The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns have had an ongoing rivalry since 1950 when Cleveland won the first game, and went on to win the next seven! That win streak didn’t last long, and now Pittsburgh leads Cleveland in the all time series with an overall record of 69-58. The largest victory the Browns have had over the Steelers was in 1989 when Cleveland won 51-0. The Browns have not done so well since returning to Cleveland with only six wins against the Steelers since 1999.
In recent years, the Steelers and Browns rivalry seems to mean less than it used to because of the Browns’ insufficiency. The Baltimore Ravens could be considered more of a Steelers rival these days. Browns fans can’t stand the Ravens because of Art Modell taking our Browns away from us to start up the Baltimore Ravens. However, the deep rivalry is still between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, with fans loving one team and despising the other. Most of the rivalries are friendly and harmless, but there have been more than a few bar fights break out during the Browns-Steelers games.
Even the Steelers’ QuarterBack, Ben Roethlisberger, has a personal reason for the ongoing rivalry. Big Ben is from Findlay, Ohio and he was QuarterBack at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Roethlisberger fully expected to be drafted by the Cleveland Browns, but they passed on him and he went to the Steelers in the first round of the 2004 draft. Roethlisberger would understandably want to crush the Browns every time the Steelers face them!
In our area, there are an equal number of Pittsburgh and Cleveland fans due to being located halfway between the two cities, making it a team/city rivalry that often spills over into families. This is particularly true in Don’s family. His sister Jodi, her husband, Todd, and their three sons are all diehard Pittsburgh fans. Heck, their kids were saying “Browns caca” before they could walk! Don’s parents and our family are all Cleveland fanatics. We share many of the same opinions about life issues and get along great, but we detest each other’s teams! Family get togethers are a mix of sports gear with all of us showing support for our teams.
Don and his parents were invited to his sister’s home for a Cleveland/Steelers game a few years ago. There were four Browns fans present for the game, amidst a houseful of Steelers fans. The Steelers won, the Browns were bashed, but everyone remained on good terms despite the deep rivalry between the two teams. Luckily our family ties are deeper than our love for our teams and there have never been any hard feelings!
