Oh, you’ve got to love the return of football season. And you know it’s fully arrived when you have the dumbest incarnations possible of divisional rivalries. The Battle of Ohio is already starting to heat up ahead of the Cleveland Browns’ home opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.
You see, although the Browns have done quite well against the Bengals over the past half a decade—they hold an 8-2 record over the last five seasons—star WR Ja’Marr Chase doesn’t seem to be impressed, or even to care.
Asked about if playing in Cleveland felt any different than playing in other places, he said, “It feels like a regular game to me. It don’t feel no different”, via Mike Petraglia on Twitter. “It’s just the hooping and hollering about the Cleveland—Browns. I was about to call them the Elves, but, yeah…”
A follow-up question asked if he if was tired of hearing about the Browns as a rival to the Bengals. After a long, drawn-out “Uuuuuuuuh”, he said that he doesn’t really pay attention to it, “because Cleveland is Cleveland”. Or as former Pittsburgh Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster might put it, the Browns is the Browns.
Browns star defender Myles Garrett didn’t take too kindly to that—although it should be acknowledged he didn’t look super serious as he said it. “See, now that’s disrespectful”, he said, when asked about Chase’s comments about the Browns, including the Elves remark, via Mary Kay Cabot on Twitter.
“He didn’t have to go there. He knew better. We might have to have a discussion before or after the game. Maybe during if I see him. But, yeah, the Elves was a little bit too far”.
Garrett once had a rather animated discussion with Steelers QB Mason Rudolph’s head during a game a few years ago. It cost him six game checks, though he was handsomely rewarded with a massive new contract a short time later.
Both Chase and Garrett are among the best players at their respective positions, without question. It has been a pleasant development from a pure football perspective to see the two Ohio teams actually grow into competent outfits who could produce a spirited and entertaining game, even if that makes the road that much harder for the Steelers.
Still, I’m not sure there will be an actual “discussion” between Garrett and Chase on this matter. Or at least one that is particularly serious. It’s just silly division rivalry week chatter, spurred on by the leading questions posed by members of the media, often seeking soundbites.
Besides, the Browns could have avoided this by not bringing back that stupid elf logo.
