Refining the Art of revenge

There are some days you can't seem to forget.
Take January 28, 2001 for instance.
I was working at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and I went to a staff Super Bowl party.
Among the highlights:
*They served babaghanouj and hummus, pita bread and chocolate covered crickets.
*Most people were just waiting for Survivor.
*Some people were actually cheering for the Ravens.
When I kindly asked someone how he could in good conscience cheer for such a loathsome, vile, repugnant, filthy team, he said: "Because New York already has two titles." (Some people are just hopeless.)
By the beginning of the fourth quarter, it looked like Baltimore was going to win.
"Looks like Baltimore is going to win," someone said.
I glared at him and said, "I hope you throw up your hummus." Which wasn't true. I hoped he'd choke on it.
"It's been five years, Joe," he said. "Get over it."
Most of the papers in northeast Ohio the next morning said the same thing. Writers talked about needing to move on, forget the past, they implored. Use the game as a chance to heal.
Modevil: I chose to cut out a picture of Ravens' owner Art Modell, draw some horns and a pitchfork, and tape it to my monitor. I don't know about the healing process, but I felt better.
But I'm still not over it. Because there's another day I can't forget: November 6, 1995. The day Modell announced he was moving the Browns to Baltimore. The day he broke the hearts of a million fans who loved football in a way that can only be described as unhealthy.
He stole something we loved and you don't forget something like that. Ever.
I hate the Ravens. Wait, maybe hate is too strong of a word. How about this: I hate the Ravens.
It bugs me that I have to dislike a team more than the Steelers.
It bugs me that maybe the biggest egomaniac in sports -- Brian Billick -- won a championship.
It bugs me he might win another one.
But there is a chance for redemption. On Oct. 21, Cleveland will play host to Baltimore in their first meaningful game since the Browns came back in 1999. And it will be the first time we have a chance of winning, albeit a slight one.
Some people will say it isn't much of a rivalry anymore. That most people have moved on. That it's just another game.
Don't believe it. And if you need evidence, take a look at visiting owner's loge that day. I guarantee you won't see Modell in it.
The last two weeks have been a good time for northeast Ohio sports fans, and we haven't been able to say that in awhile. The Browns have a winning record. The Indians are in the playoffs. The Buckeyes looked really good against Northwestern.
A mirage: We know it's a mirage. Inevitably they'll break our hearts and we'll start grumbling about the weather and not re-signing Juan Gonzalez and the ineptness of the Cavaliers. (Yes, they still have a team.)
Which is why the Ravens game is so important. I sat in the front row of the Dawg Pound at last year's game in Cleveland as the Browns came close to upsetting Baltimore, which was then struggling under the incapable leadership of quarterback Tony Banks.
Trust me, no one forgets what happened almost six years ago.
People may talk about healing, but only one thing can bring it: a Browns win. They probably won't get it on Oct. 21 at home, and barring an unforeseen collapse, they won't get it on Nov. 18 when they play at Baltimore.
But it'll happen someday. It has to. Right?
XJoe Scalzo is a sportswriter for The Vindicator. Write him at scalzo@vindy.com.