Rivals to the bitter end

By Bill Lauris

''I'm pretty fired up to play in a rivalry game and be part of the rich tradition that these two organizations have had against each other,'' Cleveland QB Trent Dilfer recently told reporters. ''The biggest challenge is us. We have to continue trying to get better and improve upon our mistakes and play better than we did last week.

Boy did he say a mouthfull there. Translation... yea there is a long traditional rivalry between the two towns, but in truth, our single greatest rival is us. 

In most rivalrys there is a heated distain for the opponent. A quick look at the tradition between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns reveals that over 100 contests have been played. The record between the teams shows a close competitive edge to the Browns by way of holding a 55-51 advantage. To the outside observer Sunday night's game should be a resumption of some kind of bad blood between these two teams. In fact there will be some of that but it will not be coming from the respective lockerrooms. It will, however, come from the fans in both cities because what has been called  the "Turnpike Rivalry'' has  more intense dislike between them than the actual players involved.

Why then , if the fans are really into the rivalry, why aren't the players just as intense about it? In the case of the Steelers Browns there are two reasons. First, one vital ingredient for any heathy rivalry is stiff compitition. The past 8 years have been dominated by the Steelers as they have a 16-3 record over the Browns. During that era the Browns have not experienced much success against the rest of the NFL either. Secondly, in the past 8 seasons the Browns have had so much turnover to their coaching staffs that has led to even more turnover in the players, that there are hardly any players around who can recall a meaninful game being played between the two teams. 

"There are several new faces, and they might not understand as strongly as the fans the closeness of the two cities and the rivalry that's gone on over the years,'' Browns first year head coach Romeo Crennel said. "They understand it's a big game and it's a division game against a good team. If they don't understand, by the end of the week they'll have a better understanding.''

This has to be the reason that Browns defensive end Alvin McKinley recently quipped.

"As a player you're going to feel different than the fans, said McKinley. ''It's just another game to me. 'I know what it means to fans. The fans all get drunk and all hyped up. We can't get drunk before the game. We can't sit out and roast hot dogs before the game. We have to go out there and play ball. They're going to buy into it a lot more than we do because they're drunk.''

I can hear it now... 'What... someone from Cleveland saying Pittsburgh Steeler fans get drunk before the game'?    5#!+ Those r fightin words.