Browns vs. Steelers: A rivalry fueled by the fans

The Cleveland Browns take on their “biggest rival” on Sunday in the Pittsburgh Steelers. But is it really a rivalry?

The Cleveland Browns will open the 2017 NFL season on Sunday by hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team often referred to as a rival.

One of the first things you learn as a Browns fans is to dislike the Steelers, not just as a rival in the AFC North, but as “the rival” for the Browns.

The thing is, this have never been a rivalry, at least not on the field.

The Browns and the Steelers first met in 1950 after the Browns entered the NFL fresh off dominating the All-American Football Conference for four years. Since then the rivalry has been one of geography, rather than competition, as the series between the Browns and Steelers has seen one team be the dominant force more often than not.

Starting in 1950 and running through 1969, the last season before the NFL-AFL merged formed the modern NFL, the Browns were a tidy 31-9 against the Steelers. Once 1970 came along, and the two teams took up residence in the newly formed AFC Central Division, the Browns went just 5-15 against the Steelers during the next decade.

It wasn’t until the mid-1980s that the pendulum swung back in favor of the Browns, as Cleveland closed out the 1980s with a 12-7 record against the Steelers, thanks to the Browns winning seven of the final eight games between the two teams in the decade.

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It was all downhill for the Browns from there as they were 5-10 against the Steelers in the 1990s and, since returning to the NFL in 1999, the Browns are 6-31 against Pittsburgh, a streak that includes 21 losses in their last 24 meetings.

Once upon a time, the Browns had on-field rivals that carried far more weight than the Steelers. The 1950s saw Cleveland battle the New York Giants for dominance of the NFL’s East Division.

In the late 1960s the Dallas Cowboys rose up as Cleveland’s biggest rival, as Dallas beat the Browns for the division title in 1966 and again in the playoffs in 1967. The Browns got their revenge by knocking off the Cowboys in the playoffs in both 1968 and 1969.

And the Browns games with the Denver Broncos in the late 1980s were as intense as anything seen in Browns history.

Those rivalries have come and gone over the years, and with the exception of the games with Denver, you would be hard pressed to find a Browns fan who still carried any hard feelings toward the Giants.

So how did the Steelers come to be viewed as the Browns biggest rival?

The games may not always be competitive, but maybe there is more to it than that. Maybe the rivalry exists because the fans have determined it is worthy.

Ask any Browns fan their top memories of the team and odds are a game against the Steelers will be in there.

It could be of quarterback David Mays coming off the bench to lead a win in 1976, or quarterback Brian Sipe’s last game, a four-touchdown performance in a 1983 victory. Maybe it is Gerald McNeil returning a kick for a touchdown to break the Three Rivers Jinx or Bernie Kosar hitting Webster Slaughter in overtime as the darkness enveloped Municipal Stadium. Or Tim Couch and William Green carving up the Steelers in a 20-point win in 2003.

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A true sports rivalry can be more than just what score is when the final whistle blow. Maybe it is fueled by the memories of past games and the shared experience of rooting against a particular team.

If that is true, then, despite the record, the Browns and the Steelers are a rivalry, one that is fueled by the passion of the fans.

Which, in some ways, makes it the best kind of rivalry that you can find.