenny Peterson of Canton McKinley High School was starving.

"I weigh 295 pounds and I'm gonna shrink to 185 1/2 pounds, all because of their power outage," he groused.

When his teammates heard that a hot dog vendor on Public Square still had some left, the Pack was off.

"Let's go, man," Peterson said.

But he was too late. A woman cleaned out the last hot dog and buried it with relish and onion as Peterson stared in disbelief. He ended up buying a bag of potato chips and a can of lemonade.

"Welcome to the NFL," he said stuffing chips into his mouth and walking back to the hotel.