@gmp said:

No, winning that game was the blind squirrel finding a nut once in a while....and even if the Briowns win the next 6 games in a row...the series has been so un-competitive for so long it would take years to establish again....Rivalry's develope over time and are recognized thruout the league based on the competitvness and history of the teams back and forth copetition...the Browns have been back for so long, they'll need a decade of forth to establish the rivalry again.

I say it will depend on the quality of wins. For example we all remember the Browns Bengals shootout of 07 and there was another one before that. If we get some of those it's sure to pump some life back into the rivalry. Or even some defensive struggles like the at "blind squirrel finding a nut" game. It depends on those things. The year we went 10-6 what made the last bout with the Steelers an exciting one was that we had gotten so much better between the first meeting and the second. Yeah I know we ultimately lost but you gotta admit it was an exciting game. I will say this though the 41-9's the 43-0's or 28-10's have got to stop.

@bunsofsteel08 said:

Chiefs fans Too...

Yes. Though the Chiefs were a playoff team last year and may have gotten a little bump in the ratings because of that they have always been among the top in local interest and ratings....even during extended down times in the standings.

Zombo said:

Sure, as long as you're the slutty bitch and we're the old dude with the beer belly.

Z

Fair enough I guess

The Browns ARE our biggest rivals but it's like a marriage that has lost it's fire. Pittsburgh has cheated on the Browns rivalry with a younger, sexier Ravens rivalry. However, the Browns rivalry got some work done and got itself a new look.

So who knows, McCoy and company might just bring the spark back.

Good analogy?

@the-gipper said:

Top 10 NFL Local TV Market Ratings for 2010:

Team Household rating

Saints 43.9

Steelers 41.9

Packers 41.3

Chiefs 36.9

Colts 34.9

Vikings 34.5

Ravens 30.9

Patriots 30.9

Bills 30.9

Browns 29.1

Actually, I think you have to give it to the Bills and Browns fans which were after all 5-11 teams and haven't done that well for a decade or more. The others in the top 10 had the last 4 SB teams (Saints/Colts/Steelers/Packers) or teams that had been in recent conference title games (Ravens/Vikings/Pats), plus the Chiefs.

Chiefs fans Too...

Rivalries:

Yank vs Sox

Sooners vs. Shorthorns

Celtics vs. Lakers

Bruins vs Canadiens

Tarheels vs. Blue Devils

NFL is tough I'd say Jets vs. Pats

@gmp said:

OK,

SO maybe I'll give you the local rivalry thing...ya know the T-Pike rivalry (locally) ya know the high school kinda thing

BUT as a recognizable tru rivalry between (2) evenly matched or closley matched teams...this has not been that. for a long time...

You can call a chiwowwaah and a Doberman a rivalry, but is it really?.. That's what you have here

Have you read my posts above? It has NEVER been an evenly matched rivalry in it entire existance. The only time may have been the aborted early 90s period when both teams were essentially mediocre. Always one team has played at a championship level while the other has been below par, and vice versa.

So, obviously this rivalry has never been built on parity, but on something else.

Something far more base and visceral.

Fair to say?

@the-gipper said:

Well, you are wrong. A rivalry that was established over 50 years doesn't go away because of a little lopsidedness. If that were true, as I said earlier on this thread, the OSU/Michigan rivalry would have disappeared over the years that John Cooper was here because it was lopsided in favor of Michigan....or it would have disappeared in the Jim Tressel era because it was lopsided in Ohio State's favor.

And as I pointed out elsewhere, the Browns/Steelers rivalry has never NOT been lopsided.

the Browns dominated the first 20+ years until the 70s when the Steelers dominated. Then the Browns dominated the 80s, then the Steelers have dominated since about 1990ish.

There has never been parity in this rivalry where over the course of say a decade the teams have won nearly equal numbers of games.

So, there goes your theory out the freeking window.

OK,

SO maybe I'll give you the local rivalry thing...ya know the T-Pike rivalry (locally) ya know the high school kinda thing

BUT as a recognizable tru rivalry between (2) evenly matched or closley matched teams...this has not been that. for a long time...

You can call a chiwowwaah and a Doberman a rivalry, but is it really?.. That's what you have here

@tempest25 said:

I was a teenager when the browns lost to denver 3x in the afc championship. There was a rivaly. That went beyound 2 teams that where just good at the time. Till this day I never root for Denver.

No, it really didn't. It was just 2 teams that were good at the time. If we had played the Seahawks or the Dolphins or the Chargers or the Jets 3 times for the AFC title game it would have been the same thing. Though I agree that there are lingering issues with Denver because of those losses, those issues would have been the same had it been one of those other teams. Today a regular season game with the Broncos is just a regular season game. Elway ain't playing QB for them (even if he is in the FO).

Ravens 16 win; Bengals 14 wins.

1990s Ravens 2 wins; Browns -0-

2000s Ravens 13 wins; Browns 7 wins

2010s Ravens 2 wins; Browns -0-

1970s: Steelers 14 wins; Bengals 6 wins

1980s: Bengals 13 wins; Steelers 6 wins (1 game lost to strike)

1990s: Steelers 13 wins; Bengals 7 wins

2000s: Steelers 14 wins; Bengals 6 wins (plus one Steeler postseason victory)

2010s: Steelers 2 wins; Bengals 0 wins

1990s: Steelers 6 wins; Ravens 2 wins

2000s: Ravens 11 wins; Steelers 9 wins

2010s: Steelers 1 win; Ravens 1 win

FYI on neither this nor the Browns did I include postseason games.

The Steelers are actually 3-0 against the Ravens in postseason play with games in '01,'08 and '10 and they are 2-0 against the Browns with games in 1994 and 2002 (of course, that '02 game was the game that Butch Davis went into the prevent defense in the middle of the 3rd qtr with a 17 pt. lead against the advice of his DC Foge Fazio).

1950s: Browns 16 wins; Steelers 4 wins

1960s: Browns 15 wins; Steelers 5 wins

1970s: Steelers 15 wins; Browns 5 wins

1980s: Browns 12 wins; Steelers 8 wins

1990s: Steelers 8 wins; Browns 6 wins (3 years no games)

2000s: Steelers 17 wins; Browns 3 wins

2010s: Steelers 2 wins; Browns 0 wins

@gmp said:

No, winning that game was the blind squirrel finding a nut once in a while....and even if the Briowns win the next 6 games in a row...the series has been so un-competitive for so long it would take years to establish again....Rivalry's develope over time and are recognized thruout the league based on the competitvness and history of the teams back and forth copetition...the Browns have been back for so long, they'll need a decade of forth to establish the rivalry again.

Well, you are wrong. A rivalry that was established over 50 years doesn't go away because of a little lopsidedness. If that were true, as I said earlier on this thread, the OSU/Michigan rivalry would have disappeared over the years that John Cooper was here because it was lopsided in favor of Michigan....or it would have disappeared in the Jim Tressel era because it was lopsided in Ohio State's favor.

And as I pointed out elsewhere, the Browns/Steelers rivalry has never NOT been lopsided.

the Browns dominated the first 20+ years until the 70s when the Steelers dominated. Then the Browns dominated the 80s, then the Steelers have dominated since about 1990ish.

There has never been parity in this rivalry where over the course of say a decade the teams have won nearly equal numbers of games.

So, there goes your theory out the freeking window.

@the-gipper said:

Well, so, the Browns beating the Steelers and knocking them out of the playoffs two years ago doesn't count in your book?

I mean, wha if, hypothetically the Browns win the next say, 6 in a row to do it for you?

But if that were the case wouldn't there then be no rivalry because the Steelers would be no match for the Browns?

No, winning that game was the blind squirrel finding a nut once in a while....and even if the Briowns win the next 6 games in a row...the series has been so un-competitive for so long it would take years to establish again....Rivalry's develope over time and are recognized thruout the league based on the competitvness and history of the teams back and forth copetition...the Browns have been back for so long, they'll need a decade of forth to establish the rivalry again.

Team Household rating

Saints 43.9

Steelers 41.9

Packers 41.3

Chiefs 36.9

Colts 34.9

Vikings 34.5

Ravens 30.9

Patriots 30.9

Bills 30.9

Browns 29.1

Actually, I think you have to give it to the Bills and Browns fans which were after all 5-11 teams and haven't done that well for a decade or more. The others in the top 10 had the last 4 SB teams (Saints/Colts/Steelers/Packers) or teams that had been in recent conference title games (Ravens/Vikings/Pats), plus the Chiefs.

@silverback said:

Your math is REALLY bad! The Browns have only been around since 1950 so the rivalry is 61 years old, with 41 of those years are after 1970. 20 is not HALF of 61. Everybody knows the modern era of professional football and the NFL as we know it began with the merger and the 1st Super Bowl. The fact of the matter is the Steelers and Browns have seldom been good at the same time. The Steelers and Ravens have met in the playoffs 3 times this decade alone and are consistently good at the same time. There have been more major match-ups between the Steelers and Ravens in their short history than there have been in 60+ years of Steelers vs Browns games. Aside from Cleveland being an AFC North foe, most Steelers fans don't care about the Browns any more than they do the Bengals.

When did I mention "20"? Your too dumb to argue with.

DO all of you steeler fans who claim to not care about the Browns spend this much time on ravens or pats boards? Doubt it.

@gmp said:

It is just the lack of the Browns competitiveness lately?????

Lately??, how bout lack competitiveness since the 80's

Nah, this Steeler/Browns rivalry is dead....and has been dead for a looooongg time now..

Well, so, the Browns beating the Steelers and knocking them out of the playoffs two years ago doesn't count in your book?

I mean, wha if, hypothetically the Browns win the next say, 6 in a row to do it for you?

But if that were the case wouldn't there then be no rivalry because the Steelers would be no match for the Browns?

@silverback said:

Your math is REALLY bad! The Browns have only been around since 1950 so the rivalry is 61 years old, with 41 of those years are after 1970. 20 is not HALF of 61. Everybody knows the modern era of professional football and the NFL as we know it began with the merger and the 1st Super Bowl.

Actually, nobody knows that because A. It is not true, and B. it is only stupid Steeler fans way of trying to delete the shitty part of their teams history why they believe that.

The fact of the matter is the Steelers and Browns have seldom been good at the same time.

OK, the one fair statement you have said.

The Steelers and Ravens have met in the playoffs 3 times this decade alone and are consistently good at the same time. There have been more major match-ups between the Steelers and Ravens in their short history than there have been in 60+ years of Steelers vs Browns games.

So? The Steelers have had more playoff games against the Raiders and the Patriots than against the Browns. Like I said, that is only a function of accident that the two teams have been good at the same time

Aside from Cleveland being an AFC North foe, most Steelers fans don't care about the Browns any more than they do the Bengals.

Well, when I asked for Steeler fans input on this subject, I note that you are the only Steeler fan that thinks that way.

Lately??, how bout lack competitiveness since the 80's

Nah, this Steeler/Browns rivalry is dead....and has been dead for a looooongg time now..