As the Steelers and Ravens shook hands following Pittsburgh’s 38-7 victory Monday night, my mind immediately went to one thought – it’s officially “Browns week.”
For the first time since I can remember, “Browns week” has a new meaning. As a pre-schooler in the late 1980s, I was too interested in Batman and the Ninja Turtles to care that Cleveland had the upper hand on my favorite team, beating the Steelers 51-0 in 1989 thanks to Bernie Kosar, Webster Slaughter and Ernest Byner.
Most of my memories of the rivalry have been happy ones. Under former coach Bill Cowher, the Steelers won 21 of 26 games against the Browns, including the last seven contests. Some of the highlights for Steelers fans during that span include: the three wins in one season against the Brownies in 1994 and 2002 and the crashing of the Browns party back into the NFL in 1999 with a 43-0 massacre on opening day. Then there was the 41-0 Christmas Eve beat down in 2005, which included Steelers linebacker James Harrison body slamming a wandering Browns fan to the turf.
Due to the one-sided affair, the Steelers have found new enemies to duke it out with, most notably the Ravens and Bengals. But now, with the Bengals whimpering and the Ravens a shell of their old self, it appears the time is right for the resurgent Browns to bring back the rivalry.
Now 5-3 with budding stars and a dynamic offense, this is the best Browns team since “Marty ball” ruled Cleveland, “Reagan-omics” ruled the country and Roseanne ruled the air waves.
This sudden rise of the Browns has made me look a little differently at the team I’ve always considered the Steelers’ little brother. Sly smiles at Cleveland fans on campus have turned into angry glares and the once playful conversations I had with my Browns buddies have become a free-for-all forum for smack talk.
The time to be cordial to Browns fans has officially ended now, and the hatred that has fueled the rivalry since 1946 has fumed up again. The ghosts that made the rivalry what it once was – Paul Brown in the 1950’s, Jim Brown in the ’60s, the Steel Curtain against Brian Sipe and Ozzie Newsome in the ’70s, the Joe “Turkey Jones” cheap shot of Terry Bradshaw in 1976 – are finally starting to resurface.
On Sunday, the game in Pittsburgh will decide first place in the AFC North division. While the game certainly will not decide who will have the crown by seasons end, there will be huge ramifications from the outcome.
A Browns victory might be the emotional spark Cleveland needs to finally turn the corner and become a perennial contender in the division. If the Steelers win as they did in the season opener (34-7), it will only prove that, while the Browns have improved, they still aren’t in the same class with their long time nemesis.
Regardless, I hope both sets of fans embrace the fact that this great rivalry has been renewed – even if it’s just for this one Sunday afternoon. Cleveland and Pittsburgh, playing for the division title, just like it should be. Rest assured Steelers fans, Pittsburgh will dominate again, just like it should.
