Confessions of a Browns Fan: My AFC Team To Root For in the Playoffs, The Pittsburgh Steelers

I will start this article by saying I am a die-hard Browns fan. At least as die-hard as you can possibly be when you’re 23 years old and have no memory of a good Browns team. I go to several games every season, watch every snap. Live and breathe the Browns. Every year I come into the season with unrealistic optimism and am annually disappointed and never cease to be amazed at what new ways the team can fail.

Growing up in Northeast Ohio, you are taught to hate the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, and most of all the Pittsburgh Steelers.

For as long back as I can remember this has been the case. I would root against the Steelers any time they played. I don’t get along with many of their fans who have never even set foot in the state of Pennsylvania, but would wear Steelers jerseys to school.

However this 2015 season, especially the latter half of it has made me gain respect for the current Steelers team.

I’ll take you back to the beginning of the season. They were high on everyone’s list with a chance to contend for the Super Bowl.

Then all-pro center Marquis Pouncey tore his ACL in September and was ruled out for the entire season. “Well, there goes that.” I said to myself.

Their defense was terrible, but their superstar playmakers on offense Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell, and Antonio Brown never kept them out of a game.

Bell came into the season missing the first two games for suspension, and played excellent for five games until he suffered a knee-injury in Week 8.

Then I thought to myself, “Surely. This is it. They’re done.”

Low and behold, backup running back D’Angelo Williams didn’t look like a back up at all. He could start on probably all, but 4 NFL teams.

The Steelers defense was still pretty terrible, but they won some shootouts.

And oh yeah, their starting quarterback, Big Ben didn’t even play in four games this season. Their backup, Mike Vick struggled through a hamstring injury and then Landry Jones had to step in.

Somehow that team made it to the playoffs. Even though a lot of it has to do with how bad the AFC was this year, they got in, and that’s all that matters.

I remember telling a friend of mine, Anthony, that I was starting to really respect the team for persevering through the injuries, and I loved watching their playmakers, Brown and Williams. It was after a win on Sunday Night Football against the Broncos that I first had this feeling.

I’m as big of a Cavs fan as I am a Browns fan and I remember all too vividly how injuries decimated our basketball team and it led to the downfall of the Wine and Gold in the Finals. So I can appreciate the “Next Man Up” theme that Pittsburgh has had to use all season.

So now we enter the Wild Card Round of the AFC Playoffs. The Cincinnati Bengals vs the Pittsburgh Steelers. Great. A Browns’ fan’s worst nightmare. I don’t want to root for either of these teams. I can’t stand them. I watched the game in solitude, had a quiet Saturday night. It was kind of a boring game for the first three quarters. And in the fourth quarter, not only did it get eventful, but it actually made me angry to watch.

First off, some of the Bengals’ fans in attendance were a disgrace to football. If you’re cheering for another player’s injury because you don’t think your team is good enough to beat them when he’s on the field. Go to the bar after the game and cry yourself to sleep cause your team lost.

Fans throwing stuff at Big Ben while he was being carted off. Ok, 90 percent of the reason for that is alcohol. But what if that was a career-ending injury and he never played another game? We didn’t know the extent of it at the time. All that did was motivate Roethlisberger more to come out in the end and lead the game-winning drive.

The only thing that was more disgraceful than the behavior of some Bengals’ fans in attendance was the behavior of their players on the field. We knew going into it that Vontez Burfict had a reputation for being a dirty player, but his hit on Brown on the last drive of the game was not only dirty, but it was IDIOTIC. Nice job, Burfict. You put them in field goal range.

And Pacman Jones, if you actually choose to be referred to as Pacman when you’ve been in the NFL for 10 years, that’s your first sign the guy is really mature. But Pacman has a well-documented history of having problems on and off the field with conducting himself. And then he bumps into an official with the game on the line.

Then, he not only complains about it. But says Brown was “faking” after the illegal hit Burfict put on the wide receiver.

So Jones goes on social media, posts an expletive-filled rant blaming officials for the loss. Hey, idiot. You’re the one who made the game-winning field goal attempt turn into a chip shot. Go spend all offseason holed up in some strip club making it rain 100 dollar bills.

Needless to say I am not a fan of the Cincinnati Bengals. I wasn’t before the game, but the lack of class shown by many fans and their players demoted them past the Ravens and Steelers on my list of AFC North rivals.

I know there are great Bengals’ fans out there, who don’t believe the immaturity and childish behavior is something their team should be represented with, but I had a conversation with a guy I went to middle school with who has been a life-long Bengals fan, and his literal statement after the game was, “I respect Burfict even more after that.”

I seriously hope that is not the majority of Bengals fans out there. Apparently there were some arrests being made at the game and fights between Steelers and Bengals’ fans, but I’m pretty positive that has more to do with people who are already assholes to begin with, filled up with alcohol confronting each other than it has to do with the teams.

To label an entire fan base because of the actions of a few is unfair to any team, whether they’re a rival or not.

What cracked me up about the game was seeing some Browns’ fans reactions the same night and the following day. Some Browns’ fans honestly thought what the Bengals fans and players did was right because it was against the Steelers.

Hello? The Bengals are in your division, too! Would you be saying that if they did it to any team other than the Steelers?

I get that you bleed Brown and Orange, but I can’t take someone’s opinion seriously if they make ignorant statements like that.

Back to the actual on the field stuff. I neglected to mention how the Steelers’ running back Williams, who had played like a Pro-Bowler in Bell’s absence, was unavailable in the Wild Card game in Cincy. So Fitzgerald Toussaint filled in. Raise your hand if you knew who that was before the game. Yeah, you and half the Steelers fans had no clue who the guy was. But he continued the next man up theme of the season and finished with 118 total yards on 21 touches between the ground and air.

So as the game concluded, I thought to myself.. I can’t stand the Bengals. I can’t stand the way some of their fans conducted themselves. They’re the dirtiest team in the league. And I thought about the Steelers. They had a few dirty plays themselves, but they didn’t do anything that doesn’t happen in just about every game at some point or another.

They don’t have a reputation for being a dirty team or cheating. When you think of the Steelers’ franchise, whether you love or hate them, they’re worthy of respect for the long-term consistent success they have had. In my lifetime they’ve had two coaches, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin. One is a lock for the Hall of Fame and the other has built a pretty good case.

Their franchise has never been known for the type of dysfunction that is literally a weekly story in Berea. If you want to model a franchise after any team, there’s not a better example to point to.

The Steelers represent tradition and NFL history. The Rust Belt breathes football. I don’t like the fact that I see Steelers jerseys in my home town, especially when many of the people wearing them couldn’t tell you who was quarterback before Roethlisberger.

But I have close friends who are Steelers fans and honestly I’ve never had an encounter with a Steelers fan where I felt I was being treated with disrespect. Maybe that’s because I didn’t go looking for it. The vast majority of fans just want to enjoy the game they love in peace and root for their teams. If you already have an urge within yourself to start altercations, then maybe that has more to do with the results of those situations.

I’ll still make jokes about Steelers’ fans having no teeth or whatever. But it’s all in fun. It’s a rivalry. Or it used to be, so I’m told.

I was born in 1992 and have no distinct memory of the early 90’s Browns. I can remember all too clear what the Browns have been since 1999. An embarrassment. The Browns-Steelers rivalry has not been a rivalry as long as I have been able to enjoy football. It’s been a roast. Every time they take the field.

Doesn’t matter what new head coach is in Cleveland, what backup or third-string quarterback is starting for the Browns. The result is unfailingly consistent.

So I thought about the playoff picture in the AFC. I really can’t stand Tom Brady. The “Deflate-Gate” fiasco didn’t help, but I already viewed Brady as someone who is part of a team that cheats. Even their fans, when pressed, will admit that they have cheated. And defend it by saying, “Look at all our Super Bowl Rings.”

How bout we look at teams that didn’t have to break rules to get rings… Let’s see.. there’s the 49ers. Cowboys. and oh yeah, the Steelers.

The AFC playoff picture was really uninspiring coming into the Wild Card Round. Brian Hoyer was my first choice to root for. That didn’t go well. I have no feeling one way or another towards the Kansas City Chiefs. I’ve never liked the Broncos and this latest accusation of Peyton Manning using HGH seems a little shady on both sides. Funny how it never gets mentioned by major national media outlets, though.

So once Hoyer was out, my first choice to root for was gone. And if you’re like me, you have come to grips with the realization that every postseason, you have to pick a team or two to pull for in the postseason. Because your Browns will not be there.

So in the NFC I’m going with the Carolina Panthers because I love watching Cam Newton play. He has a lot of haters, but hasn’t done anything in the NFL deserving of being viewed as a low-character guy. He’s an amazing talent, who goes out of his way to give footballs to kids and visits sick fans in the hospital on a regular basis. He’s aware of his role as a superstar and uses it to positively influence young kids.

In the AFC, I’m rooting for the Steelers. They play the right way and are the model for consistency and represent a respectable franchise. This year’s team especially has resonated with me because of their persistence through injuries. They mix old school tradition with a bit of new flavor with their dynamic offense. A.B. has become one of my favorite players to watch. What superstar wide receiver is willing to play special teams, and then busts out 100 yard punt-returns on top of it?

I would love if the Browns could find a coach like Tomlin. Don’t see it happening any time soon. There are some players in Pittsburgh who I’d root for regardless of whether they changed franchises or not. There are 35 Ohio State Buckeyes in the NFL. 5 of them are Steelers. But they’re not just backups or special teams players. All five are prominent fixtures in the Steelers on both sides of the ball. Pittsburgh has done a heck of a job picking off Ohio State’s talent. Why can’t the Browns do that in the draft instead of waiting for their careers to be on the edge of extinction?

Most notably for the Steelers, it’s Cameron Haywerd, Ryan Shazier, and Will Allen making big plays every game. Their defense as a whole has been pretty bad this year, but those three are pieces worth building around. That’s one-fourth of their starting 11 players on defense. Who knows who they will grab next from OSU? Cardale Jones? Topic for another day.

On any other team, most Browns’ fans would look at Big Ben and say, “The Pride of Findlay, Ohio.” Miami Ohio’s Finest. And if you ask any of them if they could go back and draft Big Ben in 2004 instead of Kellen Winslow, it’s unanimous. There were some disturbing accusations about his past that have led to nicknames like “Rape-lesberger,” but I’m not one to say you can judge a person’s life based on unproven accusations, or even if they had some truth in them that it defines what a person represents.

Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest basketball players of all-time and he had a similar situation earlier in his career involving accusations with some shaky evidence. Now he’s making his farewell tour across the country, getting standing ovations in every road city arena, and will be remembered more for his leadership on the team and his professional attitude and great career. I’m expecting whenever the time comes for Big Ben to hang it up, he’ll get standing ovations at all the road stadiums he plays in for the final time. Even Cincy. Even Baltimore. Even Cleveland.

What I do know is that on the field, Big Ben has been everything you could hope for in a franchise quarterback. Clutch. Makes his receivers better. Smart. Instincts. Toughness. Never rattled. Leads his team down the field in the final two minutes. Champion.

All of these reasons illustrate why this 2015 Steelers team, in particular, is one that I can root for. Don’t take this to mean that when the Browns play Pittsburgh next season I’ll be wearing black and yellow. That’s not going to happen.

I’m not buying any Steelers jerseys. But if I was it would be Antonio Brown. Cause he’s a beast.

So does this make me a traitor? Am I not a “Real” Browns fan because of this? Well first off, what exactly would I be committing treason to in the first place? A joke of a franchise that has been nothing, but an embarrassment to the game of football since 1999. Am I betraying Jimmy Haslam, who robbed customers blind and got off because his brother is a governor? (Haslam is still robbing customers blind only now it’s with tickets, jerseys and concessions) Am I betraying the seven head coaches, who have been here in the last 16 years? The seven general managers, who have wasted more top ten draft picks than most franchises have had in their entire existence?

The Browns are lucky I’m still crazy enough to root for them when they play. I ask myself every Monday after a loss, what am I supporting?

I had to ask my dad the other day, “Were the 80’s Browns really good enough to win a Super Bowl?”

How am I supposed to feel connected to that?

My generation associates nothing with Browns’ football aside from losing. And maybe using it as an excuse to get hammered.

So call me a traitor, but I’ll be at First Energy Stadium, home of the Cleveland Browns, wearing my jersey in September. I’m not quite sure why, but I’ll be there. I guess it’s in my DNA.