September 27,
2000
Fine whine ages
nicely in Cleveland
The "Art of Smack"
elevates fan bitterness over Ravens visit
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| To borrow
an old phrase, you can't swing a dead cat in
Cleveland without hitting some Baltimore and/or
Ravens-bashing gentleman or lady. That's "Crackmore"
and "Ratbirds" for those of you who
have denied yourself the pleasure of visiting a
Cleveland Browns bulletin board. The story is
well documented: A fight with city officials over
a new stadium, the moving of a beloved football
team with a proud tradition and disappointed,
bitter fans left behind in the dust. Sound
familiar? Brownie fans, we know the feeling and
you good people have a few legs up on us.
Cleveland has their team, their name and their
colors back. They can even slap on a helmet logo
if they ever decide to get fancy. The fans of
Cleveland will not empathize with us, nor will we
with them. It's human nature, that unmistakable
"looking out for #1" in all of us. Let
bygones be bygones? Hardly. Nowhere is this
hostility more evident than at my friend and
fellow webmaster Art Bietz's Cleveland Rant. Artie has
spent a great deal of time and effort building
his "I Hate Baltimore and the Ravens"
theme park and it's well worth putting on your
hard hat and taking a ride. They say that time
heals all wounds. Perhaps, as has happened in
Baltimore, when the Browns step up to contender
status, the bitterness, ill feelings and name-calling
will drift by the wayside and the action on the
gridiron will take center stage in Cleveland.
Until then, the Dawgs will continue to bark at
the good ole honest, hardworking "Crackmore"
mailman. |
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