The Kardiac Kids is a reference to the 1980 Cleveland Browns, who had a penchant for having games decided in the final moments. Finishing 11-5, the Browns captured their first division title since 1971, winning a tiebreaker with the Houston Oilers.

To commemorate the Browns success during the 1980 holiday season, a version of The Twelve Days of Christmas was recorded by Clark Walter, Mack Hayes and Sandra Hayes.

The Kardiac Kids is now a series of episodic shorts following the adventures of a crime-fighting rock 'n' roll band from Cleveland, Ohio. Executive Producers (and Cleveland natives) Bill Watterson and John Charles Meyer spearhead the project, which was written by Kevin Shay and Bill Watterson.