Ravens-Steelers rivalry as nasty as it gets

msn.foxsports.com/ ^ | January 17, 2009 | Alex Marvez

[shielagolden]

PITTSBURGH - Trash talking, hard hitting, spitting, fighting and nail-biting finishes.

Everything you want in a football feud can be found between the teams in Sunday's AFC Championship game.

Basically, everything the Pittsburgh Steelers once shared with the Cleveland Browns. Stealing the latter franchise in the mid-1990s wasn't enough for the city of Baltimore.

Crabtown had to net Cleveland's biggest rival as well. The Ravens have become Public Enemy No. 1 in Pittsburgh while the Browns aren't even on the most wanted list. Steelers players don't deny it, either. "Each and every year we play Baltimore, it's one of those games you circle," Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward said during a Friday news conference. "Cleveland and Pittsburgh is a rivalry itself, but the Baltimore-Pittsburgh rivalry is really heated." As in sizzling.

The decade-long animosity reached a boiling point in 2008. Following a Steelers overtime victory in September, Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs got into hot water by claiming Baltimore defenders had placed a "bounty" on Ward and Pittsburgh running back Rashard Mendenhall.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

Johnny Unitas was born in Pittsburgh.

[RayChuang88]

The Ravens versus Steelers game tomorrow will be a major throwback to the “three yards and a cloud of dust” football of the old days. A 10-7 score may not be so far-fetched.

[Trajan88]

Add a little wind and snow flurries and it will be greatness :-)

[Prophet in the wilderness]

" I’ll be rooting for the Distillers to beat the Stolen Browns. "
If it wasn't for Robert Irsay .... there would be no need for this dicussion.
Baltimore was robbed of their team.

[big'ol_freeper]

Baltimore was robbed of their team.

Yup. And as someone who has had their team stolen its an angry experience. Two wrongs don't make a right though.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

" Two wrongs don't make a right though "
A agree with you ... but ? how do you right a wrong ?

It's not like Baltimore didn't try to give Robert Irsay what he wanted and Baltimore was over looked in the NFL exspandsion .
Baltimore had everything in place before the last NFL exspandtion, they had public financing for a new Stadium, more than enough fan support.
but ? Carolina and Tennessee got their teams and Baltimore got screwed again.
What if ? another team would have gotten the Browns ? those Browns fans would have had the same anger towards that other city as towards Baltimore ? am I right ?
When Baltimore wanted a NFL team and was trying to do it the " right way " what did Baltimore get ? nothing, at least Cleavland got a team again and got to name it the Browns.... Baltimore got nothing...... Baltimore didn't even get to name the current team the COLTS... in other words ? Baltimore got screwed every time.....

[big'ol_freeper]

No excuse.

Believe me. I sympathize. I was a fan of the Hartford Whalers NHL team that was stolen and moved the Charlotte, NC by Peter Crap-monos, a team that was financially viable and profitable.

Hence, I will never root for a team that was stolen from another city unless the move was necessitated by the threat of bankruptcy due to lack of fan support.

In the case of the Colts, Browns, and Whalers that was not the case.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

LOL !!! the perfect spelling hounds will be after me tonight... yes.. I admit it... I can't spell ,,, and make mistakes in spelling or typos.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

You know ? I am not even upset or angry towards the Indy fans, they deserved a team, same goes for the Panther fans and the Titians.
I am even a Steelers fan, but, how would you feel if you did everything possible to please the powers to be in the NFL and jump through hoops for them, and still get over looked in the NFL expansion ?
The owner of the original COLTS should have never sold the COLTS or traded it to Irsay.

[big'ol_freeper]

Talk to the folks in Harford: http://officialhartfordwhalersboosterclub.yuku.com/forums/1/t/HWBC-Lounge.html

[NRA1995]

GONE, Ravens! Flacco sure was flaccid!

[GUNGAGALUNGA]

Believe me. I sympathize. I was a fan of the Hartford Whalers NHL team that was stolen and moved the Charlotte, NC

Actually it was Raleigh, NC. Leftwing dump capital of NC(along with Chapel Hill).. Didn't the Whalers actually play in a mall skating rink at one time?

[big'ol_freeper]

It was a regular stadium..seated 16,500 if I remember correctly. Just had a mall adjacent/attached to it. You could enter through the mall.

[GUNGAGALUNGA]

I looked at your profile. If you don’t mind me saying, Lil’ Freeper is easy on the eyes. Sorry we took your team.

[Cyropaedia]

That western corner of Pennsylvania has been called, “The Cradle of Quarterbacks”. Unitas, Blanda, (Jim) Kelly, Montana, Namath, and Marino all came from that region.

[big'ol_freeper]

Actually if you watch any college basketball, UConn Huskies play most of their nationally televised home games there. Stadium is there but the mall was torn down.

[big'ol_freeper]

LOL..its been a while...I root for the Bruins but still have hopes of a return of the Whale.