Today's players don't grasp rivalry's meaning

New faces and lopsided losses have taken the edge from the Browns-Steelers game.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Take out the fork for this Cleveland-Pittsburgh rivalry thing.
It's done.
A rivalry is intense, heated and competitive.
Lately, this one has been anything but. The Steelers have won nine of the past 10 games. The Browns' only win was 33-13 on another Sunday night in 2003 -- a time that seems like decades ago. That game was the high-water mark of the Tim Couch era. Since, the Browns have been drowning while the Steelers float happily down the river.
Through no fault of their own, today's players don't even seem to grasp the meaning of the game.
Just a divisional game
Yes, they understand the feelings of the fans, but linebacker Andra Davis said the Steelers game is big because it's a division game and it's no bigger than playing the Cincinnati Bengals.
No bigger than the Bengals?
"It's hard to say about a rival because I didn't grow up [with] it," Davis said. "Since I've been here, I look at all the division games as a rivalry."
What about his teammates?
"It's just another game to me," defensive end Alvin McKinley said.
Terrelle Smith said it's a big game to him because his cousin Marvel Smith is a Steeler and Terrelle is "tired of getting picked on at the family barbecue."
Other than that?
"It's another team we play," Smith said.
Kick returner Joshua Cribbs grew up in Washington but went to Kent State.
"I'm aware of the rivalry," he said. "But to me, it's another game."
Not all Browns agree, mind you.
Coach feels rivalry
Romeo Crennel said it will always be a rivalry. Jeff Faine scoffed and said: "It's still Cleveland-Pittsburgh." L.J. Shelton said the first thing his stepfather told him when he signed was that he had to beat the Steelers. And Reuben Droughns and Ryan Tucker both said they have heard from fans about the importance of the Steelers game.
"I've been here four years now and I feel it just as much as the fans in Cleveland," Tucker said. "I'm a Cleveland resident and I love this rivalry as much as anybody. I think it has died down a little bit compared to the old days. Maybe because of the records.
"But as far as history and the way people feel about each other, this is the ultimate game for me."
The old days consisted of the old Saturday night game in Cleveland, of Jack Lambert knocking out Brian Sipe and Joe "Turkey" Jones dumping Terry Bradshaw on his neck. The old days were at the old stadium and had the old atmosphere and the dirt and mud and slop and muck that the two teams played in.
Nowadays, there are club seats and amenities and weather reports during games.
So many new players
And there are so many new players in Cleveland this year it's hard for them to understand the history. It might take a highlight film to teach them -- an idea Droughns said would be "exciting."
Enough of the Browns feel that it's just "another game" that some of the edge has been taken off.
Then there's the way modern-day teams approach games -- which by nature diminishes a rivalry. The new approach, which Crennel has adopted, states that the only game that matters is the next one. The next game to be played is the most important game merely because it's the one the team prepares for.
"It doesn't matter who you're playing," Davis said. "You've got to go out there and give your all. You can't get more jacked up just because it's Pittsburgh."
What to make of this game, then?
Browns need to do part
Perhaps to consider what kicker Phil Dawson, an elder statesman, had to say. Dawson understands that if this series is again going to become a rivalry, the Browns have to do their part.
"Professionally you have to treat it like another game, but there's a fine line in there somewhere," Dawson said. "This is my favorite game of the year, personally. Professionally, I have to treat it like any other.
"If we get this going on our end, I think you'll see the locker room rekindle. Hopefully we can add some spark to this thing."
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