Thursday night’s Browns-Steelers matchup marks the end of another decade of the AFC’s most played rivalry. Since their first meeting 59 years ago at Pittsburgh’s storied Forbes Field, the two legendary squads have squared off 115 times, playing to a hotly contested 60-55 series in favor of Steeltown.

These teams and cities share a rich history– a common bond in their booming industrial past. For as much fanatical hatred as Cleveland and Pittsburgh faithful hold toward one another, there is an overwhelming respect for the hard-nosed NFL tradition that permeates along the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. After all, Steelers owner Dan Rooney was one of only two league owners to oppose Art Modell’s franchise thievery at the end of the 1995 season. Not to mention the number of Steeler fans that wore orange arm bands as a tribute to the rivalry in the Browns final appearance at Three Rivers Stadium before the move.

Unfortunately, in my short lifetime as a Dawg supporter, the boys in black and gold have managed to turn a thrilling rivalry into something that better resembles Quasimodo doing ballet than a clash of NFL titans.

Heading into this game, the Steelers are on a twelve game winning streak– the longest in the history of the series.

The last time the Cleveland Browns defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers was at Heinz Field on October 5, 2003.

On that date:

• Saddam Hussein was still at large.
• The European Union had 15 members instead of 27.
• Barack Obama was in the Illinois state legislature, and Sarah Palin was the chairperson of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
• LeBron James was preparing for his rookie season in the NBA.
• The two defending NFL conference champions were the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
• New episodes of “Friends” were being aired.
• Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan were still alive.
• Tyrone Willingham had another year at Notre Dame.
• Urban Meyer was in his first year coaching… at Utah.

And best of them all….

Four months after that game, Facebook was founded.

That night, the Brownies boasted a backfield of Tim Couch (20/25 with 2 TD passes and 1 TD run) and William Green (115 yards rushing), with names like Andre Davis, Dennis Northcutt, and Quincy Morgan catching passes. Only kicker Phil Dawson and tight end Steve Heiden remain in orange and brown today from the guys that filled up the stat sheet that game.

The Steelers, of course, handed the reins to Ben Roethlisberger one year later and have won two Super Bowls since.

But as Cleveland limps toward one final edition of the rivalry in this horrendous decade, I hold legitimate hope that the next ten years will bring brighter days to one of football’s greatest tales.

I mean, it would be hard to get much worse, right?

Right?