@stevet1976 said:

Gipper - WRRebel is right. As a Ravens fan, we don't see this as a huge rivalry game. The only talk around here about this game is "god I hope we don't choke against these guys like we did against the Seahawks/Jags". The Browns are in the same class as those other sorry teams. There is noone that thinks the Browns can win this game, but it is indeed very possible for the Ravens to lose it. Only we can beat ourselves & if we play our "A" game, there is no chance the Browns can hang.

I know what you are saying though, Gipper. We in Baltimore thought the Steelers were a rival long before that matchup grew any legs. That was because they stomped on us all the time. Now that we are 10-10 against them since 2003 (including playoffs), the rivalry is very much alive in both cities. Now we just have to beat them down in the playoff...

I really hope the Browns/Ravens can become a big rivalry again soon. Every year it seems as though you guys are gonna make the turn and get better, and I think now you have the management and young group of guys to do that. See ya in a few years...

The problem with most Ravens fans is that you forget from whence you come.

I suspect that you believed all those years that the Ravens were rivals of the Colts....but the fact is, the Colts were the far superior team (until this year) and probably never gave a thought to the Ravens. The fans of Indianapolis probably during those years of Colt ascendancy didn't give a cabbage fart about Baltimore and the people of that city.

Or are you saying that the hatchet has been buried for whatever grudge you may have had against Indy, and the Colts and the Irsay family....and that it is all hugs and kisses between you?

I didn't think so.

I know what you are saying though, Gipper. We in Baltimore thought the Steelers were a rival long before that matchup grew any legs. That was because they stomped on us all the time. Now that we are 10-10 against them since 2003 (including playoffs), the rivalry is very much alive in both cities. Now we just have to beat them down in the playoff...

I really hope the Browns/Ravens can become a big rivalry again soon. Every year it seems as though you guys are gonna make the turn and get better, and I think now you have the management and young group of guys to do that. See ya in a few years...

@the-gipper said:

The problem here Ghoolie is that none of you are Jedi warriors. None of you are Shaolin monks. You think only of the moment. You think only of your instant gratification. You are like a bunch of 3 years old who think only "gimmee, gimmee, gimmee". None of you think long term. You have neither foresight nor introspection.

You think that selling fucking merchandise or being on prime time TV tonight is the be all and end all of what constitutes a great rivalry. It is not. You have only the mindset of that bully who is only looking for shits and giggles at that very second. You have no clue that the kid you bullied on the beach will probably grow up to own you, your family, your town.

If you want to declare these rivalries dead, perhaps that is because you are all gutless quitters.

In that case, perhaps a photo array with all y'alls faces should be placed on the "Dickheads on Parade" thread.

Gipper,

Im not saying the rivalry is dead, but it is definately dormant. You can't have an actively growing rivalry when one side is always losing. It takes more than a upset every 3-4 years. If and when the Browns become relavant in the AFC North it will take a short time to the rivalry's to be restored. Figure 2-3 years of good match ups and bad blood and you will have a rivalry.

Until we put up some winning seasons and battle for a division all this talk is mute.

@king-ghoolie-lives said:

Gipper,

I hate to pile on here, but the majority is dead on.

The Baltimore Ravens fans do not consider us a rival. They consider us 2 wins that can be counted on each and every year.

Think of it this way, a bully who kicks the shit out of a kid, steals his money and makes fun of him in public, does not consider the kid to be a rival. Oh, the kid getting his ass kicked considers the bully a rival, for sure.

The Browns are insignificant. Like it or not, the Browns are insignificant. Nobody is buying Browns merchandise, Nobody wants to see the Browns on MNF, SNF or TNF.

Inconsequential. That is what the Browns are.

The problem here Ghoolie is that none of you are Jedi warriors. None of you are Shaolin monks. You think only of the moment. You think only of your instant gratification. You are like a bunch of 3 years old who think only "gimmee, gimmee, gimmee". None of you think long term. You have neither foresight nor introspection.

You think that selling fucking merchandise or being on prime time TV tonight is the be all and end all of what constitutes a great rivalry. It is not. You have only the mindset of that bully who is only looking for shits and giggles at that very second. You have no clue that the kid you bullied on the beach will probably grow up to own you, your family, your town.

If you want to declare these rivalries dead, perhaps that is because you are all gutless quitters.

In that case, perhaps a photo array with all y'alls faces should be placed on the "Dickheads on Parade" thread.

Steelers and the ravens right now are a bigger rivalry. We are the door mat of the afc north.

I tell you why ravens and steelers fans shouldn't come on here and talk trash.

What do they have to gain?? If they crush us, its what they were expected to do.

@neo said:

How about the Browns win at least one game a year against both Stoolers and Ratbirds, then we can start talking about rivalries.

We can talk about these rivalries any damn time we well please. Just because the Browns have sucked in recent years doesn't mean the rivalries aren't there.

The truth is, the Browns have the greatest natural rivalries in the NFL, bar no other team. For various reasons:

A. They have a rivalry with the Bengals because of both Cincy and Cleve. being in Ohio, but beyond that, the Bengals are the bastard stepchild of the Browns because of Paul Browns being the founder of both teams, essentially, and because he tried to make the Bengals into the image of the Browns down to the uniform colors.

B. They have a natural rivalry with the Ravens because they too were created from the smegma that was left over as a result of Modell's attempt to move the Browns.

C. The Browns have a natural rivalry with the Steelers, simply because it is a natural rivalry. A sort of backyard brawl (to steal a term from the Pitt-WVa rivalry). The purest sort or rivalry between like minded sorts and cities that have suffered under similar circumstances.

Name any other team that has the same clear connected tissue with its rivalries that the Browns have with theirs. I don't think you can.

@wrrebel said:

Nah, seriously until we start winning why would they come on here???

Its like being a yankee fan and going on an orioles fan site to talk smack. serves no purpose.

Agreed. The rivalry is only alive in our eyes. Same with Pittsburgh.

@brownfish said:

I agree whole heartedly no reason for them to waste energy talking smack to a JUCO club.

I think we will pull this one off though...pretty confident going into sunday as long as ray lewis doesn't come back

I'm also crunching some numbers...and i'm pretty sure i have figured out the reason for the browns bad luck streak since 99. Just need to double check some dates and then figure out what can be done.

What? You figure the Browns poor play is due to some quirk in their numerology? Or their astrology?

Bad Karma? Maybe Randy Lerner walked under a ladder or broke a mirror?

More than likely it has actually been attributable to a certain ineptness rather than some occult matter.

I think we will pull this one off though...pretty confident going into sunday as long as ray lewis doesn't come back

I'm also crunching some numbers...and i'm pretty sure i have figured out the reason for the browns bad luck streak since 99. Just need to double check some dates and then figure out what can be done.

@wrrebel said:

Nah, seriously until we start winning why would they come on here???

Its like being a yankee fan and going on an orioles fan site to talk smack. serves no purpose.

Thank you, talking shit to a browns fan is like trying to tell Shurmur touchdowns are worth more than field goals. Pointless. (PUN INTENDED)

@neo said:

It's still early in the week. I am sure there will plenty of Raven shit on the hood of your car by Friday Gip.

No, there are a good supply of skunks and raccoons in my neighborhood to prey on them. If I were in a more rural area it might be coyotes and bobcats that would feast on them.

Its like being a yankee fan and going on an orioles fan site to talk smack. serves no purpose.

Bunker said:

the Ratbird fans lost their internet service since their unemployment ran out? they also beat the shit out of the Steelers twice this year so they feel they have accomplished the mission.

Overconfident you think? I don't know why they should be since they still have the same record as the Squibs, and one slipup and their efforts in beating the Steelers would all be for naught.

I have trepidations about the Browns helping the Squibs by taking down the Rats, but the way I see it, one good turn deserves another. Take down the Ravens one week to help Pisstown, then return the favor later by beating the Steelers. If only.