Well, the title is a bit misleading, because I'm not going to rank all 20 games.
I ranked the Top 10 games in the series last season on this blog. You can find a link to that right here:
http://joeclevelandblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/top-10-browns-steelers-games-according.html
What I'm going to with this one is pick up where I left off last season and rank the second-best 10 in the long series of the best rivalry in the AFC. I don't give a crap what ESPN says about the Ravens-Steelers, the Browns and Steelers are where it's at.
And, two wins in the last four seasons, with the chance to make it three and a rare sweep of those Yinzers this Sunday, shows that balance of power is shifting. No longer will the Browns be a guaranteed 'W' on the Steelers schedule. When a team misses the playoffs twice in the last four seasons and are limping to the finish line with a three-game losing streak, it shows that the days of wine and roses in Pittsburgh are coming to a close.
Joe Cleveland is going to enjoy the change, just like he enjoyed compiling this list. We'll start at No. 20:
20. Browns 17, Steelers 7 (Sept. 16, 1985): A new era of Browns football began with this Monday Night Football clash at Cleveland Stadium on the second week of the regular season. With Marty Schottenheimer in his first full-season as the head football coach and veteran Gary Danielson and rookie Bernie Kosar taking over at quarterback, the Browns needed to knock off their hated rivals after dropping a 27-24 overtime loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in last week's season opener. Danielson, making his second start as a Brown, completed 18-of-30 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown and an interception. His 17-yard scoring pass to wideout Fred Banks in the second quarter opened the scoring for both teams, and an 18-yard field goal by Matt Bahr in the third made it a 10-0 Browns lead heading into the fourth quarter. Mark Malone found John Stallworth for a 6-yard score in the fourth to cut the Browns' lead to 10-7. But Cleveland put the game away on its ensuing possession with a 21-yard touchdown run by second-year running back Earnest Byner. Byner rushed for 82 yards on 18 carries, while rookie Kevin Mack added 40 yards on 12 carries. Both backs would go over 1,000 yards rushing -- just the third time in NFL history a pair of running backs would accomplish the feat -- and the Browns wound up winning the AFC Central Division with an 8-8 record, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 1982 and winning their first division title since 1980.
19. Browns 19, Steelers 13 (Dec. 26, 1987): Wins at Three Rivers Stadium could never be counted on, especially since the Browns had just ended a 16-year losing streak the previous season. Yet the Browns needed to win at their perennial house of horrors in the 1987 season finale to clinch their second-straight division title over an 8-6 Steelers team. The Browns jumped out to a 9-0 lead on a 31-yard field goal from Matt Bahr and a two-yard touchdown pass from Bernie Kosar to backup tight end Derek Tennell, but a 39-yard field goal by Gary Anderson cut that lead to 9-3 at halftime. The Browns got a 30-yard field goal from Bahr to take a 12-3 lead heading into fourth quarter, and the Steelers cut that deficit to six with another Anderson field goal. However, the Browns put the game away with two-yard touchdown run by Earnest Byner to take a 19-6 lead. Pittsburgh's Cornell Gowdy made things interesting with a 45-yard interception return late in the fourth quarter to make it a six-point game, but the Browns were able to run out the clock and improve to 10-5. Hanford Dixon and linebacker Eddie Johnson each picked off Mark Malone once apiece, while Hall of Fame tight end Ozzie Newsome caught six passes for 94 yards to lead the Browns offense. The 10-5 Browns reached the AFC Championshp game three weeks later, but lost a heartbreaking 38-33 game to the Denver Broncos when Byner fumbled on the 2 with just over a minute remaining in the game.
18. Browns 27, Steelers 7 (Nov. 20, 1988): The Browns, who had started four different quarterbacks during the season, were sitting at 6-5 with the hapless Steelers coming to town. If the Browns wanted to get back to the playoffs for the fourth-straight season, they needed to take care of business against Pittsburgh. With Bernie Kosar healthy and back under center, the Browns didn't waste any time showing who the dominant team really was. After opening the scoring with a 32-yard field goal from Matt Bahr, Kosar found backup tight end Derek Tennell for a two-yard scoring pass to take a 10-0 lead into the second quarter. Frank Minnifield added to that lead when he blocked a Harry Newsom punt and returned it 11 yards to give the Browns a 17-0 lead that the Steelers cut to 17-7 just before the half. Kosar, who threw for 204 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, found Reggie Langhorne for a 77-yard touchdown bomb early in the third quarter to put the game away, and Bahr added a 34-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. The Browns defense sacked Steelers starter Bubby Brister six times, led by rookie Michael Dean Perry's two, and picked him off twice. Linebacker Eddie Johnson had a sack and an interception, while Minnifield had the other pick to go along with his huge blocked punt. The Browns used this performance to win five of their last six games and finish 10-6, qualifying for the playoffs as a wild-card team. This was also the last time the Browns swept the Steelers in a season series (until this Sunday, perhaps).
17. Browns 23, Steelers 20 (Sept. 17, 2000): The Browns had just stunned the Steelers, 16-15, at Three Rivers Stadium in 1999 -- one of just two victories for the expansion Browns that season -- and had rebounded from a 27-7 thrashing by Jacksonville in the 2000 season opener to defeat the Bengals, 24-7, on the road to take a 1-1 record into Cleveland Browns Stadium and their next meeting with the hated Steelers. The Browns jumped out to a 14-0 lead behind two first quarter touchdown passes from Tim Couch to tight end Aaron Shea and fullback Mark Edwards, respectively. But the Steelers, behind former Ohio State quarterback Kent Graham, rallied to cut that lead to 14-10 at halftime with a field goal and a four-yard scoring run by Richard Huntley. A 23-yard field goal by Phil Dawson gave the Browns a 17-13 lead midway through the third quarter. However, a 10-yard rush by Jerome Bettis gave the Steelers a 20-17 lead heading into the fourth. Instead of rolling over, the young Browns fought back with a pair of fourth-quarter Dawson field goals -- the latter from 19-yards out with 2:48 remaining -- to take a 23-20 lead. Graham had the Steelers marching into field goal territory on his final two-minute drive. However, with no timeouts, rookie No. 1 overall draft choice Courtney Brown sacked Graham for a four-yard loss with 13 seconds remaining, and the Steelers ran out of time before assembling the field goal team. It's the last time the Browns have won two straight against the Steelers (hopefully, until this coming Sunday). The Browns couldn't sustain that 2-1 start, finishing a dismal 3-13. Ironically, of Chris Palmer's five wins as the Browns' head coach in two seasons, two of those wins came against the Steelers. That loss dropped the Steelers to 0-3, but they rebounded to finish 9-7 (and missing the playoffs).
16. Browns 33, Steelers 13 (Oct. 5, 2003): This is still the only time the Browns have won at Heinz Field (until this Sunday, hopefully). More importantly, not only was this a nationally-televised Sunday night game, but this was the teams' first meeting since the Steelers came back from deficits of 24-7 and 33-17 to escape with a 36-33 playoff victory. Tim Couch, playing arguably the best game of his short five-year career, completed 20-of-25 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns. William Green gauged the vaunted Steeler defense for 115 yards on 33 carries. Couch's six-yard touchdown pass to Andre Davis and a short Phil Dawson field goal gave the Browns a 10-0 first quarter lead, and a 9-yard scoring pass from Couch to Kevin Johnson made it a 16-3 advantage midway through the second quarter. Jerome Bettis plunged in from the 1 to cut that lead to 16-10, but Couch capped a 9-play, 78-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown run with 13 seconds left to give the Browns a 23-10 halftime advantage. Daylon McCutcheon's 75-yard interception return off a Tommy Maddux pass early in the third quarter was the final nail in the Steelers' coffin. The Browns improved to 2-3 with the win (same record as the Steelers). However, they would finish 5-11. It would be Couch's final year in the NFL. This would also be the Browns' last win over the Steelers for the next 12 games and six seasons.
15. Browns 45, Steelers 7 (Oct. 29, 1950): The rivalry made its first appearance on the shores of Lake Erie with the 4-2 Browns taking on the 2-4 Steelers. The Browns had beaten Pittsburgh three weeks prior, 30-17 (see No. 14 on this list) in a dominating effort, and actually were more dominant at home. Hall of Famer Marion Motley rushed for 188 yards on 11 carries and scored a 69-yard rushing touchdown and a 38-yard receiving touchdown from Otto Graham. Both scores helped the Browns open up a 24-0 lead midway through the third quarter, and a 14-yard scoring run by Don Phelps made it a 31-0 lead after three quarters. After the Steelers scored, the Browns put the game away with an 80-yard touchdown pass from Graham to Dub Jones and a 38-yard TD pass from backup Cliff Lewis to Horace Gillom. The Browns defense forced eight turnovers in this romp, and the Cleveland offense outgained Pittsburgh, 533-349. The Browns wound wind up going 10-2 in their first NFL season and won the NFL Championship -- their fifth title in their first five years of existance.
14. Browns 30, Steelers 17 (Oct. 7, 1950): This was the first-ever meeting between these two storied franchises, and the Browns -- in their first year in the National Football League after dominating the All-American Football Conference from 1946-49 -- quickly showed who the dominant force was. Played at Pitt Stadium, Hall of Famer Otto Graham rushed for two one-yard touchdowns to give the Browns a 14-3 lead, followed by a Dub Jones 7-yard rush to make it a 21-3 halftime lead. Cleveland put the game away in the fourth quarter with a 48-yard touchdown run by Jones to make it a 30-10 advantage. The defense forced six Steeler turnovers, despite giving up 345 yards of total offense.
13. Browns 30, Steelers 17 (Dec. 18, 1983): This was Brian Sipe's final game in a Cleveland Browns' uniform, and he went out with a blaze of glory against their hated and bitter rival in this late-season showdown. With the Steelers at 10-5 and already clinched the division title, the 8-7 Browns needed to win just to get a chance at a playoff berth. Sipe completed 14-of-22 passes for 199 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions to lead this minor upset. Sipe opened things up with a 64-yard touchdown pass to rookie wideout Rocky Belk, and added a two-yard scoring toss to backup tight end Harry Holt and a three-yarder to wideout Ricky Feacher to give the Browns a 23-10 halftime lead. The Sipe-Holt connection put the game away early in the third quarter with a one-yard scoring toss and a 30-10 lead. Belk would only play that season, finishing with five receptions and two touchdowns. Franco Harris, in his final game as a Steeler, would be held to just 56 yards on 20 carries by a Browns defense that picked off quarterbacks Cliff Stoudt and Mark Malone once apiece. Alas, the 9-7 Browns finished second in the AFC Central with the win, but missed out on the playoffs by tiebreakers. It would be the last hurrah of the Kardiac Kid-era Browns -- head coach Sam Rutigliano would be fired midway through the 1984 season after a 1-8 start.
12. Browns 10, Steelers 9 (Dec. 19, 1982): I put this as my honorable mention game in my previous list because it landed on my ninth birthday (it's still the last time the Browns have won a game on my birthday). However, a closer look shows just how important this win really was. The Browns, in the strike-shortened season, were just 2-4 heading into this showdown at Cleveland Stadium with Paul McDonald at quarterback replacing an injured Brian Sipe. A loss would have essentially ended their season. However, the defense picked off Terry Bradshaw four times -- three of which by Hanford Dixon -- and sacked him three times. The Steelers led, 7-3, at halftime on a six-yard TD pass from Bradshaw to John Stallworth. However, McDonald, who completed 19-of-40 passes for 227 yards, led the Browns on a third-quarter scoring drive, capped by a 1-yard plunge by fullback Johnny Davis. An intentional safety taken when punter Steve Cox ran out of the end zone in the final seconds made it a one-point game, but it wasn't enough. The win improved the Browns to 3-4 and led to a 4-5 season. It was good enough for them to make the playoffs under the expanded eight-team format, and this win propelled them to that playoff berth. It was also the last time the Browns beat a Bradshaw-led Steeler team -- he retired after just one game in 1983.
11. Browns 20, Steelers 14 (Nov. 25, 2012): We end our list with the most recent chapter in this long rivalry, and the most recent victory for the good guys. With the Steelers down to third-string quarterback Charlie Batch, the Browns defense forced a whopping eight turnovers -- three of which occured in the final three minutes of play. They intercepted three Batch passes, but recovered five fumbles from five different Steeler running backs. Rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden, who had a batted pass intercepted and returned for a 53-yard touchdown by linebacker Lawrence Timmons on the fourth play from scrimmage, recovered to lead the Browns to 20 points. He threw a five-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jordan Cameron late in the second quarter off of a turnover, but the Steelers led, 14-13, at halftime on a Chris Rainey 1-yard run in the final seconds of the second quarter. Kicker Phil Dawson connected from 28 and 32 yards out in the first half. But rookie Trent Richardson's 15-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter gave the Browns a 20-14 lead, which was good enough for the long-awaited 'W.' Richardson finished with 85 yards on 29 carries, while Weeden (who was knocked out of the game late in the fourth quarter) threw for 153 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Hopefully, this Sunday adds another solid chapter to this list of Browns' triumphs.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks ... and Pittsburgh Sucks!
Showing posts with label Pittsburgh Steelers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pittsburgh Steelers. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Sunday, November 25, 2012
How sweet it is!
The week hasn't officially started yet, and Joe Cleveland is already chalking it up to being the greatest week ever.
This is what happens when Ohio State can take out Michigan and the Cleveland Browns can do the same to the Pittsburgh Steelers in back-to-back home games on back-to-back afternoons.
Joe Cleveland was fortunate enough to witness the latter in person. I was also at the 2009 Thursday night game in which the Browns sacked Ben Roethlisberger eight times and stunned the Squeelers, 13-6. This one might have been a bit better.
Sure, Consentlessberger wasn't in uniform for this one. He sat on the sidelines nursing broken ribs. Also, Troy Polamalu wasn't in uniform, but then again, he hasn't been in uniform very much this season and yet the Steelers defense came into Sunday's game ranked No. 1.
It doesn't matter.
As Pat Shurmur told the team after their 20-14 victory that was more dominating than the score actually indicated, "You rookies are now 1-0 against the Steelers."
Jimmy Haslam, who was in the other owners box for several Browns-Steelers games that went the way of the Yinzer, is now 1-0 as the Browns' owner against the team he was once affiliated with.
Shurmur is now one of just three Browns coaches since the team returned in 1999 to beat the Steelers. The other two -- Eric Mangini (2009) and Chris Palmer (1999 and 2000). Coincidentally, both Mangini and Palmer were fired after just two years on the job, and -- a win Sunday regardless -- Shurmur is still expected to be fired after this season, his second year on the job.
Brandon Weeden becomes the third Browns starting quarterback to win a game against the Steelers. Tim Couch was the starter for the wins in 1999, 2000 and 2003, while Brady Quinn started the 2009 game. Weeden also becomes just the second rookie quarterback to beat a Dick LeBeau defense while LeBeau headed up the Steeler D.
The eight turnovers forced by the Browns were the most a Steeler team committed since 1989. It was also the most the Browns forced since 1989. Coincidentally, the last time it happened for either team, they played each other in a very memorable 51-0 season-opening victory at Three Rivers Stadium (Bud Carson's finest hour).
Sure, the starting quarterback may have a 37-year-old third-stringer and one of the wideouts may have been a 35-year-old guy who was sitting on his couch this season and had missed most of the last four seasons after shooting himself in the leg at a nighclub. And, it may have only been a six-point win.
But, in the end, it was a Browns victory ... OVER THE STEELERS!!!
Hallalujah!
Last season, you could sense the Browns were right there, as far as being physical with the ever-intimidating Steelers. The Steelers won both games, 14-3 and 13-9, but the Browns made the Steelers work for both games.
The Browns injured Roethlisberger in that first game, and forced him to play the entire game in the season finale when they had hoped to jump out to a commanding lead in that season finale to prepare for the playoffs. They also took out Polamalu and running back Rashard Mendenhall during that season finale, and without them, Pittsburgh lost a Tim Tebow-led Broncos team in the first round of the playoffs.
This year, it was the Browns that were the physical team. It was the guys in brown jerseys who were intimidating. It was the Browns that delivered solid hits that forced six fumbles -- five recovered by the Browns.
Don't look now, folks, but the the balance of power in the AFC North is shifting. The Steelers are getting older and more beat up, while the Browns are younger and hungrier.
The Ravens continue to win, but they, too, are also getting older and beat up. Meanwhile, the younger Bengals made the playoffs last season and are sneaking back into the hunt after being written off by many following a 34-24 loss to Browns a few weeks ago.
Could the road to the AFC North championship be going through Cleveland and Cincinnati the next few seasons? What does this Sunday tell you?
The Browns dominated the Steelers. The Bengals dominated the Raiders. The Ravens had to rally to beat the rudderless Chargers in overtime -- a team that lost to the Browns a few weeks ago.
Haslam wisely stepped in and pulled the plug on the disasterous "white flag" promotion. They should have put those palates outside the Steelers locker room so they could take them as they left. Or, handed them out after the game to anyone wearing black and yellow and crying in their little yellow towels.
Probably the only thing better than watching the Browns beat the Steelers was watching all of those stunned Steeler fans, who so gleefully twirled their towels and tried to make Cleveland Browns Stadium Heinz Field West just a few hours earlier, walk out into the chilly Cleveland afternoon zombie-faced, like the famine just hit their village or something.
It was a beautiful thing.
Now, the Browns improve to 5-23 against those Stillers since 1999. Not a fantastic stat, but keep this one in mind.
In the years Cleveland beat Pittsburgh (1999, 2000, 2003 and 2009), the Steelers were denied a playoff berth. Sitting at 6-5 with another game with the Ravens on tap next week and not getting any healthier, 2012 could be another notch in that chain.
This week, Browns fans don't have to hear it from those front-running losers at their workplaces or in their circle of friends. Now, WE can be the ones who let them have it.
Like I said before, we haven't seen the Buckeyes and Browns score wins over their archrivals in the same weekend since 1962, so this one was a long time coming. Just imagine if the Cavs could have held on against LeQuitter's Heat Saturday night?
Speaking of the Buckeyes, you've got to congratulate them on a 12-0 season -- a season that nobody expected. Sure, some true Buckeye homers probably thought Urban Meyer would have Ohio State in the national title game in his first year, but most would have been happy with a winning record and another win over That Team Up North.
Who would have thunk it that, if not for a bowl ban, Meyer could have very well had the Buckeyes playing for a national championship in January, and against Notre Dame, even? Take that, ESPN and SEC!
Last season, this team finished a dismal 6-7 under Luke Fickell. With Meyer, that got transformed to 12-0. This is not a coincidence.
Meyer's spread offense fits Braxton Miller like a glove. Unlike Rich Rodriguez, who came to Michigan as an unpopular choice and then proceeded to force his spread down his school's throat despite not having the proper personnel (and was fired after just three seasons), Meyer knew that the Buckeyes had the pieces in place to make the transtion to the spread pretty seemless.
He was able to convince the seniors, whom he didn't recruit, to stay, even though they had the right to transfer penalty-free to another university when the NCAA sanctions were handed down.
They didn't blow the doors off their opponents, which some critics have brought up. However, the fact remains that they played in 12 games and won them all.
If Ohio State is not the preseason No. 1 next season, then something is definitely wrong.
Meyer got the rivalry back to Ohio State's side after Jim Tressel owned Michigan during his 10-year career (9-1) and the hiccup last season under Fickell. It looks like it will be there to stay for the time being.
Ohio State beating Michigan and the Browns beating the Steelers. Yes, Thanksgiving DOES mean something, after all!
***
Don't look now, but this Browns team could use the Steeler win to springboard themselves to a fanstastic finish.
The 2009 team responded from that 13-6 Steeler win to rip off four consecutive victories to end the season. The winning streak saved Mangini's job for a season under incoming team president Mike Holmgren, who was rumored to have been hired just before that Steeler game.
This season, the Browns follow up with games against Oakland on the road (3-7), Kansas City (1-10) and Washington (5-6) at home, and Denver (7-3) and the Steelers (6-5) on the road. Only the Bronco game appears to be totally unwinnable, and that could be interesting if they clinch prior to that and rest Peyton Manning and some of the starters.
The Redskins under Robert Griffin III are playing well lately, but it should be cold on Dec. 16. RG3's idea of cold growing up in Texas was 55 degrees.
The Browns could very well be 8-8 (if all the planets and stars align properly) or, at least, 6-10 when this season is all said and done.
6-10 isn't great, but it is progress from 4-12 and 5-11 over the last four seasons. If two of those six wins are against Pittsburgh, you can make a case for Shurmur to stick around for another season.
Some idiots are complaining about draft position ... ENOUGH ALREADY!! If we perennially play for the damn draft, we'll always rebuild. You need to win games, that's the bottom line. And, is there any lock-down player that you need to get in the top three or four this year? Matt Barkley, Geno Smith and Collin Klein aren't looking likc locks to be future QB studs in the NFL, and most of the high prospects appear to be on the defensive side.
So, quit bellyaching about how the Browns won or why they won. The bottom line is, THEY BEAT THE DAMN STEELERS!!! Be a true damn Browns fan and ENJOY IT for once!!!
I will say, though, that anything less than that 6-10 projection, and Shurmur is gone ... even if they can beat the Steelers again at Heinz Field in the season finale.
The Browns aren't a great team, but anyone with any knowledge of the NFL can see that this team has some interesting and intriguing pieces in place. This team has talent, and that talent was on display. That talent will only get better with more experience and with better coaching.
Football fortunes are on the rise in Ohio. Just you wait and see.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
And, PITTSBURGH SUCKS!
This is what happens when Ohio State can take out Michigan and the Cleveland Browns can do the same to the Pittsburgh Steelers in back-to-back home games on back-to-back afternoons.
Joe Cleveland was fortunate enough to witness the latter in person. I was also at the 2009 Thursday night game in which the Browns sacked Ben Roethlisberger eight times and stunned the Squeelers, 13-6. This one might have been a bit better.
Sure, Consentlessberger wasn't in uniform for this one. He sat on the sidelines nursing broken ribs. Also, Troy Polamalu wasn't in uniform, but then again, he hasn't been in uniform very much this season and yet the Steelers defense came into Sunday's game ranked No. 1.
It doesn't matter.
As Pat Shurmur told the team after their 20-14 victory that was more dominating than the score actually indicated, "You rookies are now 1-0 against the Steelers."
Jimmy Haslam, who was in the other owners box for several Browns-Steelers games that went the way of the Yinzer, is now 1-0 as the Browns' owner against the team he was once affiliated with.
Shurmur is now one of just three Browns coaches since the team returned in 1999 to beat the Steelers. The other two -- Eric Mangini (2009) and Chris Palmer (1999 and 2000). Coincidentally, both Mangini and Palmer were fired after just two years on the job, and -- a win Sunday regardless -- Shurmur is still expected to be fired after this season, his second year on the job.
Brandon Weeden becomes the third Browns starting quarterback to win a game against the Steelers. Tim Couch was the starter for the wins in 1999, 2000 and 2003, while Brady Quinn started the 2009 game. Weeden also becomes just the second rookie quarterback to beat a Dick LeBeau defense while LeBeau headed up the Steeler D.
The eight turnovers forced by the Browns were the most a Steeler team committed since 1989. It was also the most the Browns forced since 1989. Coincidentally, the last time it happened for either team, they played each other in a very memorable 51-0 season-opening victory at Three Rivers Stadium (Bud Carson's finest hour).
Sure, the starting quarterback may have a 37-year-old third-stringer and one of the wideouts may have been a 35-year-old guy who was sitting on his couch this season and had missed most of the last four seasons after shooting himself in the leg at a nighclub. And, it may have only been a six-point win.
But, in the end, it was a Browns victory ... OVER THE STEELERS!!!
Hallalujah!
Last season, you could sense the Browns were right there, as far as being physical with the ever-intimidating Steelers. The Steelers won both games, 14-3 and 13-9, but the Browns made the Steelers work for both games.
The Browns injured Roethlisberger in that first game, and forced him to play the entire game in the season finale when they had hoped to jump out to a commanding lead in that season finale to prepare for the playoffs. They also took out Polamalu and running back Rashard Mendenhall during that season finale, and without them, Pittsburgh lost a Tim Tebow-led Broncos team in the first round of the playoffs.
This year, it was the Browns that were the physical team. It was the guys in brown jerseys who were intimidating. It was the Browns that delivered solid hits that forced six fumbles -- five recovered by the Browns.
Don't look now, folks, but the the balance of power in the AFC North is shifting. The Steelers are getting older and more beat up, while the Browns are younger and hungrier.
The Ravens continue to win, but they, too, are also getting older and beat up. Meanwhile, the younger Bengals made the playoffs last season and are sneaking back into the hunt after being written off by many following a 34-24 loss to Browns a few weeks ago.
Could the road to the AFC North championship be going through Cleveland and Cincinnati the next few seasons? What does this Sunday tell you?
The Browns dominated the Steelers. The Bengals dominated the Raiders. The Ravens had to rally to beat the rudderless Chargers in overtime -- a team that lost to the Browns a few weeks ago.
Haslam wisely stepped in and pulled the plug on the disasterous "white flag" promotion. They should have put those palates outside the Steelers locker room so they could take them as they left. Or, handed them out after the game to anyone wearing black and yellow and crying in their little yellow towels.
Probably the only thing better than watching the Browns beat the Steelers was watching all of those stunned Steeler fans, who so gleefully twirled their towels and tried to make Cleveland Browns Stadium Heinz Field West just a few hours earlier, walk out into the chilly Cleveland afternoon zombie-faced, like the famine just hit their village or something.
It was a beautiful thing.
Now, the Browns improve to 5-23 against those Stillers since 1999. Not a fantastic stat, but keep this one in mind.
In the years Cleveland beat Pittsburgh (1999, 2000, 2003 and 2009), the Steelers were denied a playoff berth. Sitting at 6-5 with another game with the Ravens on tap next week and not getting any healthier, 2012 could be another notch in that chain.
This week, Browns fans don't have to hear it from those front-running losers at their workplaces or in their circle of friends. Now, WE can be the ones who let them have it.
Like I said before, we haven't seen the Buckeyes and Browns score wins over their archrivals in the same weekend since 1962, so this one was a long time coming. Just imagine if the Cavs could have held on against LeQuitter's Heat Saturday night?
Speaking of the Buckeyes, you've got to congratulate them on a 12-0 season -- a season that nobody expected. Sure, some true Buckeye homers probably thought Urban Meyer would have Ohio State in the national title game in his first year, but most would have been happy with a winning record and another win over That Team Up North.
Who would have thunk it that, if not for a bowl ban, Meyer could have very well had the Buckeyes playing for a national championship in January, and against Notre Dame, even? Take that, ESPN and SEC!
Last season, this team finished a dismal 6-7 under Luke Fickell. With Meyer, that got transformed to 12-0. This is not a coincidence.
Meyer's spread offense fits Braxton Miller like a glove. Unlike Rich Rodriguez, who came to Michigan as an unpopular choice and then proceeded to force his spread down his school's throat despite not having the proper personnel (and was fired after just three seasons), Meyer knew that the Buckeyes had the pieces in place to make the transtion to the spread pretty seemless.
He was able to convince the seniors, whom he didn't recruit, to stay, even though they had the right to transfer penalty-free to another university when the NCAA sanctions were handed down.
They didn't blow the doors off their opponents, which some critics have brought up. However, the fact remains that they played in 12 games and won them all.
If Ohio State is not the preseason No. 1 next season, then something is definitely wrong.
Meyer got the rivalry back to Ohio State's side after Jim Tressel owned Michigan during his 10-year career (9-1) and the hiccup last season under Fickell. It looks like it will be there to stay for the time being.
Ohio State beating Michigan and the Browns beating the Steelers. Yes, Thanksgiving DOES mean something, after all!
***
Don't look now, but this Browns team could use the Steeler win to springboard themselves to a fanstastic finish.
The 2009 team responded from that 13-6 Steeler win to rip off four consecutive victories to end the season. The winning streak saved Mangini's job for a season under incoming team president Mike Holmgren, who was rumored to have been hired just before that Steeler game.
This season, the Browns follow up with games against Oakland on the road (3-7), Kansas City (1-10) and Washington (5-6) at home, and Denver (7-3) and the Steelers (6-5) on the road. Only the Bronco game appears to be totally unwinnable, and that could be interesting if they clinch prior to that and rest Peyton Manning and some of the starters.
The Redskins under Robert Griffin III are playing well lately, but it should be cold on Dec. 16. RG3's idea of cold growing up in Texas was 55 degrees.
The Browns could very well be 8-8 (if all the planets and stars align properly) or, at least, 6-10 when this season is all said and done.
6-10 isn't great, but it is progress from 4-12 and 5-11 over the last four seasons. If two of those six wins are against Pittsburgh, you can make a case for Shurmur to stick around for another season.
Some idiots are complaining about draft position ... ENOUGH ALREADY!! If we perennially play for the damn draft, we'll always rebuild. You need to win games, that's the bottom line. And, is there any lock-down player that you need to get in the top three or four this year? Matt Barkley, Geno Smith and Collin Klein aren't looking likc locks to be future QB studs in the NFL, and most of the high prospects appear to be on the defensive side.
So, quit bellyaching about how the Browns won or why they won. The bottom line is, THEY BEAT THE DAMN STEELERS!!! Be a true damn Browns fan and ENJOY IT for once!!!
I will say, though, that anything less than that 6-10 projection, and Shurmur is gone ... even if they can beat the Steelers again at Heinz Field in the season finale.
The Browns aren't a great team, but anyone with any knowledge of the NFL can see that this team has some interesting and intriguing pieces in place. This team has talent, and that talent was on display. That talent will only get better with more experience and with better coaching.
Football fortunes are on the rise in Ohio. Just you wait and see.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
And, PITTSBURGH SUCKS!
Friday, November 23, 2012
Raising the White Flag
Sometimes, Joe Cleveland wonders why he so steadfastly roots for the sports teams in this city when so many of them do dumb things.
The Indians organization, for example, it a walking nightmare. It would not surprise me to see them hand out white flags to the 8,000 fans who show up to watch a game against the Tigers or the White Sox. You would hope, however, that they would be smart enough to not do it.
Unfortunately, sometimes the Browns organization IS that dumb. Like this Sunday, for instance.
The national media and some comedians (and I'm sure Steeler fans) are having a field day over the morons in the Browns' marketing department's latest decision -- to hand out inflatable white flags to all the fans who walk into Browns Stadium Sunday morning for their huge game with the hated Stillers.
As a Browns fan, I can't even try to defend this decision. It's moronic. It's stupid.
I can only imagine how this went down:
(Browns Marketing Department meeting, late August, discussing promotions)
"Well, we need a promotion for the game on Nov. 25. Who are they playing again?"
"Ummm, that would be Pittsburgh."
"Yeah, Pittsburgh. Don't their fans bring in little yellow towels to wave whenever that does something?"
"Yeah. I think they call them 'Terrible Towels.'"
"You're darn right those things are terrible. They terribly clash with our orange seats. They're terrible to watch. We need something that will clash with that."
"How about a flag?"
"Perfect. A flag is better than a towel. What color should that flag be?"
(The closet Steeler fan working in the department, silently taking it all in, seizes his opportunity)
"Well, how about a WHITE flag? You know, because white should blind out the yellow."
"A white flag ..."
(The Steeler fan, who barely suppressed his or her laughter while saying that last word, holds his or her breath as that person's sure the suggestion will be laughed out of the room)
"... BRILLIANT! I like it. How about you, Johnson?"
"White flag sounds good. Anyone else?"
(unanimous grumbling about how a white flag sounds perfect)
"I'm sure Mr. Lerner and Mr. Holmgren will be pleased. Next game ..."
Well, unfortunately for the nincompoops that make up the Browns marketing department, Mr. Lerner and Mr. Holmgren aren't around anymore. Mr. Lerner was barely around to begin with, and Mr. Holmgren didn't seem too concerned about any matters that weren't football related.
Now, it's Mr. Haslam and Mr. Banner. And if Mr. Haslam and Mr. Banner had any decency, even though 50,000 of these ridiculous white flags have already been ordered, they would keep those things locked away on palates and not hand out anything.
Because NOTHING is better than a national joke.
This is my third year of being a Browns season ticket holder. If someone tries to hand me one of those ridiculous things, I either throw it on the ground in front of them, or I keep walking.
Because when I think of finally beating the hated Steelers, I think of 50,000 fans waving white flags in the crow to combat the sea of yellow from the black jersey-clad Yinzers and Northeast Ohio frontrunners.
The craxy part is, this may not be an isolated incident when it comes to the Browns marketing department, and why the man who made his fortune creating multipurpose truck stops needs to run these idiots all out of town and hire his own people.
He'll be hiring all his own people to run the football team next year from the head coach on down, why stop there?
According to ESPNCleveland.com, a story has been circulating about why the marketing department didn't sell any game-day programs to the season-opening game against the Eagles.
The Browns marketing department is in charge of the editing and printing of the game day programs. A source told the radio station that just hours before kickoff, someone in the communications department noticed that on the main roster centerfold, the first page everyone opens to in the program, the head coach’s name was spelled “Pat Schurmur.”
Yes, the head coaches name was spelled wrong.
As the team was scrambling to figure out an easy fix, the marketing department had a brilliant idea. They decided they would add a separate one page insert with a corrected roster. At the top of that insert, in bold letters it said, “Please disregard the misspelling of Pat Shurmur’s name on the original roster."
You can’t make this stuff up folks. The marketing department misspelled the most important person on the roster’s name and then, to cover it up, drew more attention to the mistake.
According to the article, the communications department pushed hard and finally got all programs pulled from the game before fans arrived. If you somehow got a hold of one of those, it might be worth some money someday.
Browns players are hoping the white flags idea doesn't come to fruition.
“I try to focus on the Steelers but I’m not a fan of the white flags,” middle linebacker D’Qwell Jackson said. “That’s the simplest way I can put it. I’m not a fan of it whatsoever knowing that we’ll see the terrible towels flying and it’s just not a message I like and I’m sure other guys don’t approve of.”
“I think I’m going to let D’Qwell speak for all of us,” added long-time kicker Phil Dawson, who has (literally) seen it all when it comes to the Browns. “When your mom told you growing up if you don’t have anything good to say, probably better not to say it, I think I am going to follow those words.”
If there is one positive to that story, it's that it is never too late to pull a mistake. Let's hope Haslam (or anybody for that matter) pulls the plug on this one, too.
The Browns were able to avoid one embarassment when they were able to convince the NFL to exempt them from the league-wide mandate to have a moment of silence for Dead Judas the Theiving One prior to that Eagles game. Hopefully, they can avoid another.
***
Speaking of waving the white flag, that's exactly what Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith and president Gordon Gee decided to do when they decided to accept a berth to the Gator Bowl so their 6-6 Buckeyes with the lame-duck head coach could play Florida.
Taking that bowl game (and losing to suffer the very rare under-.500 season) allowed the NCAA to hand down a bowl ban for this season when they officially announced their sanctions agaisnt Ohio State for Tattoo-Gate.
So, a 6-6 team with a meaningless head coach and meaningless lame-duck coaching staff played in a meaningless bowl and lost, so that a potential 12-0 team with a fantastic head coach and fantastic coaching staff (except for the defense) can stay home instead of accepting a potential berth in the BCS National Championship Game.
Take a bow, Gene Smith! Take a bow!
Smith incredulously refused to believe that, had he self-imposed a bowl ban last year, the NCAA would not have given them one this year. He still maintains he did the right thing.
How this man has a high-profile job at a Division I university is one of life's great mysteries. How he didn't get run out of town along with Lord Tressel in the wake of Tattoo-Gate has baffled me ever since the scandal broke.
Then again, we have a guy working for the Cleveland Indians who traded back-to-back AL Cy Young award winners and not only got bubkiss for them, but wound up with a promotion. We have a head coach for the Cleveland Browns who was only an offensive coordinator for one season, and it was for a mediocre team. We have a marketing department that believes it is a great idea to hand out white flags to wave for a game against your most hated and bitter rival.
This is why Joe Cleveland should have his head examined for rooting for these teams. Apparently, shit does flow upstream in Ohio.
Please, for the love of God, can the Buckeyes and the Browns just do right on the field Saturday and Sunday against the teams this fanbase loves to hate? All of the above will go away, even if for just one day, week or month.
Here's hoping for some great news on ALL fronts come Monday.
O-H ... I-O!!!
Here we go, Brownies! Here we go! WOOF-WOOF!
And remember ...
We don't give a damn about the whole state of Michigan, cuz we're from Oh-Hi-O!
Finally ...
Only bitches wave little yellow towels! Beat Pittsburgh and the Three River Rednecks they brought with them!
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
The Indians organization, for example, it a walking nightmare. It would not surprise me to see them hand out white flags to the 8,000 fans who show up to watch a game against the Tigers or the White Sox. You would hope, however, that they would be smart enough to not do it.
Unfortunately, sometimes the Browns organization IS that dumb. Like this Sunday, for instance.
The national media and some comedians (and I'm sure Steeler fans) are having a field day over the morons in the Browns' marketing department's latest decision -- to hand out inflatable white flags to all the fans who walk into Browns Stadium Sunday morning for their huge game with the hated Stillers.
As a Browns fan, I can't even try to defend this decision. It's moronic. It's stupid.
I can only imagine how this went down:
(Browns Marketing Department meeting, late August, discussing promotions)
"Well, we need a promotion for the game on Nov. 25. Who are they playing again?"
"Ummm, that would be Pittsburgh."
"Yeah, Pittsburgh. Don't their fans bring in little yellow towels to wave whenever that does something?"
"Yeah. I think they call them 'Terrible Towels.'"
"You're darn right those things are terrible. They terribly clash with our orange seats. They're terrible to watch. We need something that will clash with that."
"How about a flag?"
"Perfect. A flag is better than a towel. What color should that flag be?"
(The closet Steeler fan working in the department, silently taking it all in, seizes his opportunity)
"Well, how about a WHITE flag? You know, because white should blind out the yellow."
"A white flag ..."
(The Steeler fan, who barely suppressed his or her laughter while saying that last word, holds his or her breath as that person's sure the suggestion will be laughed out of the room)
"... BRILLIANT! I like it. How about you, Johnson?"
"White flag sounds good. Anyone else?"
(unanimous grumbling about how a white flag sounds perfect)
"I'm sure Mr. Lerner and Mr. Holmgren will be pleased. Next game ..."
Well, unfortunately for the nincompoops that make up the Browns marketing department, Mr. Lerner and Mr. Holmgren aren't around anymore. Mr. Lerner was barely around to begin with, and Mr. Holmgren didn't seem too concerned about any matters that weren't football related.
Now, it's Mr. Haslam and Mr. Banner. And if Mr. Haslam and Mr. Banner had any decency, even though 50,000 of these ridiculous white flags have already been ordered, they would keep those things locked away on palates and not hand out anything.
Because NOTHING is better than a national joke.
This is my third year of being a Browns season ticket holder. If someone tries to hand me one of those ridiculous things, I either throw it on the ground in front of them, or I keep walking.
Because when I think of finally beating the hated Steelers, I think of 50,000 fans waving white flags in the crow to combat the sea of yellow from the black jersey-clad Yinzers and Northeast Ohio frontrunners.
The craxy part is, this may not be an isolated incident when it comes to the Browns marketing department, and why the man who made his fortune creating multipurpose truck stops needs to run these idiots all out of town and hire his own people.
He'll be hiring all his own people to run the football team next year from the head coach on down, why stop there?
According to ESPNCleveland.com, a story has been circulating about why the marketing department didn't sell any game-day programs to the season-opening game against the Eagles.
The Browns marketing department is in charge of the editing and printing of the game day programs. A source told the radio station that just hours before kickoff, someone in the communications department noticed that on the main roster centerfold, the first page everyone opens to in the program, the head coach’s name was spelled “Pat Schurmur.”
Yes, the head coaches name was spelled wrong.
As the team was scrambling to figure out an easy fix, the marketing department had a brilliant idea. They decided they would add a separate one page insert with a corrected roster. At the top of that insert, in bold letters it said, “Please disregard the misspelling of Pat Shurmur’s name on the original roster."
You can’t make this stuff up folks. The marketing department misspelled the most important person on the roster’s name and then, to cover it up, drew more attention to the mistake.
According to the article, the communications department pushed hard and finally got all programs pulled from the game before fans arrived. If you somehow got a hold of one of those, it might be worth some money someday.
Browns players are hoping the white flags idea doesn't come to fruition.
“I try to focus on the Steelers but I’m not a fan of the white flags,” middle linebacker D’Qwell Jackson said. “That’s the simplest way I can put it. I’m not a fan of it whatsoever knowing that we’ll see the terrible towels flying and it’s just not a message I like and I’m sure other guys don’t approve of.”
“I think I’m going to let D’Qwell speak for all of us,” added long-time kicker Phil Dawson, who has (literally) seen it all when it comes to the Browns. “When your mom told you growing up if you don’t have anything good to say, probably better not to say it, I think I am going to follow those words.”
If there is one positive to that story, it's that it is never too late to pull a mistake. Let's hope Haslam (or anybody for that matter) pulls the plug on this one, too.
The Browns were able to avoid one embarassment when they were able to convince the NFL to exempt them from the league-wide mandate to have a moment of silence for Dead Judas the Theiving One prior to that Eagles game. Hopefully, they can avoid another.
***
Speaking of waving the white flag, that's exactly what Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith and president Gordon Gee decided to do when they decided to accept a berth to the Gator Bowl so their 6-6 Buckeyes with the lame-duck head coach could play Florida.
Taking that bowl game (and losing to suffer the very rare under-.500 season) allowed the NCAA to hand down a bowl ban for this season when they officially announced their sanctions agaisnt Ohio State for Tattoo-Gate.
So, a 6-6 team with a meaningless head coach and meaningless lame-duck coaching staff played in a meaningless bowl and lost, so that a potential 12-0 team with a fantastic head coach and fantastic coaching staff (except for the defense) can stay home instead of accepting a potential berth in the BCS National Championship Game.
Take a bow, Gene Smith! Take a bow!
Smith incredulously refused to believe that, had he self-imposed a bowl ban last year, the NCAA would not have given them one this year. He still maintains he did the right thing.
How this man has a high-profile job at a Division I university is one of life's great mysteries. How he didn't get run out of town along with Lord Tressel in the wake of Tattoo-Gate has baffled me ever since the scandal broke.
Then again, we have a guy working for the Cleveland Indians who traded back-to-back AL Cy Young award winners and not only got bubkiss for them, but wound up with a promotion. We have a head coach for the Cleveland Browns who was only an offensive coordinator for one season, and it was for a mediocre team. We have a marketing department that believes it is a great idea to hand out white flags to wave for a game against your most hated and bitter rival.
This is why Joe Cleveland should have his head examined for rooting for these teams. Apparently, shit does flow upstream in Ohio.
Please, for the love of God, can the Buckeyes and the Browns just do right on the field Saturday and Sunday against the teams this fanbase loves to hate? All of the above will go away, even if for just one day, week or month.
Here's hoping for some great news on ALL fronts come Monday.
O-H ... I-O!!!
Here we go, Brownies! Here we go! WOOF-WOOF!
And remember ...
We don't give a damn about the whole state of Michigan, cuz we're from Oh-Hi-O!
Finally ...
Only bitches wave little yellow towels! Beat Pittsburgh and the Three River Rednecks they brought with them!
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
An easy choice
Every couple of years, the planets and schedule-makers align to where, in back-to-back days on the same weekend, Ohio State is playing Michigan and the Browns are playing the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Throw in the Cavs travelling to Miami to take on LeQuit and his Heat on Saturday night, and you have the makings of a very intense weekend for a Cleveland sports fan.
One notable time you had OSU-Michgan and Browns-Steelers on the same weekend was in 2006.
No. 1 Ohio State hosted No. 2 Michigan in a game for the ages, where Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith improved to 3-0 against That Team Up North with a 316-yard, 4-touchdown performance in a 42-39 victory at Ohio Stadium on Nov. 18.
The following day, the Browns squandered leads of 10-0, 13-3 and 20-10 (in the fourth quarter), as the Steelers scored 21 fourth-quarter points and won, 24-20, at Browns Stadium.
I'm sure it's happened quite a few times in history. And I can't remember when the last time both the Buckeyes and the Browns happened to beat their archrivals in the same weekend (although I'm sure it's happened before). It surely hasn't happened within the last 35 years. On Nov. 25, 1973, the Browns beat the Steelers, 21-16, and Ohio State and Michigan tied 10-10 the day before.
Actually, according to some Joe Cleveland research just now, I did find the last time the Browns and Buckeyes won on the same weekend. On Nov. 24, 1962, Ohio State blanked Michigan, 28-0, at the Horseshoe. The following day, at the old Cleveland Stadium, the Browns handled the Steelers, 35-14, behind a big day from the great Jim Brown. So, it's been a while.
Saturday is the 109th meeting between the two flagship schools in the Big Ten. Michigan leads the series, 58-43-6, although Ohio State has won 9 of the last 11 matchups against That Team Up North (8, if you want to factor in the 2010 game was officially vacated due to NCAA sanctions against the Buckeyes).
Sunday is the 121st meeting between the two oldest franchises in the AFC, including playoffs. The Steelers lead the series, 64-56, and have won 18 of the last 19 games against our beloved Brownies.
I can remember back in 2006, someone asked me if I had to pick one team beating their rival -- Ohio State or the Browns -- which one would it be. I easily answered the Browns. Folks were shocked. Keep in mind, the Buckeyes were the No. 1 team in the country and playing for a berth in the BCS Championship Game, while the Browns were on their way to another non-descript 4-12 season.
My answer was the Browns in 2006, and my answer in 2012 remains the Browns, even though the Buckeyes are playing for an undefeated 12-0 season (their first unbeaten season since the 2002 National Championship team) and an unofficial Big Ten championship (NCAA sanctions prevent Ohio State from playing in either the Big Ten Championship Game or a bowl game this season), while the Browns are heading for another 4-12 season.
My first reason -- my name is "Joe Cleveland," not "Joe Columbus."
Sure, I love the Buckeyes and I hate That Team Up North with every fiber of my being. However, I didn't go to Ohio State. I never lived in the Columbus-area. I have a cousin that goes to Ohio State, but that's about the extent of my family ties to that great university.
Meanwhile, I've lived in Northeast Ohio my entire life. I've loved the Browns since before I could walk. And as much as I love the Browns passionately, I hate the Steelers even more passionately. I used to have a second-favorite NFL team (growing up, it was the 49ers). Now, my second-favorite NFL team is the team that happens to be playing the Steelers. And yes, that even includes those Theiving Modells from Colt-ville.
You don't see many Michigan fans around these parts anymore (most of them donated their Maize and Blue after Jim Tressel came to town and turned the rivalry on its ear. Translation -- most local Michigan fans are frontrunners, and quietly switched sides when Ohio State started winning). Meanwhile, there are Steeler fans all over the place around here (like the local Michigan fans, local Steeler fans are nothing but frontrunners who all were Browns fans during the Bernie Kosar years but switched when the Steelers started winning Super Bowls again and started dominating the Browns).
Local Steeler fans are the most annoying group of fans I've ever witnessed. They talk about the six rings. They sing praises about their rapist quarterback. They wear their Steeler gear everywhere or plaster it on their cars. You usually see them gather at a local sports bar because the Steeler game is blacked out for the Browns game. This is why I quit going to local sports bars to watch the games every Sunday -- it got too damn annoying and I really didn't want to get into any fights.
If the Steelers beat the Browns again, those front-running idiots will be out in full force, waving their little yellow towels and talking about how much their hometown team sucks and how us Browns fans are all idiots. Meanwhile, if Michigan beats the Buckeyes, sure, a couple of frontrunners will suddenly find that Desmond Howard Heisman Trophy shirt from the early 1990s up their attic in mothballs and put it on, but it's on a lesser scale.
My final reason -- Ohio State fans EXPECT to beat Michigan this Saturday. Browns fans HOPE to beat the Steelers this Sunday. There is a difference.
Sure, an Ohio State win and a Browns loss will be a nice consolation prize. There would be nothing worse than both of these teams losing to their most hated rivals within days of each other, so I'll take one over nothing. But, locally, a Browns win would trump a Buckeyes win.
On sports talk, all you'd hear during the week would be Browns fans finally talking trash to their Steeler counterparts. People would wonder if Pat Shurmur was finally turning the corner.
Eric Mangini saved his job in 2009 when his Browns upset the Steelers on a brutally cold Thursday night in Cleveland. A win over the Steelers this Sunday may not be enough for Shurmur. However, that 2009 kicked off four consecutive wins to end the season and propel some optimism (that went away late in 2010 when Mangini's team lost their last four games and he was fired). A win over a Steeler team -- even one that is down to starting their third-string quarterback -- 37-year-old Charlie Batch -- and is so banged up, they brought a 35-year-old Plaxico Burress out of quasi-retirement to play receiver -- would boost the civic pride and may propel this Browns team on a similar streak to end the season.
So, in a perfect world, Joe Cleveland wants to party like it's 1962 -- celebrating a Buckeyes win over Michigan and a Browns win over the Steelers. But, if I had to have just one, I'd choose the Browns 10 times out of 10 times.
And, if an injury-depleted Cavs team can beat LeQuit and the Heat, I'd be a very happy Joe Cleveland on this Thanksgiving weekend. But, let's not get too carried away.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Throw in the Cavs travelling to Miami to take on LeQuit and his Heat on Saturday night, and you have the makings of a very intense weekend for a Cleveland sports fan.
One notable time you had OSU-Michgan and Browns-Steelers on the same weekend was in 2006.
No. 1 Ohio State hosted No. 2 Michigan in a game for the ages, where Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith improved to 3-0 against That Team Up North with a 316-yard, 4-touchdown performance in a 42-39 victory at Ohio Stadium on Nov. 18.
The following day, the Browns squandered leads of 10-0, 13-3 and 20-10 (in the fourth quarter), as the Steelers scored 21 fourth-quarter points and won, 24-20, at Browns Stadium.
I'm sure it's happened quite a few times in history. And I can't remember when the last time both the Buckeyes and the Browns happened to beat their archrivals in the same weekend (although I'm sure it's happened before). It surely hasn't happened within the last 35 years. On Nov. 25, 1973, the Browns beat the Steelers, 21-16, and Ohio State and Michigan tied 10-10 the day before.
Actually, according to some Joe Cleveland research just now, I did find the last time the Browns and Buckeyes won on the same weekend. On Nov. 24, 1962, Ohio State blanked Michigan, 28-0, at the Horseshoe. The following day, at the old Cleveland Stadium, the Browns handled the Steelers, 35-14, behind a big day from the great Jim Brown. So, it's been a while.
Saturday is the 109th meeting between the two flagship schools in the Big Ten. Michigan leads the series, 58-43-6, although Ohio State has won 9 of the last 11 matchups against That Team Up North (8, if you want to factor in the 2010 game was officially vacated due to NCAA sanctions against the Buckeyes).
Sunday is the 121st meeting between the two oldest franchises in the AFC, including playoffs. The Steelers lead the series, 64-56, and have won 18 of the last 19 games against our beloved Brownies.
I can remember back in 2006, someone asked me if I had to pick one team beating their rival -- Ohio State or the Browns -- which one would it be. I easily answered the Browns. Folks were shocked. Keep in mind, the Buckeyes were the No. 1 team in the country and playing for a berth in the BCS Championship Game, while the Browns were on their way to another non-descript 4-12 season.
My answer was the Browns in 2006, and my answer in 2012 remains the Browns, even though the Buckeyes are playing for an undefeated 12-0 season (their first unbeaten season since the 2002 National Championship team) and an unofficial Big Ten championship (NCAA sanctions prevent Ohio State from playing in either the Big Ten Championship Game or a bowl game this season), while the Browns are heading for another 4-12 season.
My first reason -- my name is "Joe Cleveland," not "Joe Columbus."
Sure, I love the Buckeyes and I hate That Team Up North with every fiber of my being. However, I didn't go to Ohio State. I never lived in the Columbus-area. I have a cousin that goes to Ohio State, but that's about the extent of my family ties to that great university.
Meanwhile, I've lived in Northeast Ohio my entire life. I've loved the Browns since before I could walk. And as much as I love the Browns passionately, I hate the Steelers even more passionately. I used to have a second-favorite NFL team (growing up, it was the 49ers). Now, my second-favorite NFL team is the team that happens to be playing the Steelers. And yes, that even includes those Theiving Modells from Colt-ville.
You don't see many Michigan fans around these parts anymore (most of them donated their Maize and Blue after Jim Tressel came to town and turned the rivalry on its ear. Translation -- most local Michigan fans are frontrunners, and quietly switched sides when Ohio State started winning). Meanwhile, there are Steeler fans all over the place around here (like the local Michigan fans, local Steeler fans are nothing but frontrunners who all were Browns fans during the Bernie Kosar years but switched when the Steelers started winning Super Bowls again and started dominating the Browns).
Local Steeler fans are the most annoying group of fans I've ever witnessed. They talk about the six rings. They sing praises about their rapist quarterback. They wear their Steeler gear everywhere or plaster it on their cars. You usually see them gather at a local sports bar because the Steeler game is blacked out for the Browns game. This is why I quit going to local sports bars to watch the games every Sunday -- it got too damn annoying and I really didn't want to get into any fights.
If the Steelers beat the Browns again, those front-running idiots will be out in full force, waving their little yellow towels and talking about how much their hometown team sucks and how us Browns fans are all idiots. Meanwhile, if Michigan beats the Buckeyes, sure, a couple of frontrunners will suddenly find that Desmond Howard Heisman Trophy shirt from the early 1990s up their attic in mothballs and put it on, but it's on a lesser scale.
My final reason -- Ohio State fans EXPECT to beat Michigan this Saturday. Browns fans HOPE to beat the Steelers this Sunday. There is a difference.
Sure, an Ohio State win and a Browns loss will be a nice consolation prize. There would be nothing worse than both of these teams losing to their most hated rivals within days of each other, so I'll take one over nothing. But, locally, a Browns win would trump a Buckeyes win.
On sports talk, all you'd hear during the week would be Browns fans finally talking trash to their Steeler counterparts. People would wonder if Pat Shurmur was finally turning the corner.
Eric Mangini saved his job in 2009 when his Browns upset the Steelers on a brutally cold Thursday night in Cleveland. A win over the Steelers this Sunday may not be enough for Shurmur. However, that 2009 kicked off four consecutive wins to end the season and propel some optimism (that went away late in 2010 when Mangini's team lost their last four games and he was fired). A win over a Steeler team -- even one that is down to starting their third-string quarterback -- 37-year-old Charlie Batch -- and is so banged up, they brought a 35-year-old Plaxico Burress out of quasi-retirement to play receiver -- would boost the civic pride and may propel this Browns team on a similar streak to end the season.
So, in a perfect world, Joe Cleveland wants to party like it's 1962 -- celebrating a Buckeyes win over Michigan and a Browns win over the Steelers. But, if I had to have just one, I'd choose the Browns 10 times out of 10 times.
And, if an injury-depleted Cavs team can beat LeQuit and the Heat, I'd be a very happy Joe Cleveland on this Thanksgiving weekend. But, let's not get too carried away.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Drive for 25
As Joe Cleveland celebrated and rejoiced Sunday, watching Tim Tebow shread the "vaunted" Pittspuke Squeelers defense for 316 yards (and a 31.6-yard average per completion, how odd is that), visions of the Broncos from many years ago with a young quarterback danced in my head.
Tebow and Broncos put the final nail in the Stoolers' coffin with a stunning 80-yard touchdown pass to Demariyus Thomas, ending the overtime in just 11 seconds and giving the Broncos a huge 29-23 upset in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
Almost immediately, Stooler fans had to attempt to crash Browns fans parties by reminding them about what the Broncos did to our beloved Browns 25 years ago.
Oh sure, you remember, as any tried-and-true, Brown-and-Orange-bleeding Browns fan remembers Jan. 11, 1987. You remember where you were and who you were with when you saw the Browns come, arguably, the closest they've ever come to a Super Bowl berth.
The plastic was over the Browns lockers and the AFC Lamar Hunt Trophy was in the Browns locker room when Bernie Kosar found Brian Brennan for a 48-yard touchdown pass with a little over five minutes remaining in the AFC Championship Game at the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Pandamonium Palace was at full-throttle then, and on the subsequent Mark Moseley kickoff, when a guy named Ken Bell misjudged the knuckleball kick and had to fall on it at his own 2-yard line.
98 yards and five minutes seperated the Browns from that elusive Super Bowl berth and a date with the New York Giants at the Rose Bowl in Pasedena. But, we all remember what happened next.
I had just turned 13 years old a few weeks prior to that and I was watching the game in our den with my parents, siblings and other aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. My parents hosted a party, and everyone was invited to watch history be made.
Oh we saw history, just not the history we wanted to see.
While it only took Tebow one play and 11 seconds to cover 80 yards, it took John Elway most of those five minutes and 15 plays to cover the 98 he needed to tie the game and send it into overtime. Marty Schottenheimer's "Prevent" defense, which was supposed to prevent big plays, allowed Elway to dink and dunk and scramble his way methodically down the field, and was capped by a five-yard touchdown pass to Mark Jackson on third-and-2 with 37 seconds left.
I remember being stunned, but I wasn't worried. The Browns OWNED overtime in the 1986 season. They were 3-0 in OT games during a 12-4 regular season (other than a 14-0 year in 1948, this is the most regular season wins the Browns have ever had) and had just won a thrilling 23-20 double overtime playoff game with the Jets one week ago. A game that the Browns trailed by 10 with 4 1/2 minutes remaining, and yet somehow tied up and sent into OT. A game that Moseley missed a chip shot OT field goal, but had a second-chance in the double OT and made this one count.
A game that was the Browns' first playoff victory since 1968. A game that had Browns fans believing that 1986 was the season of destiny.
So, the Browns proceeded to go 3-and-out with the first OT possession, and Elway went to work again. This time, Rich Karlis set up for a 37-yard field goal to win the game.
I maintained 25 years ago with my 13-year-old eyes and I still maintain every time I see the replay and from hearing eyewitness accounts that Karlis' kick was wide left. They should still be playing that game.
But, the refs raised their hands and called the kick good, and it was Denver that went to the Super Bowl.
Denver went to the Super Bowl three times in a four-year span -- all with AFC Championship wins over the Browns. All of them were close games in the fourth quarter, but two of them ended in truly heartbreaking fashion for Browns fans like me (the 1989 team just simply ran out of gas in the fourth quarter and lost, 37-21. They were aging and, quite frankly, lucky to be playing in the AFC title game that year. They haven't been back there since).
Stooler fans immediately brought up The Drive as a way to try to take Browns fans down a peg.
Joe Cleveland's response -- Well, at least you know how it feels, doesn't it.
Joe Cleveland's second response -- Elway took 15 plays, Tebow only took one.
Joe Cleveland's third response -- My hatred for the Broncos essentially died with Elway -- who I referred to as a "horse-toothed jackass" during the 1989 AFC title game and did not get grounded for it by my parents -- and his retirement in the late 1990s. However, I found myself rooting for them in the 1998 Super Bowl against the Atlanta Falcons -- I could not stand that stupid Dirty Bird dance.
My hatred for the Steelers will never die.
Elway and the Broncos broke my heart that day 25 years ago, and broke it two more times. And, I'm sure next year, we'll all be going through this again with the 25th anniversary of The Fumble. But, Joe Cleveland will deal with that next year.
The only thing better than watching the Stoolers lose in the Super Bowl is watching a Super Bowl that doesn't have the Stoolers in it.
Actually, I can think of one thing that would be better, but it's never happened. Joe Cleveland believes that it will happen, and will happen in the near future.
The Steelers literally limped into the playoffs and were banged up, courtesy of the two games against the Browns -- the team that's "not even a rivalry anymore" in the eyes of Steeler fans. Instead of being intimidated by them, the Browns stood up to them, took their best shot, and hit them right back square in the mouth.
They lost both games, but both games were at least close. The last one, as snow swirled in the night-time sky on New Year's Day, came down to the final play of the game, with the Browns possessing the ball on the Pittsburgh 24-yard line. Seneca Wallace's Hail Mary pass fell incomplete, and the Steelers escaped with a 13-9 victory. But, the long-term damage was done.
Mike Holmgren believes the Browns are closing the gap on the AFC North foes, despite going 0-6 for only the second time since the division took its current shape back in 2001. And, I believe him.
The Browns could have concievably won both games with the Bengals. A colossal defensive brain fart back in the season opener cost the Browns that first game, and the Browns squandered a 10-point lead in the second game, giving up a huge pass to A.J. Green on third down that set up the game-winning field goal.
The only truly lop-sided game was the Browns home game against the Thieving Bastards, and that was only 24-10. The Browns rallied by running a healthy Peyton Hillis right down Ray Lewis' throat and lost by six, thanks to another Pat Shurmur coaching blunder in a season that was rife with them.
The Steelers and Ravens aren't getting any younger and have question marks. The Bengals, while also in a good position with some young talent at QB and WR and an extra first-round pick (like the Browns) in next year's draft, also backed into the playoff by beating nine non-playoff teams and were smacked down by a Houston team that was starting a rookie third-string quarterback.
This isn't saying the Browns don't have their own work cut out for them. They certainly do. But this offseason will be a huge one, determining the fate of this franchise for the next few seasons to come.
Will Shurmur find a reliable offensive coordinator to make his job easier? Will a true offseason benefit him, and will he learn from his countless mistakes in a rough rookie year?
Will the Browns go back to Colt McCoy? Will they try to land Matt Flynn or Kevin Kolb via trade or free agency? Or, do they try to acquire Heisman winner Robert Griffin III or Andrew Luck in this year's draft?
And, the draft -- the Browns have the fourth and 22nd pick in this year's first round. Do they go offense? Defense? Best available?
Many questions to be answered with this year's Browns. Hopefully, they can answer quite a few of them correctly these next few months and get this franchise back where it belongs -- consistantly winning and in the playoffs and (dare Joe Cleveland says it) a championship.
Once upon a time, the Browns were considered the "New York Yankees of football." In a feat that never happened before and will likely never happen again, the Browns reached 10 consecutive championship games in their first 10 years as a franchise, winning seven of those. They are one of four teams in the curent NFL (although the Browns and Lions are the only two who existed prior to 1995) who have never even played in a Super Bowl, much less won one.
This franchise and these fans deserve a winner. We can bemoan things like The Drive all we want and lament how close we were then. I relish the time when we can truly celebrate a Browns championship or two, and I believe it will happen.
Oh, and Pittsburgh still sucks!
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Tebow and Broncos put the final nail in the Stoolers' coffin with a stunning 80-yard touchdown pass to Demariyus Thomas, ending the overtime in just 11 seconds and giving the Broncos a huge 29-23 upset in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
Almost immediately, Stooler fans had to attempt to crash Browns fans parties by reminding them about what the Broncos did to our beloved Browns 25 years ago.
Oh sure, you remember, as any tried-and-true, Brown-and-Orange-bleeding Browns fan remembers Jan. 11, 1987. You remember where you were and who you were with when you saw the Browns come, arguably, the closest they've ever come to a Super Bowl berth.
The plastic was over the Browns lockers and the AFC Lamar Hunt Trophy was in the Browns locker room when Bernie Kosar found Brian Brennan for a 48-yard touchdown pass with a little over five minutes remaining in the AFC Championship Game at the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Pandamonium Palace was at full-throttle then, and on the subsequent Mark Moseley kickoff, when a guy named Ken Bell misjudged the knuckleball kick and had to fall on it at his own 2-yard line.
98 yards and five minutes seperated the Browns from that elusive Super Bowl berth and a date with the New York Giants at the Rose Bowl in Pasedena. But, we all remember what happened next.
I had just turned 13 years old a few weeks prior to that and I was watching the game in our den with my parents, siblings and other aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. My parents hosted a party, and everyone was invited to watch history be made.
Oh we saw history, just not the history we wanted to see.
While it only took Tebow one play and 11 seconds to cover 80 yards, it took John Elway most of those five minutes and 15 plays to cover the 98 he needed to tie the game and send it into overtime. Marty Schottenheimer's "Prevent" defense, which was supposed to prevent big plays, allowed Elway to dink and dunk and scramble his way methodically down the field, and was capped by a five-yard touchdown pass to Mark Jackson on third-and-2 with 37 seconds left.
I remember being stunned, but I wasn't worried. The Browns OWNED overtime in the 1986 season. They were 3-0 in OT games during a 12-4 regular season (other than a 14-0 year in 1948, this is the most regular season wins the Browns have ever had) and had just won a thrilling 23-20 double overtime playoff game with the Jets one week ago. A game that the Browns trailed by 10 with 4 1/2 minutes remaining, and yet somehow tied up and sent into OT. A game that Moseley missed a chip shot OT field goal, but had a second-chance in the double OT and made this one count.
A game that was the Browns' first playoff victory since 1968. A game that had Browns fans believing that 1986 was the season of destiny.
So, the Browns proceeded to go 3-and-out with the first OT possession, and Elway went to work again. This time, Rich Karlis set up for a 37-yard field goal to win the game.
I maintained 25 years ago with my 13-year-old eyes and I still maintain every time I see the replay and from hearing eyewitness accounts that Karlis' kick was wide left. They should still be playing that game.
But, the refs raised their hands and called the kick good, and it was Denver that went to the Super Bowl.
Denver went to the Super Bowl three times in a four-year span -- all with AFC Championship wins over the Browns. All of them were close games in the fourth quarter, but two of them ended in truly heartbreaking fashion for Browns fans like me (the 1989 team just simply ran out of gas in the fourth quarter and lost, 37-21. They were aging and, quite frankly, lucky to be playing in the AFC title game that year. They haven't been back there since).
Stooler fans immediately brought up The Drive as a way to try to take Browns fans down a peg.
Joe Cleveland's response -- Well, at least you know how it feels, doesn't it.
Joe Cleveland's second response -- Elway took 15 plays, Tebow only took one.
Joe Cleveland's third response -- My hatred for the Broncos essentially died with Elway -- who I referred to as a "horse-toothed jackass" during the 1989 AFC title game and did not get grounded for it by my parents -- and his retirement in the late 1990s. However, I found myself rooting for them in the 1998 Super Bowl against the Atlanta Falcons -- I could not stand that stupid Dirty Bird dance.
My hatred for the Steelers will never die.
Elway and the Broncos broke my heart that day 25 years ago, and broke it two more times. And, I'm sure next year, we'll all be going through this again with the 25th anniversary of The Fumble. But, Joe Cleveland will deal with that next year.
The only thing better than watching the Stoolers lose in the Super Bowl is watching a Super Bowl that doesn't have the Stoolers in it.
Actually, I can think of one thing that would be better, but it's never happened. Joe Cleveland believes that it will happen, and will happen in the near future.
The Steelers literally limped into the playoffs and were banged up, courtesy of the two games against the Browns -- the team that's "not even a rivalry anymore" in the eyes of Steeler fans. Instead of being intimidated by them, the Browns stood up to them, took their best shot, and hit them right back square in the mouth.
They lost both games, but both games were at least close. The last one, as snow swirled in the night-time sky on New Year's Day, came down to the final play of the game, with the Browns possessing the ball on the Pittsburgh 24-yard line. Seneca Wallace's Hail Mary pass fell incomplete, and the Steelers escaped with a 13-9 victory. But, the long-term damage was done.
Mike Holmgren believes the Browns are closing the gap on the AFC North foes, despite going 0-6 for only the second time since the division took its current shape back in 2001. And, I believe him.
The Browns could have concievably won both games with the Bengals. A colossal defensive brain fart back in the season opener cost the Browns that first game, and the Browns squandered a 10-point lead in the second game, giving up a huge pass to A.J. Green on third down that set up the game-winning field goal.
The only truly lop-sided game was the Browns home game against the Thieving Bastards, and that was only 24-10. The Browns rallied by running a healthy Peyton Hillis right down Ray Lewis' throat and lost by six, thanks to another Pat Shurmur coaching blunder in a season that was rife with them.
The Steelers and Ravens aren't getting any younger and have question marks. The Bengals, while also in a good position with some young talent at QB and WR and an extra first-round pick (like the Browns) in next year's draft, also backed into the playoff by beating nine non-playoff teams and were smacked down by a Houston team that was starting a rookie third-string quarterback.
This isn't saying the Browns don't have their own work cut out for them. They certainly do. But this offseason will be a huge one, determining the fate of this franchise for the next few seasons to come.
Will Shurmur find a reliable offensive coordinator to make his job easier? Will a true offseason benefit him, and will he learn from his countless mistakes in a rough rookie year?
Will the Browns go back to Colt McCoy? Will they try to land Matt Flynn or Kevin Kolb via trade or free agency? Or, do they try to acquire Heisman winner Robert Griffin III or Andrew Luck in this year's draft?
And, the draft -- the Browns have the fourth and 22nd pick in this year's first round. Do they go offense? Defense? Best available?
Many questions to be answered with this year's Browns. Hopefully, they can answer quite a few of them correctly these next few months and get this franchise back where it belongs -- consistantly winning and in the playoffs and (dare Joe Cleveland says it) a championship.
Once upon a time, the Browns were considered the "New York Yankees of football." In a feat that never happened before and will likely never happen again, the Browns reached 10 consecutive championship games in their first 10 years as a franchise, winning seven of those. They are one of four teams in the curent NFL (although the Browns and Lions are the only two who existed prior to 1995) who have never even played in a Super Bowl, much less won one.
This franchise and these fans deserve a winner. We can bemoan things like The Drive all we want and lament how close we were then. I relish the time when we can truly celebrate a Browns championship or two, and I believe it will happen.
Oh, and Pittsburgh still sucks!
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Top 10 Browns-Steelers games (according to Joe)
Yes, this has been a miserable Browns season.
And yes, by all indications, the Pittspuke Stillers should blow out the Browns at the giant ketchup bottle in front of a bunch of yellow towel-waving sheep and a national television audience (well, at least those who don't subscribe to Time-Warner Cable, which still does not have a deal in place with the NFL Network).
However, it's Steeler Week, and Joe Cleveland can't help but get fired up.
When the Browns first came back in 1999, I admit that I hated the Ravens ... err, the Thieving Bastards ... more than the Steelers. After all, Judas was still that team's owner, and he ripped them out of Cleveland and put them in Colt-ville. So, Browns fans were pretty pissed off when it came to those imposters in purple.
It also didn't help that the Thieving Bastards caught lightning in a bottle and won the Super Bowl after the 2000 season. If you wonder why 2001 was such a bad year, you can point to the fact that it began with Judas holding up the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Meanwhile, the Steelers hadn't quite found their mojo yet.
In fact, the Browns (after taking a 43-0 pasting in front of a national audience in the first official game back) beat the Steelers twice in their first two years of existance. They won five games in those two years -- two of those came against the Stillers.
I think it all changed when the Browns caught lightning in a bottle themselves and qualified for the playoffs in 2002. Their reward -- the Stillers at the giant ketchup bottle. The Stillers had swept the Browns that season, but each game was decided by three points and each game came down to the bitter end.
The Browns, heavy underdogs and led by a backup quarterback named Kelly, jumped out to leads of 23-7 and 33-21, the latter late in the fourth quarter. But, in typical Cleveland fashion, a former castoff named Tommy Maddux led the Stillers to two late touchdowns, Dennis Northcutt couldn't catch a third-down pass that hit him right in the hands that would have allowed the Browns to run out the clock, and Andre King couldn't quite get out of bounds despite being in Phil Dawson's field goal range before time ran out, and Pittspuke won, 36-33.
The next year, the Stillers drafted an Ohio boy named Consentlessberger or something along those lines, and since then, they've been among the NFL elite. The Browns, meanwhile, have not.
Even in 2007, when the Browns won 10 games, they swept the Ravens, but were swept by the Stillers. Had they beaten Pittspuke just once, the Browns would have made the playoffs. But they didn't, and they didn't.
Recent history hasn't been kind to the Browns in the longest-standing rivalry in the AFC (which is because these two teams started playing before the AFL existed). The Browns got off to a 32-9 start in this series, but the Steelers have recently taken the lead thanks to only losing to Cleveland FOUR times since the Browns returned to the lakefront.
But, those who neglect to follow history are doomed to repeat it. So, to remind Browns fans that it hasn't always bad against the Squeelers (and to remind front-running Pittsburgh fan that, No. 1, the team existed before 1970 and was mostly terrible, and, No. 2, that the 1980s and the early part of the 1990s were not the Squeelers finast moment, and that they always haven't been great during the so-called "Super Bowl Era"), here are my top 10 games in the Browns-Steelers rivalry.
Jaded Steeler fan may wonder how someone like me could find 10 winning Browns games against the Steelers. I would like to remind Jaded Steeler Fan that your team only leads the series 60-56, not counting two playoff victories over our beloved Dawgs.
So, here goes:
10. Browns 13, Steelers 6 (Dec. 10, 2009): The most recent win for the Browns in this series cracks our list because of how out-of-nowhere it really was. The Browns came into this Thursday Night home contest with a 1-11 record, and new coach Eric Mangini was on the hot seat with the rumored hiring of Mike Holmgren as team president earlier that week. However, instead of rolling over to the vaunted Steelers, the defending Super Bowl champions, they hit them in the mouth. Ben Roethlisberger was sacked eight times -- a season-best for the Browns' beleagured defense -- and held them to just two field goals. Brady Quinn only threw for 90 yards and was offset a lot by receiver Josh Cribbs, who ran for a team-best 87 yards out of the Wildcat formation. But, he led two first quarter scoring drives (both Phil Dawson field goals) and another just before halftime, capped by rookie Chris Jennings' 10-yard touchdown run to make it 13-0. The game wasn't over until linebacker David Bowens batted away a fourth-down Roethlisberger pass with just over a minute remaining, and Santonio Holmes was leveled after a short punt return with no time remaining to cap one of the most satisfying Browns victory during the "Expansion Era."
9. Browns 24, Steelers 19 (Oct. 9, 1965): -- The Browns came into 1965 as the defending NFL champions (alas, they haven't been able to do that since then) and picked up right where they left off, winning two of their first three games before hosting the hated Steelers (0-4) on a Saturday night. However, the underdog Steelers hung tough with the vaunted Browns, rallying from a 10-0 first quarter deficit to take a 19-17 fourth quarter lead on a Dick Hoak 15-yard run. Jim Brown (who Cleveland drafted just one pick after the Steelers selected Len Dawson in the first round of the 1957 draft) scored two touchdowns, one receiving, and gained 168 yards on the ground. However, it was his backup Leroy Kelly (who also wound up in the Hall of Fame), who made the biggest plays of the game-winning drive, which began on their own 22 with 3:35 remaining, catching passes of 22 and 21 yards. Following a four-yard run by Brown to put the ball on the Pittsburgh 14 with less than a minute to go, Frank Ryan found Gary Collins on a post pattern in the end zone for the game-winning score. The Browns wound wind up going 11-3 and reaching the NFL Championship game for the second-straight year, but lost to the Green Bay Packers in what turned out to be Brown's final game of his storied career.
8. Browns 16, Steelers 15 (Nov. 14, 1999): After three years without football, the Browns were reborn as an expansion team in 1999, playing in a sparkling new stadium in the exact spot that the old Cleveland Stadium stood. In their first game back, the Browns were humiliated by the Steelers, 43-0, at home. Just a few weeks later, on Nov. 14, the Browns played like a totally different team. keeping themselves in the game. The Browns scored first on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Tim Couch to Kevin Johnson (both rookies), but the Steelers battled back to take a 15-7 lead on a touchdown and three field goals. But, with 6:26 left in the game, defensive lineman John Thierry intercepted Kordell Stewart and was brought down at the Steeler 15, setting up a Couch to Mark Edwards touchdown pass a few plays later. Karim Abdul-Jabbar's two-point conversion run was stopped, but the Browns had one more chance. Taking over with no timeouts at his own 20 with 1:51 remaining, Couch drove the Browns 58 yards in five plays. Without stopping the clock and with 18 seconds left, Chris Palmer ran the field goal team out on to the field. The Browns snapped the ball with two seconds left, and rookie Phil Dawson, into an 18 mph wind, calmly drilled a 40-yard field goal to give Cleveland the stunning upset win. It turned out to be the Browns' second-to-last visit to Three Rivers Stadium and their first win there since 1989's 51-0 blowout.
7. Browns 26, Steelers 24 (Nov. 19, 1972): The suddenly resurgent Steelers, after decades of ineptitude, took a 7-2 record into this contest at Cleveland Stadium, with the Browns at 6-3. The Browns jumped out to a 20-3 lead behind two TD passes from Mike Phipps, but the Steelers scored just before halftime to make it 20-10, then got two touchdown runs -- the latter a 75-yard run from Franco Harris -- to take a 24-23 fourth quarter lead. Don Cockroft missed a 27-yard field goal with just under two minutes remaining, but he got another chance thanks to the defense forcing a three-and-out and a clutch drive led by Phipps. With 13 seconds remaining, Cockroft earned his redemption with a 26-yard field goal, giving the Browns a much-needed victory. Both teams made the playoffs that season, but both were defeated by the undefeated Miami Dolphins.
6. Browns 27, Steelers 26 (Oct. 16, 1980): This game virtually signaled the death of the first Steeler dynasty and helped propel the "Kardiac Kids" to their first-ever AFC Central crown and first playoff berth since 1972. Despite the Steelers missing most of their regular offensive starters, Pittsburgh jumped out to a 26-14 fourth quarter lead with backup QB Cliff Stoudt, an Oberlin native, at the helm. But Brian Sipe and Co., despite blowing a couple of golden scoring opportunities earlier in the game, came to life in the fourth quarter. Sipe found Greg Pruitt for a 7-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 9:21 remaining (Don Cockroft missed the extra point, keeping the Steelers ahead by six). Then, with 5:38 remaining, Sipe found a streaking Ozzie Newsome wide open for an 18-yard touchdown, sending 80,000 fans at Cleveland Stadium into a frenzy. Ron Bolton prevented Stoudt from making a late rally with an interception at the two-minute warning, and the Browns were able to run out the clock on this huge victory over the defending Super Bowl champs.
5. Browns 18, Steelers 16 (Oct. 10, 1976): This game is famous for Browns defensive end Joe "Turkey" Jones' sack of Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw, where Jones slammed Bradshaw right on his head and knocked him out of the game. The Steelers had won Super Bowl X the previous season and were poised to try to win it again. They knocked out Brian Sipe early in the game, which resulted in little-used rookie Dave Mays (the Browns' third-string QB) making his NFL debut. Mays -- who was Cleveland's first black quarterback -- earned his way into Browns lore by calmly leading the Browns to two third-quarter scores -- a 1-yard run by Cleo Miller and a 50-yard field goal by Don Cockroft -- which gave them a 15-10 lead. Following Turkey's sack, Cockroft added the game-clinching 40-yard field goal with less than two minutes remaining.
4. Browns 27, Steelers 24 (Oct. 5, 1986):Since Three Rivers Stadium opened up in 1970, the Browns had never won there. They would always seem to lose in bizzare fashion as well, which perpetuated the local myth of the "Three Rivers Jinx." The previous season, the Browns had the Steelers on the ropes before Gary Anderson's last-second field goal gave Pittsburgh a 10-9 win. The Browns tried everything; staying in different hotels, busing instead of flying, bringing dirt from Cleveland Stadium and sprinkling it on the field during warmups, you name it. And, this one wasn't without its bizarre moments as well. The Browns took a quick 10-0 lead, but back-to-back turnovers gave Pittsburgh a 14-10 lead late in the first half. That's when Gerald McNeil, nicknamed "The Ice Cube," became a permanent fixture in Browns lore when he returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, giving the Browns a 17-14 halftime lead. At the time, it was the Browns' first kickoff return touchdown in 12 years! However, the Steelers regained the lead early in the third quarter, and the two teams traded scores which resulted in Pittsburgh leading, 24-20, to start the fourth quarter. But, Mike Johnson recovered a muffed punt, and Earnest Byner's four-yard TD run with eight minutes left gave the Browns the lead for good. It got interesting though -- Matt Bahr missed a chip-shot field goal with just under five minutes to play, but Mark Malone's pitch to Earnest Jackson on a bizarre option call from the Browns 35 was botched and the Browns recovered.
3. Browns 37, Steelers 31 OT (Nov. 23, 1986): The Browns had just endeded their 16-year "Three Rivers Jinx" earlier in the season (see No. 4) and had come off a huge win over the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night at home. Bernie Kosar and Mark Malone engaged in a wild shootout. Kosar completed 28 of 46 passes for a then-career-best 414 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, just two days before his 23rd birthday. The Browns had taken a 31-28 lead with 1:51 left on a Matt Bahr field goal, but lost Bahr for the season on the ensuing kickoff when he made a game-saving tackle on the Steelers' Lupe Sanchez at the Browns 40. Gary Anderson made a 40-yard field goal to send the game into overtime and the Browns did not have a kicker. After both teams went three-and-out in the OT, Kosar went to work. With 6:37 remaining and the ball on the Steeler 36, Kosar pumped once and fired deep down the left sideline for rookie Webster Slaughter. Slaughter caught the ball in stride and scored the walk-off touchdown. The Browns' 536 yards offense was the most a Pittsburgh defense had ever yielded up to that point.
2. Browns 51, Steelers 0 (Sept. 10, 1989): The Browns were in the midst of a five-season playoff streak, where they qualified for the AFC Championship game three times in a four-year span. This season capped off both streaks and began with question marks concerning new head coach Bud Carson. Carson, who was the architect of the famed Pittsburgh "Steel Curtain" defense in the 1970s, had never been a head coach before. But, in this season opener at Three Rivers Stadium, Carson's attack 4-3 defense stunned Bubby Brister and the Steelers by forcing six turnovers and scoring three defensive touchdowns -- two of which by linebacker David Grayson. Rookie running back Tim Worley fumbled the ball at least four times, and two of them were returned for touchdowns. This rout catpulted the Browns to a 9-6-1 season and their last AFC Championship game berth.
1. Browns 28, Steelers 23 (Oct. 24, 1993): Just two weeks later, Bill Belichick and Art Modell touched off mass furor when they released regional icon Bernie Kosar. However, all was right in the world with this game, simply remembered as the "Eric Metcalf Game." The Browns jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, thanks to a 62-yard touchdown pass from Vinny Testaverde to Michael Jackson and a 91-yard punt return by Metcalf, but the Steelers tied at 14 just before halftime. The Browns led again, 21-17, on a short TD pass from Testaverde to fullback Ron Wolfley, but the Steelers came back to take a 23-21 lead midway through the fourth quarter. With Testaverde knocked out of the game with a separated shoulder, Kosar was poised to direct one his patented two-minute drives. However, Metcalf never gave him the chance, weaving through the Steeler special teams for a breathtaking 75-yard touchdown with 2:05 remaining. Metcalf became just the first NFL player to have two punt return TDs in the same game. The win improved the Browns to 5-2, but Kosar's release deflated this team that wound up a disappointing 7-9. It was also the last time the original Browns beat the Steelers.
HONORABLE MENTION: Browns 10, Steelers 9 (Dec. 19, 1982):Nothing particularly memorable about this game, expect it helped propel the Browns into the playoffs with a 4-5 record in this strike-shortened season. Johnny Davis' 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter gave the Browns a 10-7 lead it never relinquished, although punter Steve Cox took an intentional safety in the final seconds to make it a one-point win. However, this home game occurred on my ninth birthday. It is still the last time the Browns have been able to win on Joe Cleveland's birthday, and the fact that they beat my least-favorite team still makes me happy.
Can the Browns crack this top 10 tonight with another out-of-nowhere win? Can a win tonight help set off an era of good football, much like the Steelers' wins in the early 1970s kicked off their most epic era ever? We'll see. Kickoff is in an hour.
Here we go, Brownies, here we go!
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks ... and PITTSBURGH SUCKS!!!
And yes, by all indications, the Pittspuke Stillers should blow out the Browns at the giant ketchup bottle in front of a bunch of yellow towel-waving sheep and a national television audience (well, at least those who don't subscribe to Time-Warner Cable, which still does not have a deal in place with the NFL Network).
However, it's Steeler Week, and Joe Cleveland can't help but get fired up.
When the Browns first came back in 1999, I admit that I hated the Ravens ... err, the Thieving Bastards ... more than the Steelers. After all, Judas was still that team's owner, and he ripped them out of Cleveland and put them in Colt-ville. So, Browns fans were pretty pissed off when it came to those imposters in purple.
It also didn't help that the Thieving Bastards caught lightning in a bottle and won the Super Bowl after the 2000 season. If you wonder why 2001 was such a bad year, you can point to the fact that it began with Judas holding up the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Meanwhile, the Steelers hadn't quite found their mojo yet.
In fact, the Browns (after taking a 43-0 pasting in front of a national audience in the first official game back) beat the Steelers twice in their first two years of existance. They won five games in those two years -- two of those came against the Stillers.
I think it all changed when the Browns caught lightning in a bottle themselves and qualified for the playoffs in 2002. Their reward -- the Stillers at the giant ketchup bottle. The Stillers had swept the Browns that season, but each game was decided by three points and each game came down to the bitter end.
The Browns, heavy underdogs and led by a backup quarterback named Kelly, jumped out to leads of 23-7 and 33-21, the latter late in the fourth quarter. But, in typical Cleveland fashion, a former castoff named Tommy Maddux led the Stillers to two late touchdowns, Dennis Northcutt couldn't catch a third-down pass that hit him right in the hands that would have allowed the Browns to run out the clock, and Andre King couldn't quite get out of bounds despite being in Phil Dawson's field goal range before time ran out, and Pittspuke won, 36-33.
The next year, the Stillers drafted an Ohio boy named Consentlessberger or something along those lines, and since then, they've been among the NFL elite. The Browns, meanwhile, have not.
Even in 2007, when the Browns won 10 games, they swept the Ravens, but were swept by the Stillers. Had they beaten Pittspuke just once, the Browns would have made the playoffs. But they didn't, and they didn't.
Recent history hasn't been kind to the Browns in the longest-standing rivalry in the AFC (which is because these two teams started playing before the AFL existed). The Browns got off to a 32-9 start in this series, but the Steelers have recently taken the lead thanks to only losing to Cleveland FOUR times since the Browns returned to the lakefront.
But, those who neglect to follow history are doomed to repeat it. So, to remind Browns fans that it hasn't always bad against the Squeelers (and to remind front-running Pittsburgh fan that, No. 1, the team existed before 1970 and was mostly terrible, and, No. 2, that the 1980s and the early part of the 1990s were not the Squeelers finast moment, and that they always haven't been great during the so-called "Super Bowl Era"), here are my top 10 games in the Browns-Steelers rivalry.
Jaded Steeler fan may wonder how someone like me could find 10 winning Browns games against the Steelers. I would like to remind Jaded Steeler Fan that your team only leads the series 60-56, not counting two playoff victories over our beloved Dawgs.
So, here goes:
10. Browns 13, Steelers 6 (Dec. 10, 2009): The most recent win for the Browns in this series cracks our list because of how out-of-nowhere it really was. The Browns came into this Thursday Night home contest with a 1-11 record, and new coach Eric Mangini was on the hot seat with the rumored hiring of Mike Holmgren as team president earlier that week. However, instead of rolling over to the vaunted Steelers, the defending Super Bowl champions, they hit them in the mouth. Ben Roethlisberger was sacked eight times -- a season-best for the Browns' beleagured defense -- and held them to just two field goals. Brady Quinn only threw for 90 yards and was offset a lot by receiver Josh Cribbs, who ran for a team-best 87 yards out of the Wildcat formation. But, he led two first quarter scoring drives (both Phil Dawson field goals) and another just before halftime, capped by rookie Chris Jennings' 10-yard touchdown run to make it 13-0. The game wasn't over until linebacker David Bowens batted away a fourth-down Roethlisberger pass with just over a minute remaining, and Santonio Holmes was leveled after a short punt return with no time remaining to cap one of the most satisfying Browns victory during the "Expansion Era."
9. Browns 24, Steelers 19 (Oct. 9, 1965): -- The Browns came into 1965 as the defending NFL champions (alas, they haven't been able to do that since then) and picked up right where they left off, winning two of their first three games before hosting the hated Steelers (0-4) on a Saturday night. However, the underdog Steelers hung tough with the vaunted Browns, rallying from a 10-0 first quarter deficit to take a 19-17 fourth quarter lead on a Dick Hoak 15-yard run. Jim Brown (who Cleveland drafted just one pick after the Steelers selected Len Dawson in the first round of the 1957 draft) scored two touchdowns, one receiving, and gained 168 yards on the ground. However, it was his backup Leroy Kelly (who also wound up in the Hall of Fame), who made the biggest plays of the game-winning drive, which began on their own 22 with 3:35 remaining, catching passes of 22 and 21 yards. Following a four-yard run by Brown to put the ball on the Pittsburgh 14 with less than a minute to go, Frank Ryan found Gary Collins on a post pattern in the end zone for the game-winning score. The Browns wound wind up going 11-3 and reaching the NFL Championship game for the second-straight year, but lost to the Green Bay Packers in what turned out to be Brown's final game of his storied career.
8. Browns 16, Steelers 15 (Nov. 14, 1999): After three years without football, the Browns were reborn as an expansion team in 1999, playing in a sparkling new stadium in the exact spot that the old Cleveland Stadium stood. In their first game back, the Browns were humiliated by the Steelers, 43-0, at home. Just a few weeks later, on Nov. 14, the Browns played like a totally different team. keeping themselves in the game. The Browns scored first on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Tim Couch to Kevin Johnson (both rookies), but the Steelers battled back to take a 15-7 lead on a touchdown and three field goals. But, with 6:26 left in the game, defensive lineman John Thierry intercepted Kordell Stewart and was brought down at the Steeler 15, setting up a Couch to Mark Edwards touchdown pass a few plays later. Karim Abdul-Jabbar's two-point conversion run was stopped, but the Browns had one more chance. Taking over with no timeouts at his own 20 with 1:51 remaining, Couch drove the Browns 58 yards in five plays. Without stopping the clock and with 18 seconds left, Chris Palmer ran the field goal team out on to the field. The Browns snapped the ball with two seconds left, and rookie Phil Dawson, into an 18 mph wind, calmly drilled a 40-yard field goal to give Cleveland the stunning upset win. It turned out to be the Browns' second-to-last visit to Three Rivers Stadium and their first win there since 1989's 51-0 blowout.
7. Browns 26, Steelers 24 (Nov. 19, 1972): The suddenly resurgent Steelers, after decades of ineptitude, took a 7-2 record into this contest at Cleveland Stadium, with the Browns at 6-3. The Browns jumped out to a 20-3 lead behind two TD passes from Mike Phipps, but the Steelers scored just before halftime to make it 20-10, then got two touchdown runs -- the latter a 75-yard run from Franco Harris -- to take a 24-23 fourth quarter lead. Don Cockroft missed a 27-yard field goal with just under two minutes remaining, but he got another chance thanks to the defense forcing a three-and-out and a clutch drive led by Phipps. With 13 seconds remaining, Cockroft earned his redemption with a 26-yard field goal, giving the Browns a much-needed victory. Both teams made the playoffs that season, but both were defeated by the undefeated Miami Dolphins.
6. Browns 27, Steelers 26 (Oct. 16, 1980): This game virtually signaled the death of the first Steeler dynasty and helped propel the "Kardiac Kids" to their first-ever AFC Central crown and first playoff berth since 1972. Despite the Steelers missing most of their regular offensive starters, Pittsburgh jumped out to a 26-14 fourth quarter lead with backup QB Cliff Stoudt, an Oberlin native, at the helm. But Brian Sipe and Co., despite blowing a couple of golden scoring opportunities earlier in the game, came to life in the fourth quarter. Sipe found Greg Pruitt for a 7-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 9:21 remaining (Don Cockroft missed the extra point, keeping the Steelers ahead by six). Then, with 5:38 remaining, Sipe found a streaking Ozzie Newsome wide open for an 18-yard touchdown, sending 80,000 fans at Cleveland Stadium into a frenzy. Ron Bolton prevented Stoudt from making a late rally with an interception at the two-minute warning, and the Browns were able to run out the clock on this huge victory over the defending Super Bowl champs.
5. Browns 18, Steelers 16 (Oct. 10, 1976): This game is famous for Browns defensive end Joe "Turkey" Jones' sack of Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw, where Jones slammed Bradshaw right on his head and knocked him out of the game. The Steelers had won Super Bowl X the previous season and were poised to try to win it again. They knocked out Brian Sipe early in the game, which resulted in little-used rookie Dave Mays (the Browns' third-string QB) making his NFL debut. Mays -- who was Cleveland's first black quarterback -- earned his way into Browns lore by calmly leading the Browns to two third-quarter scores -- a 1-yard run by Cleo Miller and a 50-yard field goal by Don Cockroft -- which gave them a 15-10 lead. Following Turkey's sack, Cockroft added the game-clinching 40-yard field goal with less than two minutes remaining.
4. Browns 27, Steelers 24 (Oct. 5, 1986):Since Three Rivers Stadium opened up in 1970, the Browns had never won there. They would always seem to lose in bizzare fashion as well, which perpetuated the local myth of the "Three Rivers Jinx." The previous season, the Browns had the Steelers on the ropes before Gary Anderson's last-second field goal gave Pittsburgh a 10-9 win. The Browns tried everything; staying in different hotels, busing instead of flying, bringing dirt from Cleveland Stadium and sprinkling it on the field during warmups, you name it. And, this one wasn't without its bizarre moments as well. The Browns took a quick 10-0 lead, but back-to-back turnovers gave Pittsburgh a 14-10 lead late in the first half. That's when Gerald McNeil, nicknamed "The Ice Cube," became a permanent fixture in Browns lore when he returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, giving the Browns a 17-14 halftime lead. At the time, it was the Browns' first kickoff return touchdown in 12 years! However, the Steelers regained the lead early in the third quarter, and the two teams traded scores which resulted in Pittsburgh leading, 24-20, to start the fourth quarter. But, Mike Johnson recovered a muffed punt, and Earnest Byner's four-yard TD run with eight minutes left gave the Browns the lead for good. It got interesting though -- Matt Bahr missed a chip-shot field goal with just under five minutes to play, but Mark Malone's pitch to Earnest Jackson on a bizarre option call from the Browns 35 was botched and the Browns recovered.
3. Browns 37, Steelers 31 OT (Nov. 23, 1986): The Browns had just endeded their 16-year "Three Rivers Jinx" earlier in the season (see No. 4) and had come off a huge win over the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night at home. Bernie Kosar and Mark Malone engaged in a wild shootout. Kosar completed 28 of 46 passes for a then-career-best 414 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, just two days before his 23rd birthday. The Browns had taken a 31-28 lead with 1:51 left on a Matt Bahr field goal, but lost Bahr for the season on the ensuing kickoff when he made a game-saving tackle on the Steelers' Lupe Sanchez at the Browns 40. Gary Anderson made a 40-yard field goal to send the game into overtime and the Browns did not have a kicker. After both teams went three-and-out in the OT, Kosar went to work. With 6:37 remaining and the ball on the Steeler 36, Kosar pumped once and fired deep down the left sideline for rookie Webster Slaughter. Slaughter caught the ball in stride and scored the walk-off touchdown. The Browns' 536 yards offense was the most a Pittsburgh defense had ever yielded up to that point.
2. Browns 51, Steelers 0 (Sept. 10, 1989): The Browns were in the midst of a five-season playoff streak, where they qualified for the AFC Championship game three times in a four-year span. This season capped off both streaks and began with question marks concerning new head coach Bud Carson. Carson, who was the architect of the famed Pittsburgh "Steel Curtain" defense in the 1970s, had never been a head coach before. But, in this season opener at Three Rivers Stadium, Carson's attack 4-3 defense stunned Bubby Brister and the Steelers by forcing six turnovers and scoring three defensive touchdowns -- two of which by linebacker David Grayson. Rookie running back Tim Worley fumbled the ball at least four times, and two of them were returned for touchdowns. This rout catpulted the Browns to a 9-6-1 season and their last AFC Championship game berth.
1. Browns 28, Steelers 23 (Oct. 24, 1993): Just two weeks later, Bill Belichick and Art Modell touched off mass furor when they released regional icon Bernie Kosar. However, all was right in the world with this game, simply remembered as the "Eric Metcalf Game." The Browns jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, thanks to a 62-yard touchdown pass from Vinny Testaverde to Michael Jackson and a 91-yard punt return by Metcalf, but the Steelers tied at 14 just before halftime. The Browns led again, 21-17, on a short TD pass from Testaverde to fullback Ron Wolfley, but the Steelers came back to take a 23-21 lead midway through the fourth quarter. With Testaverde knocked out of the game with a separated shoulder, Kosar was poised to direct one his patented two-minute drives. However, Metcalf never gave him the chance, weaving through the Steeler special teams for a breathtaking 75-yard touchdown with 2:05 remaining. Metcalf became just the first NFL player to have two punt return TDs in the same game. The win improved the Browns to 5-2, but Kosar's release deflated this team that wound up a disappointing 7-9. It was also the last time the original Browns beat the Steelers.
HONORABLE MENTION: Browns 10, Steelers 9 (Dec. 19, 1982):Nothing particularly memorable about this game, expect it helped propel the Browns into the playoffs with a 4-5 record in this strike-shortened season. Johnny Davis' 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter gave the Browns a 10-7 lead it never relinquished, although punter Steve Cox took an intentional safety in the final seconds to make it a one-point win. However, this home game occurred on my ninth birthday. It is still the last time the Browns have been able to win on Joe Cleveland's birthday, and the fact that they beat my least-favorite team still makes me happy.
Can the Browns crack this top 10 tonight with another out-of-nowhere win? Can a win tonight help set off an era of good football, much like the Steelers' wins in the early 1970s kicked off their most epic era ever? We'll see. Kickoff is in an hour.
Here we go, Brownies, here we go!
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks ... and PITTSBURGH SUCKS!!!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Super Blog
Joe Cleveland thinks, if you ask any Browns fan, the best thing that could happen in a Super Bowl is if the Browns won it.
The second-best thing is if the Steelers lost it.
The second-best thing happened this weekend, and Joe Cleveland has enjoyed every single solitary second of it.
31-25. Say it with me.
Thirty-one-to-twenty-five.
Rolls right off the tongue, yes?
Change your passwords to 3-1-2-5. Play it in the local lottery. Make it the final four digits of your phone number, so your Steeler fan buddies have to be reminded of that every time they want to call you.
On March 1, 2025, Joe Cleveland will probably declare it "National 'How Does That Taste Steelers' Day," and remind all the Steeler fans in facinity that the numerical date is 3/1/25.
Oh, it's a beautiful thing to not see any Black and Yellow (for the record, that is not "Gold." The Saints uniforms are "Gold." Yours are Mustard Yellow.) around these parts (i.e. Northeast Ohio) the last few days. Apparently, the front-runners that live around here are stunned into submission. They're now digging into their Ohio State gear so they can support the No. 1 hoops team in the nation.
They'll find it on top of their old Michigan gear that they gave up wearing when Jim Tressel came to town.
Joe Cleveland was sick and tired of hearing about "six rings" and "Steeler legacy" and "Roethlisberger wasn't convicted of anything" and "there's no rivalry with the Browns cause we always beat them" and "Tomlin is God" and "Harrison plays the game the right way" and every other annoying thing that the Steelers fans have been uttering for the last few seasons.
"Here we go Steelers, Here we go?"
You would think, the way they talk, that the Lombardi Trophy is in their God-given right to have. Those other 38 Super Bowls didn't count, you know, the ones that DIDN'T have the Steelers winning it all? All that matters is the six. Heck, even that one loss to the Cowboys didn't happen. That gap from 1980-2005, where the Steelers didn't win any championships wasn't a gap at all.
Hey, all that matters is three in the last six years, right?
Well, until Green Bay passed all over them Sunday. They can stop pounding their chests about "seven" for a while.
The real NFL legacy franchise won the title and brought the trophy back to where it all began. 13 championships, four that have come in Super Bowls, and 4-1 in Super Bowls. The Packers have one loss, the Steelers have two.
Yes, it's a beautiful thing.
Browns fans like Joe Cleveland were happy to see the West Coast offense be so tough to stop against the "vaunted" Steelers defense. Aaron Rodgers had a performance for the ages. Hell, if his receivers would have caught the ball a few more times, he might have thrown over 400 yards.
Receivers ran open consistantly. Downfield blocks were made. The Steelers had three sacks, but none in the first half. And, they scored 21 points off of turnovers, which was the difference in the game.
For all those who bashed the hiring of an unknown guy like Pat Shurmur, take comfort in this tidbit. When Mike McCarthy was hired by the Packers, he was fresh off a stint as the offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers. That season, the Niners were 32nd in total offense. Today, that man is a Super Bowl champ.
Shurmer won't have Aaron Rodgers or receivers as good as Greg Jennings, but in reality, they had a bunch of unknowns. Who is Jordy Nelson? James Jones? That Crabtree guy at tight end? James Starks? Their best receiver not named Jennings was on IR (Jermichael Finley). Imagine if he was healthy and playing in that game. It would have been brutal.
So, for those who think the Browns don't have the personnel, think again. Colt McCoy is tailor-made for the WC offense, and maybe, if his receivers ran better routes or put in better position, maybe they don't stink up the joint. Sure, they could use a big play guy or a reliable guy, but Massaquoi and Robiskie had flashes of brilliance at times, and Cribbs is still someone to be accounted for and a great utility guy who can line up anywhere (when he's healthy). And, Carlton Mitchell couldn't get off the bench under Mangini. Heckert drafted him for a reason. Keep an eye on him.
Be confident that, from the very top to bottom, the entire Browns organization is on the same page. They have the same philosophy. They have the same vision. That hasn't been the case since probably Ernie Accorsi and Marty Schottenheimer were in town back in the 1980s, and we remember how great (and heartbreaking) those years were.
For the next six months (or more, if the NFL can't come to a collective bargaining agreement), Steeler fans will be rendered speechless. They can still brag about their six Super Bowls, but it sounds hollow after losing the most recent one.
Now, it's up to the Browns to capitalize on this and finally beat those guys on the field. Sure, the Steelers are still a better team as of now. But, now, the Browns have to be happy. They have a blueprint on how to beat them. They don't have a coach who kept trying to run the ball down their throats or was afraid to take shots downfield against them, preferring to be conservative.
Today is a new day, Cleveland fans. The Steelers won as many titles as we did this season (NONE), and we saw our future offense at work.
F--- The Steelers!
***
Other Super Bowl observations:
<> The commercials this year sucked. Really.
I think GoDaddy needs to be retired for good. I'm sorry, but Danica Patrick is yesterday's news and isn't even that hot, and Jillian Michaels? That broad looks like she got hit in the face with a shovel. Look at her. Yeesh.
Some were good for cheap laughs, but most that tried for the cheap laugh were just plain bad. The Doritos commercials were head-scratchingly bad. The Faith Hill one was bad. The one where the baby hits the wall was terrible. And, hey ad execs, talking babies aren't funny anymore.
I did like the Eminem Chrysler Detroit commercial. I'm not a fan of Eminem or his music, but I thought that was the best commercial of the day. I was also happy to see a lot of American car commercials during this game. It only a few years ago that there were nothing but imported car company commercials, so, as someone in a family of American auto workers, that makes me happy.
<> Who are these Black Eyed Peas people, and how did they get so popular? That halftime show was a joke.
They sounded like garbage, and the Tron people didn't help. And, I'm sorry, but Fergie looks like a man, and she sings like one, too.
You hear those songs all the time (that "I've got a feeling" song is everywhere, along with the "Let's get is started" one), but it's painfully obvious that's nothing but studio magic that makes it good. Then again, the same can be said for most pop and hip-hop music.
Joe Cleveland likes his music to rock, and the Black Eyed Peas do not rock, even if they got Slash to join them for a weak cover of Sweet Child O Mine.
<> Christina Aguilera ... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Some people were comparing her National Anthem rendition to Enrico Polazzo's. You know Enrico Polazzo, the fake opera singer from The Naked Gun that Leslie Neilsen's character winds up portraying on an undercover mission to stop Reggie Jackson from killing the Queen of England. So Leslie Neilsen sings a horribly (on purpose) bad, but comically hilarious, version of The Star-Spangled Banner ("... Bunch of bombs in the air ..."), that is one of the more memorable scenes in the movie.
That's how bad it was, Christina. You were compared to a comic version done for a comedy movie.
She apologized for flubbing some lines, saying that she was caught up in the performance and blanked out. Well. maybe that should be a lesson for all the "divas" out there who are trying to sing those five-minute long versions of the song with all of the voice changes and what-not. When you diva the song up, you only make it worse.
Just sing the song the way Francis Scott Key wrote it. The audience will be very happy and appreciative. And, don't be afraid to make it short. We love America, but there's a game to watch.
So, a pair of whores (Christina and Fergie) proved to be what they are on the grandest stage of them all. At least they didn't expose their boobs like Janet Jackson did.
<> I get the feeling that Dallas won't host a Super Bowl again for quite some time.
The wintery weather that hit Texas threw things for a loop, and it all went downhill from there.
People complained about how events were scheduled far away from each other. People complained about the stadium, Jerry Jones' "crown jewel" that he hoped to show off to the world.
The worst was when the fire marshall demanded that 800 temporary bleachers be removed, which cost half of those people a seat for the game that they all paid good money for. Sure, they wound up getting 3 times what they paid for the tickets, along with free admission to next year's game, but that still was a black eye.
And, finally, what was up with that turf? What that that old school AstroTurf from the 1970s? Did they have asphault under that turf? It seemed like every other play, someone was getting injured. Heck, 3/4ths of Green Bay's secondary was wiped out, and even Roethlisberger came up gimpy a couple of times.
As someone who never liked the Cowboys or Jerry Jones, it almost served them right.
***
Lastly, the good feelings Cleveland fans shared in after the Super Bowl came crashing back to reality when our basketball teams each lost.
For the Cavs, they set an all-time record for futlity -- 25 straight losses. Two more losses, and it becomes the longest losing streak in professional sports.
For CSU, it's only their second-straight loss, but it comes on the heels of a disappointing defeat to Butler and happens against Detroit, who aren't very good.
Both losses on Monday were by 3-points apiece. CSU should be able to bounce back. The Cavs, however ... I just hope they can win a few more games.
You throw in the realization that football season is officially over, coupled with the fact that the Indians are about to start spring training on what appears to be another dismal season, and you can see why we enjoyed the Steelers loss so much. What else do we have to enjoy around here?
Such is life. There's always a next year.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
The second-best thing is if the Steelers lost it.
The second-best thing happened this weekend, and Joe Cleveland has enjoyed every single solitary second of it.
31-25. Say it with me.
Thirty-one-to-twenty-five.
Rolls right off the tongue, yes?
Change your passwords to 3-1-2-5. Play it in the local lottery. Make it the final four digits of your phone number, so your Steeler fan buddies have to be reminded of that every time they want to call you.
On March 1, 2025, Joe Cleveland will probably declare it "National 'How Does That Taste Steelers' Day," and remind all the Steeler fans in facinity that the numerical date is 3/1/25.
Oh, it's a beautiful thing to not see any Black and Yellow (for the record, that is not "Gold." The Saints uniforms are "Gold." Yours are Mustard Yellow.) around these parts (i.e. Northeast Ohio) the last few days. Apparently, the front-runners that live around here are stunned into submission. They're now digging into their Ohio State gear so they can support the No. 1 hoops team in the nation.
They'll find it on top of their old Michigan gear that they gave up wearing when Jim Tressel came to town.
Joe Cleveland was sick and tired of hearing about "six rings" and "Steeler legacy" and "Roethlisberger wasn't convicted of anything" and "there's no rivalry with the Browns cause we always beat them" and "Tomlin is God" and "Harrison plays the game the right way" and every other annoying thing that the Steelers fans have been uttering for the last few seasons.
"Here we go Steelers, Here we go?"
You would think, the way they talk, that the Lombardi Trophy is in their God-given right to have. Those other 38 Super Bowls didn't count, you know, the ones that DIDN'T have the Steelers winning it all? All that matters is the six. Heck, even that one loss to the Cowboys didn't happen. That gap from 1980-2005, where the Steelers didn't win any championships wasn't a gap at all.
Hey, all that matters is three in the last six years, right?
Well, until Green Bay passed all over them Sunday. They can stop pounding their chests about "seven" for a while.
The real NFL legacy franchise won the title and brought the trophy back to where it all began. 13 championships, four that have come in Super Bowls, and 4-1 in Super Bowls. The Packers have one loss, the Steelers have two.
Yes, it's a beautiful thing.
Browns fans like Joe Cleveland were happy to see the West Coast offense be so tough to stop against the "vaunted" Steelers defense. Aaron Rodgers had a performance for the ages. Hell, if his receivers would have caught the ball a few more times, he might have thrown over 400 yards.
Receivers ran open consistantly. Downfield blocks were made. The Steelers had three sacks, but none in the first half. And, they scored 21 points off of turnovers, which was the difference in the game.
For all those who bashed the hiring of an unknown guy like Pat Shurmur, take comfort in this tidbit. When Mike McCarthy was hired by the Packers, he was fresh off a stint as the offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers. That season, the Niners were 32nd in total offense. Today, that man is a Super Bowl champ.
Shurmer won't have Aaron Rodgers or receivers as good as Greg Jennings, but in reality, they had a bunch of unknowns. Who is Jordy Nelson? James Jones? That Crabtree guy at tight end? James Starks? Their best receiver not named Jennings was on IR (Jermichael Finley). Imagine if he was healthy and playing in that game. It would have been brutal.
So, for those who think the Browns don't have the personnel, think again. Colt McCoy is tailor-made for the WC offense, and maybe, if his receivers ran better routes or put in better position, maybe they don't stink up the joint. Sure, they could use a big play guy or a reliable guy, but Massaquoi and Robiskie had flashes of brilliance at times, and Cribbs is still someone to be accounted for and a great utility guy who can line up anywhere (when he's healthy). And, Carlton Mitchell couldn't get off the bench under Mangini. Heckert drafted him for a reason. Keep an eye on him.
Be confident that, from the very top to bottom, the entire Browns organization is on the same page. They have the same philosophy. They have the same vision. That hasn't been the case since probably Ernie Accorsi and Marty Schottenheimer were in town back in the 1980s, and we remember how great (and heartbreaking) those years were.
For the next six months (or more, if the NFL can't come to a collective bargaining agreement), Steeler fans will be rendered speechless. They can still brag about their six Super Bowls, but it sounds hollow after losing the most recent one.
Now, it's up to the Browns to capitalize on this and finally beat those guys on the field. Sure, the Steelers are still a better team as of now. But, now, the Browns have to be happy. They have a blueprint on how to beat them. They don't have a coach who kept trying to run the ball down their throats or was afraid to take shots downfield against them, preferring to be conservative.
Today is a new day, Cleveland fans. The Steelers won as many titles as we did this season (NONE), and we saw our future offense at work.
F--- The Steelers!
***
Other Super Bowl observations:
<> The commercials this year sucked. Really.
I think GoDaddy needs to be retired for good. I'm sorry, but Danica Patrick is yesterday's news and isn't even that hot, and Jillian Michaels? That broad looks like she got hit in the face with a shovel. Look at her. Yeesh.
Some were good for cheap laughs, but most that tried for the cheap laugh were just plain bad. The Doritos commercials were head-scratchingly bad. The Faith Hill one was bad. The one where the baby hits the wall was terrible. And, hey ad execs, talking babies aren't funny anymore.
I did like the Eminem Chrysler Detroit commercial. I'm not a fan of Eminem or his music, but I thought that was the best commercial of the day. I was also happy to see a lot of American car commercials during this game. It only a few years ago that there were nothing but imported car company commercials, so, as someone in a family of American auto workers, that makes me happy.
<> Who are these Black Eyed Peas people, and how did they get so popular? That halftime show was a joke.
They sounded like garbage, and the Tron people didn't help. And, I'm sorry, but Fergie looks like a man, and she sings like one, too.
You hear those songs all the time (that "I've got a feeling" song is everywhere, along with the "Let's get is started" one), but it's painfully obvious that's nothing but studio magic that makes it good. Then again, the same can be said for most pop and hip-hop music.
Joe Cleveland likes his music to rock, and the Black Eyed Peas do not rock, even if they got Slash to join them for a weak cover of Sweet Child O Mine.
<> Christina Aguilera ... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Some people were comparing her National Anthem rendition to Enrico Polazzo's. You know Enrico Polazzo, the fake opera singer from The Naked Gun that Leslie Neilsen's character winds up portraying on an undercover mission to stop Reggie Jackson from killing the Queen of England. So Leslie Neilsen sings a horribly (on purpose) bad, but comically hilarious, version of The Star-Spangled Banner ("... Bunch of bombs in the air ..."), that is one of the more memorable scenes in the movie.
That's how bad it was, Christina. You were compared to a comic version done for a comedy movie.
She apologized for flubbing some lines, saying that she was caught up in the performance and blanked out. Well. maybe that should be a lesson for all the "divas" out there who are trying to sing those five-minute long versions of the song with all of the voice changes and what-not. When you diva the song up, you only make it worse.
Just sing the song the way Francis Scott Key wrote it. The audience will be very happy and appreciative. And, don't be afraid to make it short. We love America, but there's a game to watch.
So, a pair of whores (Christina and Fergie) proved to be what they are on the grandest stage of them all. At least they didn't expose their boobs like Janet Jackson did.
<> I get the feeling that Dallas won't host a Super Bowl again for quite some time.
The wintery weather that hit Texas threw things for a loop, and it all went downhill from there.
People complained about how events were scheduled far away from each other. People complained about the stadium, Jerry Jones' "crown jewel" that he hoped to show off to the world.
The worst was when the fire marshall demanded that 800 temporary bleachers be removed, which cost half of those people a seat for the game that they all paid good money for. Sure, they wound up getting 3 times what they paid for the tickets, along with free admission to next year's game, but that still was a black eye.
And, finally, what was up with that turf? What that that old school AstroTurf from the 1970s? Did they have asphault under that turf? It seemed like every other play, someone was getting injured. Heck, 3/4ths of Green Bay's secondary was wiped out, and even Roethlisberger came up gimpy a couple of times.
As someone who never liked the Cowboys or Jerry Jones, it almost served them right.
***
Lastly, the good feelings Cleveland fans shared in after the Super Bowl came crashing back to reality when our basketball teams each lost.
For the Cavs, they set an all-time record for futlity -- 25 straight losses. Two more losses, and it becomes the longest losing streak in professional sports.
For CSU, it's only their second-straight loss, but it comes on the heels of a disappointing defeat to Butler and happens against Detroit, who aren't very good.
Both losses on Monday were by 3-points apiece. CSU should be able to bounce back. The Cavs, however ... I just hope they can win a few more games.
You throw in the realization that football season is officially over, coupled with the fact that the Indians are about to start spring training on what appears to be another dismal season, and you can see why we enjoyed the Steelers loss so much. What else do we have to enjoy around here?
Such is life. There's always a next year.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Basketball woes
A little bit of that and a little bit of this ...
Pat yourselves on the back, Cavs. You've set an NBA record. And no, it's not a good kind of record. You just lost the most consecutive games in a row in a single season.
Twenty-four straight losses and counting. Joe Cleveland is PROUD that you represent his town. PROUD, I tell you!
Yes, Joe Cleveland can be very sarcastic. To quote the foreign co-worker in "Family Guy:"
"Oh, ho-ho ... eees funny cause eet's not true .... oh, ho-ho ..."
Who would have thought that the Cavs would go from being the first team in the NBA to reach 40 wins to the first team to reach 40 losses in one single season. Well, ESPN and all the other haters who thought that the Cavs would suck without LeQuitter did, but still ...
The Cavs have tied their own record (set during the Ted Stepien years ... who would have thought the Cavs would ever rival those forgettable years?) for most consecutive losses. Although, back then, the Cavs lost 24 straight during the course of two years. They did this in one.
Does anyone else think that the Cavs will win another game this year? How about two games? Three? Four? OK, that's just crazy talk right there, so I'll stop before it gets ridiculous. Heaven forbid, an NBA team can't win five games over the span of three months. How sad is this team?
The sad part is, as much as people like Joe Cleveland applauded Dan Gilbert for his "open" letter to the fans just hours after LeQuitter made his self-indulgant "Decision," I think we can all step back and realize that maybe Gilbert should have left well enough alone. Perhaps this is what he deserves.
A guarantee that your team will win an NBA title before LeQuitter's team does? Wow.
It's one thing to call out LeQuitter for what he really is, which is a quitter. It was fairly obvious to anyone with a pulse (or anyone not associated with ESPN) to realize that LeQuitter tanked those last two games of the Boston series. You don't play that poorly all of a sudden. And, remember when people (even media-types) were saying that LeQuitter was going to have elbow surgery after the season, and that he had a serious injury? Joe Cleveland wants to know when that elbow surgery happened, and how did it go? Because, he obviously didn't hear about it. Did you?
However, to make outlandish guarantees is something else entirely. The national media roasted Gilbert following the letter, which let LeQuitter off the hook. The Cavs' current struggles only makes Gilbert look worse (and LeQuitter look better).
In case you wanted to know, the NBA record for least wins in a single season is 9, set by the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers. All the Cavs have to do is win two games over the remaining three months to avoid this ignomious record.
Wow, two whole games. That's like asking someone to dig a replica of the Grand Canyon with a spoon, right?
Thanks a lot, Cavs. You disgust me. Take a bow, morons!
***
Speaking of basketball, Joe Cleveland finally got out to see the "winning team in town," Cleveland State, last Thursday against Valparasio. Then, I watched as ESPN came to the CSU campus and broadcast the Vikings big matchup with Butler to the nation on ESPN2.
What a difference two days make.
The CSU I witnessed on Thursday did not resemble the CSU I watched on Saturday. Joe Cleveland would like to know who those imposters were wearing Forest Green and White (well, they were wearing black jersies instead of the usual ones, so maybe that had something to do with it).
I was impressed with the Vikings against Valpo, although they missed too many free throws to my liking and they kept committing dumb fouls (although, it's fairly obvious that the Horizon League is taking on the bottom-of-the-barrell college refs. I don't know how many traveling calls they missed on Valpo, among some other questionable calls). I like their ability to play defense and that they aren't afraid to run. I like that, while Norris Cole is clearly the top option offensively, they have guys who can hit the long-range jumper like Jeremy Mongtomery and Tre Harmon.
Aaron Pogue, however, looks like a stiff to me. He looked like when I saw him in person, and he definitely looked like it against Butler. How do you miss layups when you're 6-10 or 6-9 or whatever you are?
A win over Old Dominion on the road in the Bracket Buster could be good enough to salvage their chances at qualifying for the NCAA Tournament (which is now accepting 68 teams this year, not 65). However, at this rate, CSU better hope Butler gets beaten in the HL Tournament. Because its obvious that Butler has some sort of hex on them.
How can Butler lose to Youngstown State but yet beat CSU? For that matter, Butler has lost to a LOT of teams in the HL this season. Yet, they are 2-0 against a team that is 21-4, and handed that team their only loss on their home court.
Maybe the weight of the bandwagon was too much for CSU. A nearly full house greeted CSU and the ESPN cameras for the noon tip-off. It was the first time all season that the Wolstein Center was that full. Maybe they were better when they were playing in front of people dressed like green seats instead of actual people. Who knows.
CSU still is the frontrunner to get the top-seed in the HL Tournament, which means there's a good chance they will be hosting that championship game should they not choke (knock on wood). However, it appears likely that, despite a glittering record, they may need to win the league if they want a shot at the field of 68. National perception is reality, and the nation has witnessed two terrible CSU performances against Butler and a third against West Virginia. Both teams clearly aren't the same teams that reached the Final Four last year.
Best of luck, CSU. You're our only hope.
***
So, maybe it's time for a Super Bowl prediction. After all, it is being played later today.
Take this for what it's worth (and, I'm sure the bandwagoners will believe that I'm not being objective), but I'm predicting Green Bay 30, Pittsburgh 21.
Pittsburgh is great against the run. However, Green Bay is not a running team. They are a passing team. I believe they can exploit the Steelers secondary and Rodgers can avoid the rush to make some great throws. They've got at least two huge plays in them.
Green Bay is great against the pass. Pittsburgh may try to run with Mendenhall a lot. However, their offensive line is weaker without center Maurkice Pouncey. Doug Legursky is undersized and not that good. You can bet that B.J. Raji will try to put pressure right up the middle. Green Bay will try to bring the heat on Roethlisberger. The Billy Joel wanna-be is best at bouncing off would-be tacklers and making plays out of nothing. It will be up to guys like Clay Matthews to make sure they bring him down when they hit him.
If Brian Schaefering can do it twice and Hank Poteat can do it once, I think Matthews can handle it.
Besides, the team that's had the most distractions this week has been the Steelers. Paparazzi have hounded them all week. Green Bay has been left alone. People were just waiting to see if Roethlisberger would screw up, or Harrison, or any of them. A routine trip to the strip club got posted to the Net. Roethlisberger drunkenly warbeling Piano Man made it to SportsCenter, where they spent 20 minutes debating on whether it was a story or not.
Umm, if you're going to spend 20 minutes talking about it, guess what: IT'S A FREAKING STORY!
Yes, the heart is rooting for Green Bay. However, the head believes that it will happen, too.
***
Two more weeks until the Indians open spring training. How long is it before the NFL Draft starts?
***
So, Joe Cleveland's latest poll is, if you had a choice right now for a winter sport, would you keep the NBA and the Cavs or an unidentified NHL team? Simple question.
The NBA is built so that teams from large media markets or teams with superstars succeed. The Cavs have neither right now, and those prospects don't look like that's gonna change, even if they get the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.
The NHL, meanwhile, seems to be more wide open. Sure, they're trying to market their superstars (like Crosby and Ovechkin) and hope that those teams get the big push. However, it seems like it doesn't have the preferential treatment that proliferates throughout the NBA like a fungus.
Cleveland fans may believe that the NHL won't work here. They point to the two seasons in the late 1970s that the Cleveland Barons were in the NHL as proof of that. I beg to differ.
The Barons, when they were originally in the AHL, were a powerhouse and very popular among the fans (remember, there was no basketball in town then). They were replaced by the Crusaders in the fledgling WHA (which tried to pawn itself off as a legitimate competitor to the NHL), and the Crusaders did well here. After the Barons were moved to Minnesota by the Gund Brothers, Cleveland had some minor league hockey teams that drew OK. The Lumberjacks got a nice niche for a while. The reincarnated Barons were afterthoughts, but the Lake Erie Monsters seem to be marketing themselves fairly well.
Cleveland sees itself as a major league town (eat it, haters), and supporting a minor league team isn't high on the radar. But a major league hockey team? I think Cleveland fans (a blue-collar bunch) would support it.
I always felt hockey was more conducive to the average ticket-paying fan base in Cleveland than basketball, especially as contracts got bigger and superstars began acting more and more like spoiled divas and/or wanna-be thugs. Cleveland finally had one of them, and for 7 years, they were the hot ticket in town. But, the diva is gone, and we're left with a bunch of scrubs who can't buy a win if they could get it on clearance at Big Lots.
Feel free to vote in the poll, and comment your thoughts about which would be better here -- NHL or NBA. Don't let the stench of the current Cavs affect your thinking. Think about the 41-year-old body of work.
***
Lastly, the man behind "Joe Cleveland" would like to dedicate this installment of the blog to the late John G. Cole. Cole was the longtime editor-in-chief of the Lorain (OH) Monring Journal, where I cut my teeth as a sportswriter. I learned a lot about being a journalist, a writer and a good man from Cole. He was a tough person to work for, but you were a better person for it in the long run that you did, and that you survived.
Cole died suddenly this week at the age of 61. Rest in peace, sir!
Untl next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Pat yourselves on the back, Cavs. You've set an NBA record. And no, it's not a good kind of record. You just lost the most consecutive games in a row in a single season.
Twenty-four straight losses and counting. Joe Cleveland is PROUD that you represent his town. PROUD, I tell you!
Yes, Joe Cleveland can be very sarcastic. To quote the foreign co-worker in "Family Guy:"
"Oh, ho-ho ... eees funny cause eet's not true .... oh, ho-ho ..."
Who would have thought that the Cavs would go from being the first team in the NBA to reach 40 wins to the first team to reach 40 losses in one single season. Well, ESPN and all the other haters who thought that the Cavs would suck without LeQuitter did, but still ...
The Cavs have tied their own record (set during the Ted Stepien years ... who would have thought the Cavs would ever rival those forgettable years?) for most consecutive losses. Although, back then, the Cavs lost 24 straight during the course of two years. They did this in one.
Does anyone else think that the Cavs will win another game this year? How about two games? Three? Four? OK, that's just crazy talk right there, so I'll stop before it gets ridiculous. Heaven forbid, an NBA team can't win five games over the span of three months. How sad is this team?
The sad part is, as much as people like Joe Cleveland applauded Dan Gilbert for his "open" letter to the fans just hours after LeQuitter made his self-indulgant "Decision," I think we can all step back and realize that maybe Gilbert should have left well enough alone. Perhaps this is what he deserves.
A guarantee that your team will win an NBA title before LeQuitter's team does? Wow.
It's one thing to call out LeQuitter for what he really is, which is a quitter. It was fairly obvious to anyone with a pulse (or anyone not associated with ESPN) to realize that LeQuitter tanked those last two games of the Boston series. You don't play that poorly all of a sudden. And, remember when people (even media-types) were saying that LeQuitter was going to have elbow surgery after the season, and that he had a serious injury? Joe Cleveland wants to know when that elbow surgery happened, and how did it go? Because, he obviously didn't hear about it. Did you?
However, to make outlandish guarantees is something else entirely. The national media roasted Gilbert following the letter, which let LeQuitter off the hook. The Cavs' current struggles only makes Gilbert look worse (and LeQuitter look better).
In case you wanted to know, the NBA record for least wins in a single season is 9, set by the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers. All the Cavs have to do is win two games over the remaining three months to avoid this ignomious record.
Wow, two whole games. That's like asking someone to dig a replica of the Grand Canyon with a spoon, right?
Thanks a lot, Cavs. You disgust me. Take a bow, morons!
***
Speaking of basketball, Joe Cleveland finally got out to see the "winning team in town," Cleveland State, last Thursday against Valparasio. Then, I watched as ESPN came to the CSU campus and broadcast the Vikings big matchup with Butler to the nation on ESPN2.
What a difference two days make.
The CSU I witnessed on Thursday did not resemble the CSU I watched on Saturday. Joe Cleveland would like to know who those imposters were wearing Forest Green and White (well, they were wearing black jersies instead of the usual ones, so maybe that had something to do with it).
I was impressed with the Vikings against Valpo, although they missed too many free throws to my liking and they kept committing dumb fouls (although, it's fairly obvious that the Horizon League is taking on the bottom-of-the-barrell college refs. I don't know how many traveling calls they missed on Valpo, among some other questionable calls). I like their ability to play defense and that they aren't afraid to run. I like that, while Norris Cole is clearly the top option offensively, they have guys who can hit the long-range jumper like Jeremy Mongtomery and Tre Harmon.
Aaron Pogue, however, looks like a stiff to me. He looked like when I saw him in person, and he definitely looked like it against Butler. How do you miss layups when you're 6-10 or 6-9 or whatever you are?
A win over Old Dominion on the road in the Bracket Buster could be good enough to salvage their chances at qualifying for the NCAA Tournament (which is now accepting 68 teams this year, not 65). However, at this rate, CSU better hope Butler gets beaten in the HL Tournament. Because its obvious that Butler has some sort of hex on them.
How can Butler lose to Youngstown State but yet beat CSU? For that matter, Butler has lost to a LOT of teams in the HL this season. Yet, they are 2-0 against a team that is 21-4, and handed that team their only loss on their home court.
Maybe the weight of the bandwagon was too much for CSU. A nearly full house greeted CSU and the ESPN cameras for the noon tip-off. It was the first time all season that the Wolstein Center was that full. Maybe they were better when they were playing in front of people dressed like green seats instead of actual people. Who knows.
CSU still is the frontrunner to get the top-seed in the HL Tournament, which means there's a good chance they will be hosting that championship game should they not choke (knock on wood). However, it appears likely that, despite a glittering record, they may need to win the league if they want a shot at the field of 68. National perception is reality, and the nation has witnessed two terrible CSU performances against Butler and a third against West Virginia. Both teams clearly aren't the same teams that reached the Final Four last year.
Best of luck, CSU. You're our only hope.
***
So, maybe it's time for a Super Bowl prediction. After all, it is being played later today.
Take this for what it's worth (and, I'm sure the bandwagoners will believe that I'm not being objective), but I'm predicting Green Bay 30, Pittsburgh 21.
Pittsburgh is great against the run. However, Green Bay is not a running team. They are a passing team. I believe they can exploit the Steelers secondary and Rodgers can avoid the rush to make some great throws. They've got at least two huge plays in them.
Green Bay is great against the pass. Pittsburgh may try to run with Mendenhall a lot. However, their offensive line is weaker without center Maurkice Pouncey. Doug Legursky is undersized and not that good. You can bet that B.J. Raji will try to put pressure right up the middle. Green Bay will try to bring the heat on Roethlisberger. The Billy Joel wanna-be is best at bouncing off would-be tacklers and making plays out of nothing. It will be up to guys like Clay Matthews to make sure they bring him down when they hit him.
If Brian Schaefering can do it twice and Hank Poteat can do it once, I think Matthews can handle it.
Besides, the team that's had the most distractions this week has been the Steelers. Paparazzi have hounded them all week. Green Bay has been left alone. People were just waiting to see if Roethlisberger would screw up, or Harrison, or any of them. A routine trip to the strip club got posted to the Net. Roethlisberger drunkenly warbeling Piano Man made it to SportsCenter, where they spent 20 minutes debating on whether it was a story or not.
Umm, if you're going to spend 20 minutes talking about it, guess what: IT'S A FREAKING STORY!
Yes, the heart is rooting for Green Bay. However, the head believes that it will happen, too.
***
Two more weeks until the Indians open spring training. How long is it before the NFL Draft starts?
***
So, Joe Cleveland's latest poll is, if you had a choice right now for a winter sport, would you keep the NBA and the Cavs or an unidentified NHL team? Simple question.
The NBA is built so that teams from large media markets or teams with superstars succeed. The Cavs have neither right now, and those prospects don't look like that's gonna change, even if they get the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.
The NHL, meanwhile, seems to be more wide open. Sure, they're trying to market their superstars (like Crosby and Ovechkin) and hope that those teams get the big push. However, it seems like it doesn't have the preferential treatment that proliferates throughout the NBA like a fungus.
Cleveland fans may believe that the NHL won't work here. They point to the two seasons in the late 1970s that the Cleveland Barons were in the NHL as proof of that. I beg to differ.
The Barons, when they were originally in the AHL, were a powerhouse and very popular among the fans (remember, there was no basketball in town then). They were replaced by the Crusaders in the fledgling WHA (which tried to pawn itself off as a legitimate competitor to the NHL), and the Crusaders did well here. After the Barons were moved to Minnesota by the Gund Brothers, Cleveland had some minor league hockey teams that drew OK. The Lumberjacks got a nice niche for a while. The reincarnated Barons were afterthoughts, but the Lake Erie Monsters seem to be marketing themselves fairly well.
Cleveland sees itself as a major league town (eat it, haters), and supporting a minor league team isn't high on the radar. But a major league hockey team? I think Cleveland fans (a blue-collar bunch) would support it.
I always felt hockey was more conducive to the average ticket-paying fan base in Cleveland than basketball, especially as contracts got bigger and superstars began acting more and more like spoiled divas and/or wanna-be thugs. Cleveland finally had one of them, and for 7 years, they were the hot ticket in town. But, the diva is gone, and we're left with a bunch of scrubs who can't buy a win if they could get it on clearance at Big Lots.
Feel free to vote in the poll, and comment your thoughts about which would be better here -- NHL or NBA. Don't let the stench of the current Cavs affect your thinking. Think about the 41-year-old body of work.
***
Lastly, the man behind "Joe Cleveland" would like to dedicate this installment of the blog to the late John G. Cole. Cole was the longtime editor-in-chief of the Lorain (OH) Monring Journal, where I cut my teeth as a sportswriter. I learned a lot about being a journalist, a writer and a good man from Cole. He was a tough person to work for, but you were a better person for it in the long run that you did, and that you survived.
Cole died suddenly this week at the age of 61. Rest in peace, sir!
Untl next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Why such hatred toward all things Steeler?
Every once in a while, Joe Cleveland gets asked that question. Not often, though. And, it's usually from a fan of the Pittspuke Squeelers that just so happens to live around here.
No, the Steelers didn't kill members of my family or burn down my house or kick my dog or anything like that. However, I DESPISE them. I DESPISE their fanbase, the so-called "Steeler Nation." And, I DESPISE the Steeler Fan who happens to live in my own backyard (no, not one particular person, but you catch my drift).
(On a related note, any fanbase that refers to themselves as a "Nation" should be neutered. The only "Nation" I admit to is the the United States of America. I've never heard anyone refer to "Browns Nation" or "Tribe Nation" or "Cavs Nation" and I hope I never do. It takes a "Nation" of millions to hold this guy back ... and yes, that was a Public Enemy reference.)
As much as Joe Cleveland love the Browns, it's the complete opposite for the Steelers. And, it seems like that hatred has only grown and grown ever since the Browns came back to the NFL in 1999.
But why?
There was always a natural rivalry between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Both are Rust Belt Cities in the Midwest filled with blue-collar people who love the game of football. The communities are only seperated by 200 or so miles, so it's not exactly a lengthy commute to get to Cleveland from Pittsburgh or vice versa.
Pittsburgh is the closest "Major League" city to Cleveland. It's closer than in-state rival Cincinnati, and it's probably just a little further away from Columbus (who has no opposing teams to Cleveland, just the beloved Ohio State Buckeyes). It's also closer than Detroit, Indianapolis and Chicago. The close proximity only adds fuel to the rivalry.
And, because there are some spots in Ohio that are actually closer to Pittsburgh than Cleveland, there are some spots where the Steeler game would be televised instead of the Browns game. And, there are more Steelers fans than Browns fans.
When the Browns (who were formed in the rival All-American Football Conference in 1946) joined the NFL in 1950, they were an elite team. The Steelers, meanwhile, were a laughingstock. The Browns reached the NFL Championship game the first five years they were in the NFL, winning three of them. The Steelers never even made the playoffs.
In fact, it took about four years before the Steelers were able to beat the Browns in football. As Pittsburgh fans like to say now as they beat the Browns every single year, there really was no rivalry then. Back then, the Browns biggest rivals were the Lions and the Giants, and that was because those were the teams the Browns had get through every single year in order to win the NFL. Also, the Rams, because they were in Cleveland before they moved to Los Angeles following winning the 1945 NFL Championship.
It wasn't until the 1960s when there seemed to be a genuine rivalry between the two teams. The Browns reached the NFL Championship game in 1964, 65, 68 and 69 (winning it in 1964), but were pretty mediocre from 1957 (their last NFL Championship game appearance) to 1964. During that time, Art Modell bought the team, fired Paul Brown and built their team around the tremendous running of Jim Brown. Also, the Steelers began to compete with the Browns on the field.
By the end of the 1960s, the Steelers were back to being bad and the Browns seemed to be on the verge of becoming an NFL powerhouse again. The Steelers had the No. 1 pick in the 1969 draft and had just hired a former Browns offensive lineman and Colts defensive coordinator named Chuck Noll as their head coach. That season, the Steelers only won one game, even though they drafted future Hall of Famer "Mean" Joe Greene.
That's when everything changed, and the rivalry ratched up a notch.
Almost mirroring the intense rivalry between Bo Schembechler's Michigan teams and Woody Hayes' Ohio State teams (the "Ten Year War"), the Steelers and Browns games grew more intense as the Steelers suddenly got good. Meanwhile, the Browns were slipping into mediocrity. Browns fans weren't used to being beat by the Steelers, and they didn't like it very much.
In 1970, Three Rivers Stadium opened in Pittsburgh, and the Browns failed to win a game there for the first 16 years that facility was opened. They finally won there in 1986, actually starting a run of four consecutive years of beating the Steelers on the road. And, for good measure, the Browns did squeak out a win there in their return season of 1999, just two years before Three Rivers was closed and the Steelers moved to Heinz Field.
It was during the 1970s that, legend has it, Joe Cleveland's impression of the Steelers was ingrained forever.
I don't know how true this story is, because I was only 4 or 5 at the time, and it was relayed to me by other family members. But, one summer day, my parents took me and my infant brother to Sea World. They decided, for whatever reason, to dress us in identical Pittsburgh Steelers shirts.
I guess we went on one of those ferry boat rides where the fake cowboys shoot air rifles at the fake Indians. As we settled in, the driver of the boat was saying the dos and don'ts of the ride over the loudspeaker. He said the following:
"Please be sure to keep your hands and feet inside the boat at all times and please refain from jumping into the water. Steeler fans, however, can be tossed overboard."
Everyone started laughing, as did I. Until I realized people were looking at me, who was wearing a Steeler shirt.
I don't know if that started it, but ever since then, I DESPISED that team. You can blame Sea World, I guess.
Like I said, I don't know how true that story is. I never asked my parents about it. But, part of me wants to believe that story to be true. Maybe my parents were trying to teach me that liking the Steelers was no good, and we live in Cleveland, so we should love the Browns. And, no, I don't believe my parents were being cruel. They loved me and still do.
But, as I became more and more aware of football, you start to realize that, as a Browns fan, you don't like Pittsburgh and you don't like Cincinnati. And, I HATED both teams with a passion. I also hated the Houston Oilers and the Denver Broncos, but not as intensely and, in the case of the Broncos, for different reasons.
What makes Joe Cleveland cringe and sick is sudden crop of Steeler Fans who live among us in Northeast Ohio and have always lived among us. Where did they all come from, and why?
The Steelers I first heard of were the Super Bowl dynasty of the 1970s, but when I began to follow football, the Steelers were a joke. The Browns were getting into the playoffs regularly and beating the Steelers. Chuck Noll had lost it, and the team never seemed to find a competant replacement for Terry Bradshaw (Cliff Stoudt, Mark Malone, David Woodley, Bubby Brister, Todd Blackledge ... I laugh just thinking about it).
I believe locals began to shed their allegiance for all things Brown and Orange in three different stages.
The first stage is when the Browns passed over Bill Cowher, a popular former player and assistant coach, for Bill Belichick in 1991. Modell didn't believe Cowher was "ready" to be a head coach and may have held a grudge because Cowher followed Marty Schottenheimer out the door when Marty left the Browns to coach the Kansas City Chiefs. The next year, Noll finally retired, and the Steelers hired Cowher. I think some Browns fans were miffed that Belichick (who wasn't very popular among the fans) was their coach and Cowher was with the Steelers. Cowher immediately turned the Steelers into winners as well, while the Browns seemed to be mired in mediocrity under Belichick. So, they may have started to follow the coach they wanted all along and root for the Steelers.
The second stage is when the Browns were moved to Baltimore in 1995. Supposedly, there were some in Pittsburgh who were decidedly against the move. They lamented the loss of their fiercest rival and claimed "it would never be the same" with the team in Baltimore (they were wrong, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. They are from Pittsburgh). Steelers owner Dan Rooney was one of the few who lobbied for the NFL to keep the team in Cleveland and block Modell from moving. The Steelers and the Bills were the only two teams to vote against the move. With the Browns gone, some Browns fans began to adopt other teams to root during the three years the NFL wasn't in Cleveland, and Pittsburgh became a popular choice.
The Steelers had reached the Super Bowl in 1995, so you had the bandwagoners. Browns fans wanted to see the newly christened Baltimore Ravens suffer, and the Steelers played them twice a year. And, Pittsburgh was the closest NFL city to Cleveland, so a lot of Steelers games were shown on the TV.
The third stage was after the Browns came back in 1999. That first game was against the Steelers. And, we all know that the Steelers dominated the Browns, 43-0, in front of a National TV Sunday Night audience. I think some Browns fans could never fully embrace the new team and were also tired of the losing. Meanwhile, the Steelers consistantly qualified for the playoffs. More and more bandwagoners shed their Browns gear for Steelers gear.
What's sad is the local Steeler Fan acts as if they've followed the team forever. They brag about how the Steelers never change coaches (umm, they did hire a new coach four years ago, but whatever) and about how the Steelers have more Super Bowl championships than every other team. They brag about how the Rooney family is the "standard of excellance" for NFL owners. And, even though most of them dissed the hiring of Mike Tomlin when it happened, they can't stop bragging about their head coach.
Newsflash, it's all because of winning. Steeler fans would be screaming for Tomlin's head if the team didn't reach two Super Bowls in the last four years (including this year's). They talk up Bill Cowher as great, even though his teams continually choked in the playoffs before they finally were able to win a Super Bowl just two years before Cowher retired. They wondered why the Steelers would draft a MAC quarterback with a long last name until Ben Roethilsberger was forced into action as a rookie and he won every single game he played. They can forgive Roethlisberger's many transgressions as long as he continues to win.
People don't realize that Art Rooney was a joke of an owner when he first famously bought a share of what was called the Pittsburgh Pirates after a successful day at the horse track (seriously, look it up). Rooney was always broke and had to merge with other NFL teams twice in the 1940s to keep his franchise afloat. At one point, he was bought out by Bert Bell, but after Bell became the NFL commissioner, Rooney got his controlling interest back.
The Steelers reached the playoff a grand total of ONCE between their formation in 1933 and 1970. And, they lost that playoff game. They never won an NFL title during that span, nor played for one, for that matter.
The Steelers had a young Johnny Unitas in training camp, and CUT him. Unitas wound up catching on with the Baltimore Colts and became one of the greatest QBs to ever play in the NFL. The Steelers, meanwhile, sucked.
The Steelers would grab great players on the downswing of their careers. Bobby Layne and Marion Motley immediately come to mind. Both were legendary players with the Lions and Browns, respectively, but stumbled and bumbled around as Steelers before they mercifully retired.
The Browns, actually, have more professional football championships than the Steelers do. The Browns have eight compared to the Steelers' six. If you want to count the Cleveland Rams' 1945 NFL title, the City of Cleveland has had NINE football championship teams, compared to the Steelers' six.
But, all that matters is what has happened from 1970 to now. The Steelers have had three head coaches during that span, reached eight Super Bowls, have won six (and, hopefully, that number stays that way in two weeks) and have won countless division championships. They've reached the AFC Championship game 14 times, winning eight.
The Browns, meanwhile, have only won five division titles, reached the playoffs 11 times, reached the AFC Championship game three times (losing all three) and no Super Bowls. They've been to the playoffs once since the team returned in 1999 and twice since 1990. Both times, they met (and lost to) the Steelers in the playoffs.
They also haven't won a division title since 1989. Oh yeah, and the Browns have only beaten the Steelers four times since they returned in 1999 (twice at home, once at Three Rivers and once at Heinz Field).
You do the math as to why there is a sudden proliferation of Steeler fans around here. Funny part is, real Steeler fans (i.e. people who live in and are from Western Pennsylvania) are ANNOYED at the bandwagon Steeler fans that live in Northeast Ohio. "Follow your own damn team," they say.
For a time, my biggest rival was the Baltimore Ravens, but that was because they were the old Browns owned by Art Modell. A loss to the Ravens bothered me more than a loss to the Steelers. In fact, I actually rooted for the Steelers against the Ravens in the 2007 AFC Championship game. This year, I rooted for the Ravens. I still despise them, but not as much as I despise the Steelers.
I think the sudden crop of Steeler fans around here have added to my hate. You don't see a lot of Ravens fans living around here, nor Bengals fans for that matter. Fans of other teams that live around here (like the Cowboys, Eagles, Jets, Packers, etc.) don't play the Browns every year, or share a divsion with them, so they don't bother me as much.
My new second-favorite team is whoever plays the Steelers every week. On my birthday this year, the Browns lost, but so did the Steelers. For me, it was a wash.
Joe Cleveland is what his name says he is -- a fan of Cleveland teams. I've never allowed Steeler garb to be worn on my person since that fateful day at Sea World, and I never will again. I was born here, I live here and I plan on living here for many, many more years until the day the Good Lord takes me away (hopefully in at least 40 more years). So, I root for the teams that represent me and my area. Pittsburgh doesn't represent me, and they never will. Cleveland does.
So, Go Packers, and remember that Cleveland Rocks!
No, the Steelers didn't kill members of my family or burn down my house or kick my dog or anything like that. However, I DESPISE them. I DESPISE their fanbase, the so-called "Steeler Nation." And, I DESPISE the Steeler Fan who happens to live in my own backyard (no, not one particular person, but you catch my drift).
(On a related note, any fanbase that refers to themselves as a "Nation" should be neutered. The only "Nation" I admit to is the the United States of America. I've never heard anyone refer to "Browns Nation" or "Tribe Nation" or "Cavs Nation" and I hope I never do. It takes a "Nation" of millions to hold this guy back ... and yes, that was a Public Enemy reference.)
As much as Joe Cleveland love the Browns, it's the complete opposite for the Steelers. And, it seems like that hatred has only grown and grown ever since the Browns came back to the NFL in 1999.
But why?
There was always a natural rivalry between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Both are Rust Belt Cities in the Midwest filled with blue-collar people who love the game of football. The communities are only seperated by 200 or so miles, so it's not exactly a lengthy commute to get to Cleveland from Pittsburgh or vice versa.
Pittsburgh is the closest "Major League" city to Cleveland. It's closer than in-state rival Cincinnati, and it's probably just a little further away from Columbus (who has no opposing teams to Cleveland, just the beloved Ohio State Buckeyes). It's also closer than Detroit, Indianapolis and Chicago. The close proximity only adds fuel to the rivalry.
And, because there are some spots in Ohio that are actually closer to Pittsburgh than Cleveland, there are some spots where the Steeler game would be televised instead of the Browns game. And, there are more Steelers fans than Browns fans.
When the Browns (who were formed in the rival All-American Football Conference in 1946) joined the NFL in 1950, they were an elite team. The Steelers, meanwhile, were a laughingstock. The Browns reached the NFL Championship game the first five years they were in the NFL, winning three of them. The Steelers never even made the playoffs.
In fact, it took about four years before the Steelers were able to beat the Browns in football. As Pittsburgh fans like to say now as they beat the Browns every single year, there really was no rivalry then. Back then, the Browns biggest rivals were the Lions and the Giants, and that was because those were the teams the Browns had get through every single year in order to win the NFL. Also, the Rams, because they were in Cleveland before they moved to Los Angeles following winning the 1945 NFL Championship.
It wasn't until the 1960s when there seemed to be a genuine rivalry between the two teams. The Browns reached the NFL Championship game in 1964, 65, 68 and 69 (winning it in 1964), but were pretty mediocre from 1957 (their last NFL Championship game appearance) to 1964. During that time, Art Modell bought the team, fired Paul Brown and built their team around the tremendous running of Jim Brown. Also, the Steelers began to compete with the Browns on the field.
By the end of the 1960s, the Steelers were back to being bad and the Browns seemed to be on the verge of becoming an NFL powerhouse again. The Steelers had the No. 1 pick in the 1969 draft and had just hired a former Browns offensive lineman and Colts defensive coordinator named Chuck Noll as their head coach. That season, the Steelers only won one game, even though they drafted future Hall of Famer "Mean" Joe Greene.
That's when everything changed, and the rivalry ratched up a notch.
Almost mirroring the intense rivalry between Bo Schembechler's Michigan teams and Woody Hayes' Ohio State teams (the "Ten Year War"), the Steelers and Browns games grew more intense as the Steelers suddenly got good. Meanwhile, the Browns were slipping into mediocrity. Browns fans weren't used to being beat by the Steelers, and they didn't like it very much.
In 1970, Three Rivers Stadium opened in Pittsburgh, and the Browns failed to win a game there for the first 16 years that facility was opened. They finally won there in 1986, actually starting a run of four consecutive years of beating the Steelers on the road. And, for good measure, the Browns did squeak out a win there in their return season of 1999, just two years before Three Rivers was closed and the Steelers moved to Heinz Field.
It was during the 1970s that, legend has it, Joe Cleveland's impression of the Steelers was ingrained forever.
I don't know how true this story is, because I was only 4 or 5 at the time, and it was relayed to me by other family members. But, one summer day, my parents took me and my infant brother to Sea World. They decided, for whatever reason, to dress us in identical Pittsburgh Steelers shirts.
I guess we went on one of those ferry boat rides where the fake cowboys shoot air rifles at the fake Indians. As we settled in, the driver of the boat was saying the dos and don'ts of the ride over the loudspeaker. He said the following:
"Please be sure to keep your hands and feet inside the boat at all times and please refain from jumping into the water. Steeler fans, however, can be tossed overboard."
Everyone started laughing, as did I. Until I realized people were looking at me, who was wearing a Steeler shirt.
I don't know if that started it, but ever since then, I DESPISED that team. You can blame Sea World, I guess.
Like I said, I don't know how true that story is. I never asked my parents about it. But, part of me wants to believe that story to be true. Maybe my parents were trying to teach me that liking the Steelers was no good, and we live in Cleveland, so we should love the Browns. And, no, I don't believe my parents were being cruel. They loved me and still do.
But, as I became more and more aware of football, you start to realize that, as a Browns fan, you don't like Pittsburgh and you don't like Cincinnati. And, I HATED both teams with a passion. I also hated the Houston Oilers and the Denver Broncos, but not as intensely and, in the case of the Broncos, for different reasons.
What makes Joe Cleveland cringe and sick is sudden crop of Steeler Fans who live among us in Northeast Ohio and have always lived among us. Where did they all come from, and why?
The Steelers I first heard of were the Super Bowl dynasty of the 1970s, but when I began to follow football, the Steelers were a joke. The Browns were getting into the playoffs regularly and beating the Steelers. Chuck Noll had lost it, and the team never seemed to find a competant replacement for Terry Bradshaw (Cliff Stoudt, Mark Malone, David Woodley, Bubby Brister, Todd Blackledge ... I laugh just thinking about it).
I believe locals began to shed their allegiance for all things Brown and Orange in three different stages.
The first stage is when the Browns passed over Bill Cowher, a popular former player and assistant coach, for Bill Belichick in 1991. Modell didn't believe Cowher was "ready" to be a head coach and may have held a grudge because Cowher followed Marty Schottenheimer out the door when Marty left the Browns to coach the Kansas City Chiefs. The next year, Noll finally retired, and the Steelers hired Cowher. I think some Browns fans were miffed that Belichick (who wasn't very popular among the fans) was their coach and Cowher was with the Steelers. Cowher immediately turned the Steelers into winners as well, while the Browns seemed to be mired in mediocrity under Belichick. So, they may have started to follow the coach they wanted all along and root for the Steelers.
The second stage is when the Browns were moved to Baltimore in 1995. Supposedly, there were some in Pittsburgh who were decidedly against the move. They lamented the loss of their fiercest rival and claimed "it would never be the same" with the team in Baltimore (they were wrong, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. They are from Pittsburgh). Steelers owner Dan Rooney was one of the few who lobbied for the NFL to keep the team in Cleveland and block Modell from moving. The Steelers and the Bills were the only two teams to vote against the move. With the Browns gone, some Browns fans began to adopt other teams to root during the three years the NFL wasn't in Cleveland, and Pittsburgh became a popular choice.
The Steelers had reached the Super Bowl in 1995, so you had the bandwagoners. Browns fans wanted to see the newly christened Baltimore Ravens suffer, and the Steelers played them twice a year. And, Pittsburgh was the closest NFL city to Cleveland, so a lot of Steelers games were shown on the TV.
The third stage was after the Browns came back in 1999. That first game was against the Steelers. And, we all know that the Steelers dominated the Browns, 43-0, in front of a National TV Sunday Night audience. I think some Browns fans could never fully embrace the new team and were also tired of the losing. Meanwhile, the Steelers consistantly qualified for the playoffs. More and more bandwagoners shed their Browns gear for Steelers gear.
What's sad is the local Steeler Fan acts as if they've followed the team forever. They brag about how the Steelers never change coaches (umm, they did hire a new coach four years ago, but whatever) and about how the Steelers have more Super Bowl championships than every other team. They brag about how the Rooney family is the "standard of excellance" for NFL owners. And, even though most of them dissed the hiring of Mike Tomlin when it happened, they can't stop bragging about their head coach.
Newsflash, it's all because of winning. Steeler fans would be screaming for Tomlin's head if the team didn't reach two Super Bowls in the last four years (including this year's). They talk up Bill Cowher as great, even though his teams continually choked in the playoffs before they finally were able to win a Super Bowl just two years before Cowher retired. They wondered why the Steelers would draft a MAC quarterback with a long last name until Ben Roethilsberger was forced into action as a rookie and he won every single game he played. They can forgive Roethlisberger's many transgressions as long as he continues to win.
People don't realize that Art Rooney was a joke of an owner when he first famously bought a share of what was called the Pittsburgh Pirates after a successful day at the horse track (seriously, look it up). Rooney was always broke and had to merge with other NFL teams twice in the 1940s to keep his franchise afloat. At one point, he was bought out by Bert Bell, but after Bell became the NFL commissioner, Rooney got his controlling interest back.
The Steelers reached the playoff a grand total of ONCE between their formation in 1933 and 1970. And, they lost that playoff game. They never won an NFL title during that span, nor played for one, for that matter.
The Steelers had a young Johnny Unitas in training camp, and CUT him. Unitas wound up catching on with the Baltimore Colts and became one of the greatest QBs to ever play in the NFL. The Steelers, meanwhile, sucked.
The Steelers would grab great players on the downswing of their careers. Bobby Layne and Marion Motley immediately come to mind. Both were legendary players with the Lions and Browns, respectively, but stumbled and bumbled around as Steelers before they mercifully retired.
The Browns, actually, have more professional football championships than the Steelers do. The Browns have eight compared to the Steelers' six. If you want to count the Cleveland Rams' 1945 NFL title, the City of Cleveland has had NINE football championship teams, compared to the Steelers' six.
But, all that matters is what has happened from 1970 to now. The Steelers have had three head coaches during that span, reached eight Super Bowls, have won six (and, hopefully, that number stays that way in two weeks) and have won countless division championships. They've reached the AFC Championship game 14 times, winning eight.
The Browns, meanwhile, have only won five division titles, reached the playoffs 11 times, reached the AFC Championship game three times (losing all three) and no Super Bowls. They've been to the playoffs once since the team returned in 1999 and twice since 1990. Both times, they met (and lost to) the Steelers in the playoffs.
They also haven't won a division title since 1989. Oh yeah, and the Browns have only beaten the Steelers four times since they returned in 1999 (twice at home, once at Three Rivers and once at Heinz Field).
You do the math as to why there is a sudden proliferation of Steeler fans around here. Funny part is, real Steeler fans (i.e. people who live in and are from Western Pennsylvania) are ANNOYED at the bandwagon Steeler fans that live in Northeast Ohio. "Follow your own damn team," they say.
For a time, my biggest rival was the Baltimore Ravens, but that was because they were the old Browns owned by Art Modell. A loss to the Ravens bothered me more than a loss to the Steelers. In fact, I actually rooted for the Steelers against the Ravens in the 2007 AFC Championship game. This year, I rooted for the Ravens. I still despise them, but not as much as I despise the Steelers.
I think the sudden crop of Steeler fans around here have added to my hate. You don't see a lot of Ravens fans living around here, nor Bengals fans for that matter. Fans of other teams that live around here (like the Cowboys, Eagles, Jets, Packers, etc.) don't play the Browns every year, or share a divsion with them, so they don't bother me as much.
My new second-favorite team is whoever plays the Steelers every week. On my birthday this year, the Browns lost, but so did the Steelers. For me, it was a wash.
Joe Cleveland is what his name says he is -- a fan of Cleveland teams. I've never allowed Steeler garb to be worn on my person since that fateful day at Sea World, and I never will again. I was born here, I live here and I plan on living here for many, many more years until the day the Good Lord takes me away (hopefully in at least 40 more years). So, I root for the teams that represent me and my area. Pittsburgh doesn't represent me, and they never will. Cleveland does.
So, Go Packers, and remember that Cleveland Rocks!
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