I spent Monday night at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

Great seats. Beautiful September night. Great time with my two boys.

Then it struck me.

I know what it feels like to be a Browns fan.

See, the Pirates, the team that I have rooted for since I was little, have not been good for a long time. In fact, I had just graduated from the University of Pittsburgh when Barry Bonds, Andy Van Slyke, Doug Drabek and Jim Leyland left the Pirates an inning short of the 1992 World Series.

It has been a long 15 years. No winning seasons. Let me repeat that. No winning seasons. Not one game over .500.

But here I am on a Monday night sitting in Pittsburgh watching my Pirates. Getting excited about beating the Milwaukee Brewers 9-0.

Seeing young September callups — Nyjer Morgan and Steve Pearce — lead the Bucs to a victory. Watching Nate McLouth hit a home run — the ball landing in the Allegheny River. Viewing Tony Armas and two young relievers combine for a shutout.

I start to get excited.

The Pirates are about to hire a new CEO, who will hire a new GM.

I can't wait until next year.

Then I think back to Sunday afternoon. And recall Kellen Winslow dropping balls, Charlie Frye getting smashed. Joe Thomas turning into a turnstile. Eric Wright and Brodney Pool chasing Steelers receivers AFTER they catch the ball.

You know: the Browns and the Pirates just might be cursed. Neither team might ever amount to anything. But at the end of the day, we fans will continue to live and mostly die with these franchises.

I grew up in Pittsburgh, and the Steelers are my team, but the Pirates give me the same feeling that the Browns give their fans.

An upset stomach.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 11th, 2007 at 1:18 pm and is filed under Browns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.