Afc North

[darklight1216]

Most of us here are Ravens fans and, of course, we want our team to win the Super Bowl next year, but if we didn't make it, which AFC North team would you want to hoist the Lombardi Trophy? (Please, only vote for the Ravens if you are [b]not[/b] currently a Ravens fan.)
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afcnorth/0-3-98/Thought-of-the-Day-II.html
Here are the best responses from our AFC North inbox:

Brian from Annapolis, Md. writes: Die-hard Ravens fan here. If I could pick one division rival to win the Super Bowl, it would most certainly be the Brownies for one reason and one reason alone: So they could finally stop whining about Baltimore "stealing" its team. Oh poor you. You didn't have a team for three whole years but still knew you were going to get one shortly? Try thirteen years!!! Oh well, never going to happen so kind of a moot point.

Michael from Philadelphia, PA writes: As a Ravens fan, it would be a toss-up between the Bengals and Browns if I had to choose an AFC North team (besides the Ravens) to win the Super Bowl. However, if pressed, I'd say the Browns. The Bengals have been an awful franchise recently, but enjoyed a run of success in the '80s that took them to two Super Bowls (while the Reds also brought home a few World Series titles in the 70's and again in 1990). The Browns have had no such luck and Cleveland fans in general deserve better than the constant losing and heartbreak their three teams have delivered. Heck, even LeBron James can't seem to bring a title to Cleveland and he's the best basketball player on the planet, bar none. So I'd vote for the Browns.

Zac from Pittsburgh writes: If my Steelers can't repeat I would only be able to stomach watching the Ravens hoist the Lombardi trophy. As much as I hate them when we play against them, I respect them an equal amount. They at least bring some credibility to the division with a Super Bowl win in this decade. They play the game the way it should be played with physicality and no excuses. They also have a good front office that is very responsible and makes good calls on who to keep and let go. If I didn't bleed black and gold, I would probably be a Ravens fan.

Joey from East Liverpool, Ohio writes: I'm a Pittsburgh fan, and that means there is only one team you could pick: That team is the Cincinnati Bungals. To me, the Browns are the Browns and the Ravens are the other Browns. The Bengals are just the weak kid that my team picks on. I don't want the Ravens winning another, because they already have one. And nothing feels better than asking a Browns fan to hold up the number of fingers for each time they've been to the Super Bowl. Let's keep it that way.

Berttrum R. from Dayton, Ohio writes: As a Bengals fan choosing which other AFC North team I'd rather see win the Super Bowl, the decision seems pretty clear. Browns fans are the most obnoxious fans in football, and there are MASS QUANTITIES of them here in Dayton (but still more Bengals fans). Steelers fans, though less abundant here, are smug and spoiled, and though that's not really their fault, it's still annoying. I don't know any Ravens fans. I'll take the Ravens.

Aaron from Ohio writes: Yeah...I'm a Bengal fan and have been longer than I can remember. But for this truly unfair question I would choose...The Pittsburgh Steelers. Why you ask because I have a lot of family and friends who are Steeler fans and if I don't pick them I will be in for a world of hurt.

Dustin from Canton, Ohio writes: Being the diehard Browns fans that I am, I have a pure hate for the rest the AFC North but last season I was left with a difficult decision about who I wanted to win in the AFC championship game. I have always had a problem with the Ravens since Art Model up and moved the Browns to Baltimore and they're a team that you just naturally don't like because of their cocky defense, but all my life I have had a strong disgust for the Steelers and there for I could never root for them in anyway. I'm not saying that I went and found a purple shirt to sport for the game but I wanted nothing more than for the Steelers to lose.

Mike from Erie, PA writes: As a Browns fan, I could live with the Ravens winning. I have too much hatred for the Steelers and hope I never have to see them in the Super Bowl as long as I live. Even though the Ravens are a reminder that the Browns moved and have been terrible for 10 years, the Bengals have the worst fair-weather fans. Before 2005, Browns games were on almost every week in Cincinnati because the Bengals didn't sell out the games and were blacked out on TV. Football fair-weather fans don't deserve a good team. I would prefer not to see another AFC North Team win the Super Bowl except for the Browns but I don't see that happening anytime soon. But, I'll still watch ALL the games, even if we have a 4th string QB starting.

Tony from Honolulu writes: As a die-hard Steeler fan, If I had to pick a division rival to win the Super Bowl, it would have to be the new Browns. Our rivals are the old Browns, who now reside in Baltimore. The Steelers have lost to the Browns 3 times in 21 meetings, let's throw them a bone.

(AFC North hater of the week)

Jon from Pittsburgh, PA writes: JW, I have a response to your latest "Thought of the day." As a Steelers fan, I'm going to take an unforgiving stance on the issue. If my team can't win the Super Bowl, I'm going to cheer for whoever is facing the AFC North team that did make it. If we can't win it, no one can! If the Steelers had lost the AFCCG to the Ravens, I may have even bought a Larry Fitzgerald jersey to wear for the game!

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[K-Dog]

If not the Ravens than Cleveland.

They have cool helmets.

[lowrider]

I feel bad for the browns. Their helmets aren't even brown. And they have never won a super bowl before. And everyone hates the color brown anyway. Whose favorite color is brown? But honestly i hope the browns win, hate the steelers and don't like the bengals either. Browns i just feel bad. Or I hope the browns and bengals tie somehow in the super bowl. That would be the worst pain for them. In their best years they weren't good enough to be the best and they tied with the other crap hole of the world. That would be too funny

[jfc13]

Wow, this is really hard, because I would hate for either the Browns or the Bengals to get better than the Ravens and the Steelers fans would be even more obnoxious if they won another Superbowl [although for the organization itself, I wouldn't mind them winning. Well, except for Hines.]

[Ed_Reed20]

If the Ravens didn't win the Super Bowl and I had to pick a team from the AFC North, it would be the Bengals. I actually pity them at times. Still, it would tough have to listen to Chad Johnson gloat if they did win.

[plesiosaur]

[quote name='Ed_Reed20' date='26 June 2009 - 11:12 AM' timestamp='1246029128' post='203768']
If the Ravens didn't win the Super Bowl and I had to pick a team from the AFC North, it would be the Bengals. I actually pity them at times. Still, it would tough have to listen to Chad Johnson gloat if they did win.
[/quote]

I had to pick the Browns.

1. There's no way I want to see Ketchuptown win another Lombardi anytime soon.
2. Ochocinco is annoying now; can you imagine what he'd be like with a Super Bowl ring?

[JEEPercreepermd]

Isn't it funny how most Bengals and Browns fans are like "well i hate the steelers with a passion, so it would have to be the Ravens" Ravens fans say "I hate the Steelers too, so I'd pull for the Bengals/Browns" Steelers fans say "I hate everybody, so i'll root for the steelers and even if the steelers aren't in it we will pretend that they were,won the game 40-0, and then proceed to talk trash until next season"

[Strangebru]

There must be a lot of Steelers fans posting here. It says what AFC North rival would you like to see win the next Super Bowl. I still feel kind of bad that the Ravens won the Super Bowl so soon after leaving Cleveland. I was dating a girl from Cleveland at the time, her mother is a huge Browns fan and wasn't so crazy agout me at first, and her mother told me that looking at the sports section of the Cleveland Plains Dealer Jan. 28, 2001 you never would have known they holding a Super Bowl that day. They are the only team in the AFC North that hasn't even participated in a Super Bowl.

[darklight1216]

^ No I think it's alot of obstinate Ravens fans who can't answer a simple question.

I could never root for the Steelers in any game (even against the Cowboys) so I could never wish for them to get another Lombardi Trophy. The Bengals are arrogant enough when they haven't done anything so I can't imagine how big of a pain they would be if they actually did win. I just feel sorry for the Browns sometimes; they used to dominate way back in the day, but no one remembers that because they haven't won a Superbowl. Maybe if they did win people would stop calling us the Browns.