Recordpub.com - Browns-Steelers rivalry still special

As the Cleveland Browns trudge through another dismal season, I have to question whether the morose mood surrounding this forlorn franchise will ever rise to the level of the original Browns.

Not that the mood was all that sunny in the 1990s, before the move to Baltimore. After all, it was a bleak period in Browns annals, what with a 39-57 record and one lone playoff berth. Prior to that, there were some forgettable times -- the Paul Warfield trade, the miserable mid-70s, Red Right 88 and of course, The Denver Dilemma.

Outweighing the doom and gloom was a half-century worth of thrills and chills that forged a bond between team and town, arguably unequaled in any other NFL city. There was Paul Brown leading Otto Graham and company to seven titles in 10 years. There was Jim Brown, the greatest of them all, powering his way into the record books. There was the 1964 upset of the Colts, the Kardiac Kids, Bernie and the boys. And, of course, there was the rivalry with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steelers. Just hearing that brings a scowl to any self-respecting Browns fan. Those daunting black helmets and jerseys. The Terrible Towel. Bill Cowher. The Bus. Big Ben. One for the Thumb. Ouch!

It is a given that the Browns-Steelers rivalry has always been, and will always be, one of the most intense in the NFL. The short distance between the blue-collar towns is a huge factor. Division rivals. Great games. Colorful characters, too.

There are a number of observers who contend the turnpike rivalry is not so grand any longer due to the indisputable fact that, for the most part, the new Browns have been an embarrassment, while the Steelers have enjoyed tremendous success, including the franchise"s fifth Super Bowl title a year ago. These people argue that a rivalry cannot be considered great if one team is continually beating the other. They say that since the Browns have lost 18 of the last 21 meetings heading into Sunday"s game against Pittsburgh at Cleveland Browns Stadium -- including a pair of postseason defeats -- it is no longer a top-flight rivalry.

Admittedly, the Cleveland-Pittsburgh rivalry is not nearly as captivating as it once was. The reason, though, is that professional sports in general are not as spellbinding as they once were. Free agency, generic stadiums, soaring ticket prices and corporate sponsorship are just some of the reasons.

One-sidedness has nothing to do with the decline of the Cleveland-Pittsburgh rivalry"s appeal. Just take a look at the history of the series. In the 1950s and "60s, the Browns dominated the Steelers. In the 1970s, the Steelers punished the Browns. In the late 1980s, the Browns squashed the Steelers. Since the mid-1990s, the Steelers have ruled the Browns. Yet the Browns-Steelers series has always been considered one of the greatest rivalries.

Furthermore, take the early 1980s and "90s. Those were the only eras in which the Browns-Steelers games were relatively equal in their results. However, the rivalry during those eras was blasé, what with the early "80s offering vanilla Browns teams and Steelers clubs slowly eroding from their Steel Curtain glory days. The early "90s provided Browns fans with "Metcalf up the middle" and not much more. Consequently, the rivalry was more tepid then than at any other time, further deflating the naysayers" argument.

Parity can"t hurt, of course, but using their logic, the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers have never, EVER had a first-rate rivalry. And that is absurd. It"s almost criminal to say that, especially in these parts. We are, after all, talking about the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers!

All I can say is, go ask Jack Lambert, Terry Bradshaw, Brian Sipe and Thom Darden how they felt about the Browns-Steelers rivalry, and see what they say. Each was there for every one of the dozen games played between the two teams during the Steelers" Super Bowl run from 1974-79.

What were the results of those 12 meetings? Steelers 11 wins, Browns one win. Those six seasons were the pinnacle of the Pittsburgh-Cleveland rivalry, what with ex-Brown Chuck Noll and his ever-smug expression, Mean Joe Greene battering Bob McKay, Turkey Jones turning Bradshaw into a bale of hay. What about Lambert laying out Sipe? Who can forget the sheer electricity in Cleveland Stadium when Pittsburgh came to town, the thrilling finishes at Three Rivers Stadium in "78 and "79, the spectacular offensive fireworks that resulted in nearly 90 points between the teams in Cleveland in that "79 season?

That wasn"t a great rivalry? Perhaps Ohio State-Michigan isn"t either.