Steelers biggest rivals

OK, so we know most people will say that the Ravens are the Steelers' #1 rival (me included), but how would you rank the Steelers top 5 rivals?

I see it this way:

1) Baltimore Ravens (No brainer. The yin to our yang, Darth Vadar to our Luke Skywalker, Joker to our Batman. It doesn't get any better than this rivalry in sports for me. )
2) New England Patriots*** (They have had our number most of the time and killed us at the worst possible times.)
3) Dallas Cowboys (All of those Super Bowl match-ups and the whole "America's Team" thing.)
4) Cleveland Browns (Purely nostalgic. In danger of falling off my list altogether if they don't start fielding professional teams.)
5) Oakland Raiders (Another one based mostly on nostalgia, but I hate that they've beaten us a few times in the recent past when they had no business doing so.)

1. Yep, f*** Baltimore
2. New England Patriots* (had our coaching signals illegal taped at the worst of times, payback has just started last year and their will be more to come!)
3. Own 'em
4. Own 'em
5. This rivalry has been dead for a long long time, I'd replace the Raiders with the Bengals.

Recent years:

1) Baltimore: Not only our biggest rivalry, it's the biggest in the game.
2) New England Patriots*: They've had our number, and we don't like that
3) Tennessee Titans: They've been a good rival in recent years.
4) Jacksonville Jaguars: Good rival in recent years, knocked us out of the playoffs in 07.
5) Oakland Raiders, the thorn in our side. They knock us out when they have no business doing so.

All-Time:

1) Cleveland Browns: One of the most storied rivalries in the history of the NFL.
2) Baltimore Ravens: Most intense rivalry in the NFL, basically the continuation of Cleveland.
3) Dallas Cowboys: "America's Team". Get a room. I hate them, and so does most of SteelerNation. It was a HUGE rivalry.
4) Oakland Raiders: The Raiders hate us more then we hate them. Believe that. They've always came to play.
5) New England Patriots*: Sure, they've had our number. We've also played the referees in Patriots* games.

This is just my opinion, which I know will differ from most Steelers fans.

1. Browns. Living in Northeast Ohio, the Browns were, are, and always will be our No. 1 rival. I hope they never get to a Super Bowl, or I'll have to leave the state until March (assuming they lose ... much longer if they win).
2. Ravens. I know most Steelers fans consider the Ravens our No. 1 rival. But I don't. It's a great rivalry right now, but there's not a lot of history there. We need decades and decades of hatred and venom for it to compare to the Steelers-Browns rivalry. Deep down, I'm still more OK with the Ravens winning a Super Bowl than the Browns.
3. Cowboys. There hasn't been much of a rivalry in the past decade, but there's enough history between these two teams to earn Dallas the No. 3 spot. I've already gotten over the Super Bowl loss to the Packers. I'll NEVER get over the loss to the Cowboys.
4. Patriots*. The Cheatriots cost us one, maybe two trips to the Super Bowl. And not because they were better than us, but because they're a bunch of f'ing cheaters. This rivalry probably won't stand the test of time like the others, but for right now, they're very deserving of the No. 4 spot.
5. Raiders. There's a lot of history and bad blood between these two teams. Much like with the Cowboys, there hasn't been much of a rivalry lately, but you can't forget the history.

Great topic idea.

1. Cleveland Browns - the Mistake by the Lake is our original prime recipient of Steeler hate. The Rats don't qualify as our #1 rival, 'cause they spawned from the Browns in the first place. Sadly, the current Browns are so pathetic that our twice-yearly beatdown is like kicking a puppy; you have to show him you're his master, even though it hurts him.

2. Baltimore Ravens - Ravens' fans' primary focus is on beating the Steelers; Pittsburgh's primary focus is on winning the Super Bowl. We're so "in their heads", that they didn't mind losing to the Patriots** in the playoffs last year - because they accomplished their season's goal - beating us twice. I'll never forget (former Cincinnati TE and announcer) Bob Trumpy, when hearing that Baltimore robbed Cleveland of their franchise:

"I despise the whole concept of the Baltimore Ravens. . . . This team will be hated everywhere outside of Baltimore. . . . Art Modell's actions were criminal. . . . I see nothing but gloom and doom for this franchise. . . . I wish the Ravens high winds and muddy fields; I wish them empty roads to and from the ballpark; I wish them cold hot dogs. I wish them nothing but bad."

Bob Trumpy will forever rest as one of my top-5 favorite non-Steelers.

3. New England* - because of the asterisk. Yes, Brady has been good, they've been our Achilles at times... but BB will forever be included in the Clemens-Bonds-McGwire clan, to me. The Cheatriots.

4. Dallas Cowboys - not so much lately, but they top Oakland because of 1996 and the gift that kept giving, Neil O'Donnell. You're welcome, hat wearers. The 70s were ours, though.

5. Oakland Raiders - I loved Madden announcing our games... after all these years, I could still sense the hate. George Atkinson and Jack Tatum vs. Swann & Stallworth... Mark van Eeghen and Dave Casper. I love to hate them.

5a. Tennesee Titans - the rivalry was sooooo good, until they broke up our division... Lots of mutual hate here.

Sorry, Bengals fans. Your team isn't relevant enough to make our lists...

bayz101 wrote:

3) Tennessee Titans: They've been a good rival in recent years.

Lemondrop wrote:

5a. Tennesee Titans - the rivalry was sooooo good, until they broke up our division... Lots of mutual hate here.

I thought about putting the Titans on the list. Going back to their days in Houston, that was a great rivalry. It wasn't as good as some of our other rivalries, but it was still good. But it hasn't been nowhere near the same since they broke up the division. I loved the days of Noll, Glanville, and Wyche. MAN, did those coaches hate each other. It started at the top and flowed down to the players. That's what a rivalry is all about. If the Titans were still in our division, they'd definitely be in the top 5 for me.

Wallace108 wrote:

bayz101 wrote:

3) Tennessee Titans: They've been a good rival in recent years.

Lemondrop wrote:

5a. Tennesee Titans - the rivalry was sooooo good, until they broke up our division... Lots of mutual hate here.

I thought about putting the Titans on the list. Going back to their days in Houston, that was a great rivalry. It wasn't as good as some of our other rivalries, but it was still good. But it hasn't been nowhere near the same since they broke up the division. I loved the days of Noll, Glanville, and Wyche. MAN, did those coaches hate each other. It started at the top and flowed down to the players. That's what a rivalry is all about. If the Titans were still in our division, they'd definitely be in the top 5 for me.

I considered the Titties as well, but decided against for the same reasons as you. Once they broke up the Central division it hasn't quite been the same. I would say they were nipping at the Raiders' heels on mine though. The Jags were another good selection, but eliminated for me for some of the same reasons. They always seemed to have our number too.

Buddha Bus wrote:

I considered the Titties as well, but decided against for the same reasons as you. Once they broke up the Central division it hasn't quite been the same. I would say they were nipping at the Raiders' heels on mine though. The Jags were another good selection, but eliminated for me for some of the same reasons. They always seemed to have our number too.

A rivalry was starting with the Jags before the Central was broken up, but it always seemed to be based more on mutual respect than nasty hatred. That could have changed over the years, but I still can't put them ahead of the other teams.

1. Baltimore - simply because when the browns moved to Baltimore, those new purple browns fans went nuts. Every year the ratbirds improved their fans thought they were always better than the Steelers. Growing up outside of Baltimore they were more annoying that any John Waters film, and it just brings such great joy to watch that team crumble at the hands of the Steelers.

2. Patriots** - their 3 SB titles***, came courtesy of cheating Pittsburgh. There is still an angst about it, and it just seems every time we play them it's an uneasy feeling.

3. Cowboys - old school. 2 of our SBs come courtesy of the cowboys not knowing how to handle STEEL!

4. Browns - there's just something about two blue collar towns who put it out there day in and day out. It's the old, "My town is better than your town match up"

5. Raiders - Immaculate Reception, nothing else need be said.

1) Baltimore Ravens (formerly Cleveland Browns): They have been our biggest rivalry forever back in the Cleveland Dogpound days until now. The most injuries occur during these games.

2) New England Patriots**: We loathe this team. The way the media gives them such love just makes me sick. We have lost far too many important games to them in recent years.

3) Dallas Cowboys: America's Team my ass! We all hate them with a passion. I love to see them implode every year since Aikman retired.

4) Oakland Raiders: The history really speaks for itself. We lose to them when we shouldn't.

5) Tennessee Titans (formerly Houston Oilers): The history of fighting in the same division still carries over even though we no longer share it.

I cannot put the Browns here like others because the real Browns left town to nest elsewhere. They have never been the same since and probably will never be.

I almost wanted to put the Denver Broncos on here over the Titans due to last year and losing to them often when Elway used to play.

1. Ravens- There is no doubt that this is the Steelers biggest rival. For the past decade, these two teams have traded sweat, blood, and tears to not only beat each other, but to win the AFC North. It seems that every time these two play each other, there is so much at stake. There is extreme hate and bitterness between these two that often continue with words being exchanged in the offseason. These two teams try to out do each other every time they play and this isn't slowing down any time soon.
2. Browns- Why Cleveland? This is the oldest rivalry in the AFC and this rivalry started smash mouth football. The hatred that is shared with each other goes back to the forties, if not earlier and will never go away. Even though this rivalry has been lopsided for majority of its time, there have been extremely close games in the past like the 2002 playoff game when the Steelers came back to beat the Browns. Lets also not forget when the two played each other for the what then seemed as the last time at TRS, many Steelers fans wore a orange arm band to show tribute to the end of the rivalry.
3. Patriots*- This one has certainly heated up within the past decade, but also was around in the late nineties. These two teams have met in the playoffs four times ('96, '97, '01, and '04) in this time period and they've always been thrillers. Add other games like the Halloween game in 2004 that ended the Pat's win streak and the 2007 flea flicker game, great memories while heartaches have been produced from this rivalry.
4. Bengals- The last of our division rivals, the Bengals have brought competition for quite a while now and also did so in the past. While this rivalry isn't as big as the other three, these games have also been hard hitting, smash mouth affairs that have come down to the wire at times. Another decade like lopsided rivalry, it has created some great games.
5. Titans- this rivalry dates back to when the Titans were the Houston Oilers and when Eric Campbell would run against the Steel Curtain. Ever since Campbell's rookie year and he ran all over the Steelers defense in their first meeting, the Steelers defense wanted to stop him at all cost which created the beginning of the rivalry. Ever since then, these two teams have played against each other trying to out do each other defensively by hitting each other as hard as possible and stopping the run. There have been many memorial moments in this rivalry as well like the 2002 AFC Divisional playoff game in which the "lovely" acting of their kicker at the time allowed for another field goal and the controversial no touchdown call in the 1979 AFC Championship game.

A recent poll at NFL.com on the best rivalry has the Ravens-Steelers winning with 38% of the vote.

NFL.com: What is the best rivalry in the NFL?

1 rats - best rivalry in sports
2 *'s - probably our newest rival. i hate this team even more than i hate the rats
3 bengals - always play us tough
4 cowboys - not much as of late but In the 70's it was " who do you like steelers or cowboys?"
5 raiders - the immaculate reception still sticks in their craw

i would like to put the browns in but like i have read on here before.....the hammer and nail are not rivals

vasteeler wrote:

2 *'s - probably our newest rival. i hate this team even more than i hate the rats

I feel the same way about the Pats*. I think it's because while I hate the Steelers, I still respect the hell out of them. Not so much for the Pats*.

JonM229 wrote:

I feel the same way about the Pats**. I think it's because while I hate the Steelers, I still respect the hell out of them. Not so much for the Pats**.