Stillers-Brownies: Is the Rivalry Back?
Week 6 Game Preview, by PalmerSucks
October 10, 2014
Once upon a time, Cleveland vs. Pittsburgh was the dirtiest, nastiest rivalry in pro football. Maybe you’ve seen the historic highlights: Turkey Jones picking up Bradshaw and pile-driving him into the turf; Mean Joe kicking some poor Cleveland lineman in the stomach. Remember the famous clip of Lambert taunting some running back he’d just layed out with a finger to the facemask and: “that oughta cool your ass off!”? Yep, that was a Browns running back. Twice a year, these two teams met in what weren’t games as much as they were excuses to exchange hatred.
But all that changed when Art Modell moved the Brownies out of town back in the ‘90s, prematurely ending what was becoming the next nasty chapter in the rivalry. This was a shame, too, as none other than Belichick was at the helm; had the team stayed and drafted Ray Lewis (as the documentary “Cleveland ‘95” claimed he would have) what happened between the Stillers and Ravens would’ve been focused a little closer to the ‘Burgh. And focused a lot hotter, too.
You think they hate the Stillers in Baltimore? I can tell you from personal experience, it doesn’t even come close to how much they hate the Stillers up in Northeast Ohio. In fact, there’s not a group of people on earth that despises the Stillers as much as they do in Cleveland. Check any Brownies sitemessage board right now, and you’re sure to find posts titled “Steeler Week” loaded with insults both about the team and the town. Words can barely describe just how much they hate the Stillers there.
Think about all the nasty games played between Pittsburgh and Baltimore the last 15 years. Now think about how much more intense it would have been had those games been played between the Stillers and Cleveland. The Stillers and Brownies playing a game for the right to go to the Super Bowl? That would’ve been downright nuclear.
You can talk about Chicago-Green Bay, but that’s a small town vs. a big city. What makes Pittsburgh-Cleveland so unique is the relative sameness of the two places. Both are mid-size cities with blue-collar reputations, similar populations and obsessions with football; in fact they’re a lot more alike than either city’s residents would care to admit. Plus, they’re located as closely to each other as just about any two NFL towns, just a couple short hours up the pike (the basis for the well-known “The only sign of intelligent life in Cleveland” poster that displays a highway sign reading “Pittsburgh, 115 miles”).
I have my own memories, including a game in the ‘80s during Cleveland’s obnoxious “Dawgs” era. During one season finale played in Pittsburgh, an army of Clevelanders descended on Pittsburgh, barking and salivating, and buying out a whole lot of seats. The Parkway that day was clogged with carloads of Stillers and Brownie fans, waving beers and yelling insults at each other. I’ll never forget the horror of seeing so much brown in Three Rivers, and a giant coffin some Clowns fans brought in reading “RIP Steelers season.”
My grandfather, an original Stillers fan, used to tell stories of riding up to Cleveland back when they played games on Saturday nights. He recalled all the rocks thrown at the buses as they pulled into town loaded with Stillers fans. Plus all the fights that broke out in that stadium. I can’t imagine the jails were big enough to hold everyone.
I can tell you other stories about near fights with Clevelanders in bars (especially with their women) but space just doesn’t allow it. Let’s just say my own most intense fan experiences have come with Mistakers-by-the-Lakers.
But like I said, that all faded once the Brownies left for Baltimore. What replaced them was some lukewarm expansion team that, frankly, has been owned like no team has been owned before.
Since being remade, the Brownies have largely been a pathetic and inept franchise, reflected in the way the Stillers have dominated the series. (In fact, as the Wall St. Journal pointed out this week, they’ve only been favored to beat the Stillers twice since 2002.) Even worse is Roethlisberger’s 18-1 record vs. them, meaning they’ve been his bitch like no team has ever been a quarterback’s bitch in history. But is this all about to change?
I’ve said more than once that Cleveland would be a threat if they could ever find a quarterback. Everything else is in place, including a pretty decent defense and an o-line anchored by Joe Thomas, who’s been to seven Pro Bowls. (Right now Cleveland’s line might be the best in the division.) They’ve got a group of shifty running backs and when he’s on the field, Josh Gordon, a franchise-level receiver. Plus they’ve got Jordan Cameron, one of the league’s best pass-catching TEs. The pieces are there, and have been, except for the parade of clowns they’ve called QBs since being reborn.
But now they’ve got Brian Hoyer, a quarterback the Stillers let get away in yet another front-office botch job (I’d infinitely prefer him backing up Ben to Gradkowski). So far Hoyer’s been pretty effective, on pace for 4,000 yards passing and 24 TDs – and just 4 interceptions. He’s fresh off the greatest numerical comeback in pro history, and, a few short weeks ago, almost pulled off a similar feat against the Stillers. Remember all the Johnny Football hype? Thanks to Hoyer you don’t.
I’ve always liked Hoyer, who may not be a true franchise QB, but throws some awfully beautiful balls. If Mike Glennon can beat the defense, Hoyer certainly can. Local hero Hoyer seems script-written to lead his hometown back to glory. We’ll see.
This Sunday the Brownies, for once in a long time, are favorites to beat the Stillers. They’ve got some key injuries, but you can be sure their fans are convinced they’ll win easily. Which will put them in a frenzy come game time. Sunday promises to be the Stillers toughest trip to Cleveland in years.
Thanks to Cleveland’s generally suckish status since becoming Browns 2.0, there hasn’t been much of a rivalry. That’s what happens when one team dominates so much. Sure, they hate the Stillers as much as ever in Cleveland, but to the average post-expansion Stillers fan, Cleveland just hasn’t mattered really. All the attention’s been focused on Baltimore, the new old Browns. Now we’ll see if things can heat up with Cleveland, the old new Browns.
Should the Brownies win on Sunday, things get raised to a whole new level. It might not be ’78 again, but it’ll be closer than it’s been for 20 years.
So break out your “Cleveland STILL sucks” T-shirts, and get ready to rock. Some of the old hatred is back. Frankly, it’s a feeling I’ve been missing.