SuperSteelers Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Born rivals It is the oldest rivalry in the AFC North and one of the nastiest in the NFL. The Steelers and the Browns played for the first time on a Saturday night in October of 1950, a 30-17 win for the Browns in Pittsburgh. Since then, they have played each other over 100 times, more than any other AFC matchup. But the sense of rivalry between Cleveland and Pittsburgh is even older than the series itself. It is bound up in the identities of two cities that are very much alike at heart. Both Pittsburgh and Cleveland have proud histories as centers of American industry, as blue-collar towns that exalted toughness, perseverance, and hard work as the ingredients for success. Perhaps it is not surprising, then, that football became the passion of fans in Pittsburgh and Cleveland alike, because these same qualities are at the heart of the game of football. And it is toughness, perseverance, and hard work that Pittsburgh and Cleveland fans love to see from their football teams— win or lose, the Browns and the Steelers are expected to reflect their cities by their battering, grind-it-out style of play. The Browns and the Steelers are the best of enemies, mirror images of each other like the cities they represent. Put them both on one field twice a year, and you have all the makings of a classic rivalry. It was a natural choice to put the Steelers and Browns in the same division in 1950 when the Browns joined the NFL from the competing All-America Football Conference. Even though Pittsburgh and Cleveland were usually separated by several games in the standings, they were separated by only 137 miles of turnpike on the map, and their games soon became anticipated events for fans in both cities. In a scheduling move that capitalized on the drawing power of the rivalry, the Steelers and Browns played each other on Saturday nights 12 times between 1950 and 1970, including all of the games in Cleveland from 1963 to 1970. The atmosphere of these night games could be quite raucous, with brave fans of the visiting team making the trip across the state line to cheer their team on. The game was often a mismatch, with Paul Brown's perennial championship contenders running all over the hapless Steelers. But it was always hard fought on both sides. When the American Football League merged with the NFL in 1970, Pittsburgh and Cleveland were two of the three NFL teams that were assigned to the American Football Conference along with the AFL clubs. The move meant leaving traditional NFL foes behind, but it kept the Steelers-Browns rivalry intact as the centerpiece of the new AFC Central division. At the same time, the rivalry began to take on a new character as the Steelers shed their tradition of losing. Power shift It's likely that no other NFL rivalry has seen so drastic a reversal of fortune as the one between the Steelers and the Browns. Cleveland dominated the Steelers in the 1950's and 60's, winning the first eight games of the series and 16 of the first 18. By 1972, Steelers fans looked with envy at the Browns' collection of 25 divisional and league championship titles, not having even a single title to claim for Pittsburgh. But under coach Chuck Noll, a former Browns player, the Steelers developed into a powerhouse, the team of the 1970's— no longer the division's doormat, but rather the team to beat. In 1974, the year of their first Super Bowl victory, Pittsburgh won a game in Cleveland for the first time in a decade. The Browns were not about to make it easy for the Steelers during their run of success, though. If anything, the games became even more fierce in the 1970's. Some of the most enduring memories of the rivalry's viciousness come from that era, such as the time in 1976 when Browns defensive end Joe "Turkey" Jones lifted Pittsburgh QB Terry Bradshaw off his feet and spiked him to the Cleveland turf head first, sidelining Bradshaw for two games. The games were hard-hitting and often close, but during the years of the Steel Curtain defense, Pittsburgh usually came out on top, winning 11 out of 12 against the Browns. One of the things that has made Browns vs. Steelers such a great rivalry is the importance given to it by the fans regardless of the circumstances of the season. The overall history of the rivalry has been that when the Browns were up, the Steelers were usually down, and vice versa. But winning the Steelers-Browns game has remained a priority, whether it served as a stepping stone to the playoffs or as the lone bright spot in a disappointing season (or a way to foul up the opponent's season). Defending home turf It never took long for new players to come to appreciate the importance the rivalry had for the fans— it was clear from the frenzy of the Dawg Pound in Cleveland and the blast-furnace-like intensity of games at Three Rivers that the fans cared about these games. That's likely why home field has meant so much in the Pittsburgh-Cleveland series. Wins in opposing territory have been hard to come by. The Browns beat the Steelers nine games in a row at Cleveland Municipal Stadium from 1965 to 1973, for instance. Three Rivers Stadium opened in 1970, but the Browns didn't get their first win there until 1986. That 27-24 victory marked the beginning of a short run of renewed dominance in the rivalry for Cleveland. QB Bernie Kosar, who grew up as a Browns fan in Ohio hating the Steelers, led Cleveland to four consecutive wins in Pittsburgh. The last of these was a 51-0 embarassment of the Steelers in 1989 on opening day at Three Rivers, still the worst loss Pittsburgh has suffered in its long history in the NFL. Under head coach Bill Cowher, the Steelers gradually took control of the rivalry back from the Browns in the 1990's, first at home, then in Cleveland. The rivalry was taken to another level of intensity in 1994 when the two teams met in the postseason for the first time ever and the Steelers completed a difficult three-game sweep of the Browns. It has taken a long time, but things have completely reversed themselves in the rivalry since 1972, when the Steelers started to win. The Steelers have mostly had the upper hand, winning 17 AFC Central and North titles to the Browns' 6. Now, it is Browns fans who envy the Steelers' five Lombardi trophies, while the Super Bowl has so far eluded Cleveland. The Steelers, who at one point trailed the Browns by 23 games in the overall series, finally tied it at 55-55 in a Thursday night game at Heinz Field in 2006. And the animosity runs as deep as ever in both cities. The fans in Pittsburgh and Cleveland, having stuck with their teams through good times and bad, know all the more which one they prefer. A love-hate relationship But for all the rivalry's nastiness, there is a begrudging respect between fans of the two teams— a recognition of the richness of their history, their no-nonsense approach to the game, and the passion of both cities' fans for football. Perhaps this was seen most clearly in 1995, when Cleveland owner Art Modell announced that he was moving the Browns to Baltimore. At a Monday Night Football game against the Browns in Pittsburgh, Steelers fans donned orange armbands to show their support for Browns fans in their attempt to keep their beloved team in Cleveland. Art Modell remains a reviled figure in Pittsburgh— almost as much as he is in Cleveland— because the move nearly ended one of the NFL's greatest rivalries. After three dreary years with no team in Cleveland, the series was resumed in 1999 when Cleveland was granted an expansion team— with the Browns name, colors, and history intact— to replace the team they had lost. In the first game of the season, the Steelers gave Cleveland a rude welcome back to the NFL with a 43-0 romp over the new Browns in Cleveland. Later that same year, the Browns delighted their fans by pulling off a 16-15 upset of the Steelers at Three Rivers. The rivalry was back! In truth, though, it would be a little while before Browns-Steelers games carried the weight they once had for the players. Cleveland was starting from a blank slate— and after three years without the Browns, most of the Steelers no longer thought of Cleveland as their biggest divisional rival. Rekindling the rivalry But it wouldn't stay that way for long. Despite Pittsburgh's domination of the Browns since their return to the league, there are plenty of indications that this rivalry is still one of the NFL's best: In a 2002 Wild Card playoff game at Heinz Field, it seemed the Browns were about to avenge their former playoff loss to the Steelers when they held a two-possession lead with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. But the Steelers staged perhaps the greatest postseason comeback in their history to take the lead with under a minute to go and end the new Browns' first postseason appearance. In 2004, Steelers LB Joey Porter and Browns RB William Green couldn't wait for the game to start— both players were ejected for a pregame fistfight while the teams were warming up. In the fourth quarter of a 41-0 mauling of the Browns in 2005, Steelers LB James Harrison stopped an unruly spectator who had run onto the field, body-slamming the brown-and-orange-clad fan to the ground in a moment that seemed to sum up the sort of day the Browns were having. There are sure to be many more memorable moments as every autumn, the Steelers and Browns take the field again, and familiarity breeds a little more contempt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earle Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 ...................... and the Steelers still Suck! the rivalry will always be on! nice job though! .... does anyone know where you can buy Modell pinatas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSteelers Posted January 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 My bad.....thought I posted link. A really cool site. Check it out. http://www.afc-north.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earle Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 My bad.....thought I posted link. A really cool site. Check it out. http://www.afc-north.com/ my bad. I thought we had a super intelligent steelers fan here. but it was a still a nice find. next you will be posting articles about how it is okay to marry your kin in pittsburgh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSteelers Posted January 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 didnt you read the part about the 2 cities being mirror images of each other? What you say about Pittsburgh, you say about yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobalaz Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 Look, risking sounding like a traitor here I've got to say it. I admire the Steelers, it's an organization with a stable front office that knows how to pick the right guys in the draft and has plenty of time to develope later round picks into quality backups or starters year in and out. They are competitive every year, always have a good or better defense that is consistently aggressive and know how to line up and smash the ball down your throats. They don't overspend on FAs and know WHEN it's time to cut ties to a guy. They're in the mix almost every season and a "bad" year is .500 or a little better. Best of all, when we were going to lose our team, they voted against the move because they know what football means to us, because it means the same to them. I want US to be like that. Bring on all the comments about roids or cheating all you want, but 5 rings don't lie and how many of us would complain if we had won 5 superbowls since it had been put into place and we were gearing up for a possible 6th? Don't get me wrong, I love my Browns, but if we want a model to build off of we have to look no further than our rival as to how to put a team together and keep it together. I'm always glad to see a good post from our blue collared brethren. Grant it, we get some trolls that just won't stop with the gloating, but we've gt assholes of our own that troll their forums as well. It's a two way street. The internet is a haven for the anonymous, so every idiot that wants to rile someone up is going to do everything they can to get under your skin if you let them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earle Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 didnt you read the part about the 2 cities being mirror images of each other? What you say about Pittsburgh, you say about yourself. you only think that because you wish you lived and cheered for all Ohio Teams except the bungals. your pathetic slime! and besides we dont marry kin you perverted Retard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plumcrazy73 Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 And THAT is the truth that every Brownie fan here has to live with -- even when you try the sleazy trick of only giving credit to the other franchise that voted against the move. That's the hilarious irony of it all -- every time you root for whichever team happens to be playing the Steelers at the time, you're cheering for some team that thought it was just fine for the Brownies to leave town. (Unless the Steelers are playing Buffalo.) Because the fact is, every other owner in football said "screw Cleveland, who gives a crap if they have a team or not." That goes from Jerry Jones to Danny Snyder to any of those other swell guys you admire so much. That's why Steeler fans, far from being hated here, should have the freakin' red carpet rolled out for us. Dan Rooney said keep football in Cleveland when everyone else said screw Cleveland. And don't you ever forget it. Well I for one don't admire any owner. And you do know that the Browns saved football for your town too. Back when the Steelers were in their multi decade slouch (yes guys actually sucked on field longer the we have in our current state. I am talking actual suckage not rivalry suckage) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUNSofSTEEL08 Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 As I stated on another Post ,the STEELER~BROWNS Rivalry will ALWAYS BE a Rivalry. Because HISTORY still means something. Yes Cleveland is down and out. And has been that way longer than a normal Bad stretch. But they will arise from the Ashes in the Future and ALL the Hatred will Ignite , and the thing will Blow up ! I respct the Browns , because i was raised to Hate the Browns not to Disrespect them. The Rivalry lives. The Intensity is down ... it just needs a Spark. (MAngini ??) While i certainly dont look forward to Losing to Cleveland...I really Enjoyed last season when they were right in the Thick of things. It adds excitement to the Air... But then I have been Watching these teams play each other 2 times a year since 1970. Memories ...some that warp with time , but Fun stuff Bennie Cunningham TD in OT ...0-51 41-0 games... Freaking Eric Metcalf... kicking our Butts ...Ben owning the Browns and Bernie owning the Steelers ! This stuff aint life and death. It just make life a tad more enjoyable at times. ( and frustrating at others.) But in all honesty IF you think there is NO Rivalry here, are you REALLY A Fan ? OR just someone who Hopped on Board during one of the "Good Time" Runs ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flugel Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 Well I for one don't admire any owner. And you do know that the Browns saved football for your town too. Back when the Steelers were in their multi decade slouch (yes guys actually sucked on field longer the we have in our current state. I am talking actual suckage not rivalry suckage) There's 2 different threads about this rivalry for some reason so here's my reply to the other one as well: I think free agency in the modern era of sports diminishes rivalries to an extent when a Rod Woodson goes and plays for the Baltimore Ravens or an Earl Holmes and Orpheus Roye leaves Pittsburgh for a couple more digits in Cleveland. In baseball there's Red Sox becoming Yankees and Yankees becoming Red Sox leaving the rivalry between the fan bases. One thing I WILL say is that Pittsburgh has cherished the draft over the years so guys grow up in the league with more of a connection to the local fanbase and vice versa. Baltimore is similar (Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, T-Suggs, McClain, Flacco are draftees). Unfortunately, the Cleveland Browns have remained over-reliant on free agency so many of the guys coming here care more about the game checks than calling Cleveland their NFL home and connecting with the fanbase. It's also wreaked havoc on continuity and capanomics. There's a couple exceptions to that staement and some of those were local Ohio kids (JJ and Bentley) - others were Steinbach and Rogers wanting to prove their value and commitment to a team and it's fans. I'd probably like free agency better if we found more Steinbachs and Rogers types who actually justified their cap commitments. Last but not least, free agency means severe overpayment to guys like Jason Fisk, Kevin Shaffer, Joe Andruzzi, Antwan Peek, and Gary Baxter (3rd highest paid player on our team and it's not like he came to us with a Deion Sanders resume). If our soon-to-be GM is deeper than previous lip services, we're in business to make this more of a rivalry between the players. I'm being honest when I say I haven't found guys I connect with today the way I did so with Ozzie Newsome, Clay Matthews, Greg Pruitt, Mike Johnson, Hanford Dixon, Brian Sipe, Ernest Byner, Jerry Sherk and even EDDIE Johnson for that matter. I'm TRYING to but when I hear our cap isn't healthy and we're stuck on pause averaging 4-5 wins a year, faith that HISTORY will be restored is my biggest bond. I actually LIKE seeing Lerner's sincerity to better the situation. If we're being honest, the Rooneys had a similar start until they looked to a Paul brown pupil to put them on the NFL map. We've come full circle to Lerner trying to hire the RIGHT guy. Perseverance works better than sticking your head between your legs and wussing out. Hey Steeler fans tell Angelina Ghoo-lie his former friends say hello on your message boards. - Tom F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gips Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 As I stated on another Post ,the STEELER~BROWNS Rivalry will ALWAYS BE a Rivalry. Because HISTORY still means something. Yes Cleveland is down and out. And has been that way longer than a normal Bad stretch. But they will arise from the Ashes in the Future and ALL the Hatred will Ignite , and the thing will Blow up ! I respct the Browns , because i was raised to Hate the Browns not to Disrespect them. The Rivalry lives. The Intensity is down ... it just needs a Spark. (MAngini ??) While i certainly dont look forward to Losing to Cleveland...I really Enjoyed last season when they were right in the Thick of things. It adds excitement to the Air... But then I have been Watching these teams play each other 2 times a year since 1970. Memories ...some that warp with time , but Fun stuff Bennie Cunningham TD in OT ...0-51 41-0 games... Freaking Eric Metcalf... kicking our Butts ...Ben owning the Browns and Bernie owning the Steelers ! This stuff aint life and death. It just make life a tad more enjoyable at times. ( and frustrating at others.) But in all honesty IF you think there is NO Rivalry here, are you REALLY A Fan ? OR just someone who Hopped on Board during one of the "Good Time" Runs ? So true freak.. win or lose those were great years steeler fans want the rivalry to heat up again but for browns fans the hatred level couldnt be much higher.. the desire of us browns fans to beat the squeelers is so great that most of us would be ok with a record of 2-14 as long as it was a sweep against the steelers..lol The squeelers are going to win sunday and go on to the superbowl to win it as well..congrats on having a great owner and a solid football program in place as usual maybe soon we will catch up and rekindle the greatest rivalry in the nfl! As it stands right now its a one sided beatdown thats not deserved by either clubs fans... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUNSofSTEEL08 Posted January 17, 2009 Report Share Posted January 17, 2009 So true freak.. win or lose those were great years steeler fans want the rivalry to heat up again but for browns fans the hatred level couldnt be much higher.. the desire of us browns fans to beat the squeelers is so great that most of us would be ok with a record of 2-14 as long as it was a sweep against the steelers..lol The squeelers are going to win sunday and go on to the superbowl to win it as well..congrats on having a great owner and a solid football program in place as usual maybe soon we will catch up and rekindle the greatest rivalry in the nfl! As it stands right now its a one sided beatdown thats not deserved by either clubs fans... Well for one..When we lose...AND We will... WE Wont know what to think or do. And i have a feeling it will be anti-climatic for you guys ! At least the "Smarter Fans" among you. It will probably STUN Most of us. But come on its GOT to happen sooner than later. Oh well Time to try to have a Raven Roast Sunday and SHUT Ray Lewis`s Criminal Mind up ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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