Steelers Title Should Not Devastate Browns Fans.

This might sound comical to anyone living outside the greater Cleveland area, but there are some Clevelanders who actually still consider the Pittsburgh Steelers a rival to our perennially underachieving Browns.

Before you get angry Browns fans, understand two things:

1. I am a Browns fan and

2. this isn’t a “Bitter Browns fan upset we can’t beat the Steelers” piece.

Continuing to persist under the rivalry delusion only sets Browns’ fans up for perpetual disappointment. Why you ask?

Simply because the Pittsburgh Steelers are great, period. They are arguably the best franchise in sports. Consider this coming from a Browns fan of 22 years, and you can appreciate the gravity of that statement.

Only three men have held the title of head coach of the Steelers since 1969. All three have career winning records and all three have won at least one Super Bowl.

The Steelers have suffered just four losing seasons in the last 20. They have a blueprint for success and it remains as effective as any other modern-era sports franchise.

The Steelers have also owned the Browns as if they purchased them on Ebay. The Browns are just 6-31 at Pittsburgh since 1970. The Steelers are 9-1 at Cleveland Browns Stadium, or as they like to call it, “Home Away From Home.”  The last time the Browns defeated Pittsburgh in Cleveland, Bill Clinton was the president. Ponder that for a second.

I’m not trying to pile on the inordinate amount of pain football fans in Cleveland have already experienced. But as long as we continue to view the Steelers as an equal, or rival, we will continue to set ourselves up for failure.

The goal of any Browns fan, at this point, should be to see them appear in a Super Bowl before death. An idea that seemed silly when I was 20 years old, but not so much at 30.

As much as I dislike the boys in black and gold, I am admittedly jealous of what they have accomplished. Pittsburgh is just two hours east of Cleveland. The two cities share many similarities and the histories of the northern industrial towns parallel each other.

Another glaring similarity is the fan bases of the two franchises. Both passionate, both dedicated and both fiercely loyal.

The drastic difference is the fans from Pittsburgh are consistently rewarded with victories, championships and first rate management and ownership.  Fans from Cleveland have bore witness to a tragically comedic parade of clowns posing as either general manager or head coach. Rain, snow or sleet the Browns fans always turn out as if they were postal workers. Then predictably their beloved team mails it in.

Most Browns fans found themselves depressed by Super Bowl 43, having to endure another Steeler championship. Perhaps they should have felt encouraged, if a typically downtrodden Arizona Cardinals team can make it to the big dance, maybe even the Browns could one day.

Until then, our “Super Bowl” comes every spring. You may know it as the NFL Draft.