Misconceptions

One thing you will never say about me is that I am a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and one thing that you will always be able to say about me is that I am a Cleveland Browns fan. Growing up in northeast Ohio you are taught that the Browns are the only team to cheer for and the Steelers are the enemy. As a Cleveland Browns fan it has been tough and you learn to become tough from all the years of hardship we have had to endure. I will give Steeler fans one thing, they should be happy from all the winning and be disappointed when they do not make the playoffs.

For the last year and a half I have been dating a Steeler fan, this makes Sunday's very interesting but fun. In 2011 I wanted to take her to the Browns/Steelers game in Cleveland but she was talked out of it by others who said Browns fans are mean. Mean wasn't the words that were used, they were actually adjectives like rude, cruel, disgusting, vulgar, and harassing. We did not go and ended up going to the Steelers/Rams game instead, boring!

We recently attended the Steelers/Browns game in Pittsburgh and I was dressed in my Browns gear amongst a sea of Steeler fans (as expected) with one other Browns fan sitting right in front of me. Prior to us going I read an article about Pittsburgh fans living in Cleveland and how they are treated. It was an interesting read and I thought I would share that article with you here followed by my experience in Pittsburgh.

Upon arriving in the vicinity of the Heinz Field while still in my truck I was greeted with boos, comments of "there's a Browns fan," and chants of "Cleveland Sucks!" These are all expected no matter where you go so those did not bother me at all. Walking through the parking lot was not very eventful either so I was doing alright, mind you I am a Browns fan so I am tough. Upon entering the stadium it became a totally different story as I started high giving my fellow Browns fans. We got to our seats and I greeted my follow Browns fan in front of me and observed all the other Steeler fans around me. To my left was a group of four very rowdy (drunk) Steeler fans, no big deal. These guys were constantly standing up cheering as they should but as the game went on they got worse. At one point the one guy decided to put his hands on me after a big Steeler play, thankfully I am strong and did nothing. He continued to yell profanities in my face and the other Browns fan. At one point he dumped his beer all over the person in front of him, if it were me I would have been kicked out. The first time I went to the concession stand I stood in line for not that long until I got to the counter, this I could not believe. I ordered two beers and nachos, nothing difficult. The person at the register tells me that he cannot serve me because I am a Browns fan and needed to go to a different concession stand, well this was not happening. Upon me telling him that he decided to charge me more than he was supposed to and claimed that he typed in the wrong amount. Thankfully I know my math and paid him what I was supposed to. I went back to the same concession stand and stood in line forever being harassed by Steelers fans behind me with names that I have never heard before. Again I ignored them because they were the ignorant ones not me. I ended up with the same concession stand attendant and he just walked away from me asking someone else to serve me. After the game was over, the Browns lost, I walked out with my head held high all the way back to my truck only to find the entire bed filled with empty beer cans.

Before you go to a game or decide that you want to bash the other teams fan base just remember that you probably are making your team look a lot worse than the team that you are bashing. Not every fan can be lumped into this, I am only pointing out the few that I encountered and I am sure Browns fans have treated Steeler fans and others like this as well.