30 years later, Ravens celebrate as Browns fans suffer and players try to exact revenge

If time really does heal all wounds, three decades isn't enough.As the Ravens got ready to celebrate 30 years of existence Sunday in their home opener, fans in Cleveland old enough to remember were made to relive the trauma of the Browns being stolen by Baltimore.The clandestine meetings on airport runways between owner Art Modell and Maryland officials. The news breaking during the 1995 season that quickly went off the rails. The final game at Cleveland Stadium on Dec. 17 against the Bengals in which the players said a tearful goodbye to the fans, who turned the crumbling ballpark into a construction zone.Browns-Ravens Preview: 3 things to watch, 3 key numbers, the predictionThe three years without an NFL team and the fight to save the name, history and colors."That's usually an older crowd than I hang out with, but I do hear it every now and then when I go to get gas," defensive end Myles Garrett, who was born five days after the last game of the original Cleveland franchise, said of the animosity toward the Ravens. "I do understand the feelings and the motives behind people's dislike of them and I'm one with the city, so I try to carry that on my back when we go in there or they come to our place."The Ravens will also celebrate this season their two Super Bowl championships. The success exacerbates the pain for Cleveland fans.The Browns have never been to a Super Bowl, let alone won one. While their history since 1999 is littered with draft busts, the Ravens boast Ray Lewis and Jonathan Ogden from their first draft, Lamar Jackson and countless others. To make the sting a little sharper, Browns Hall of Fame tight end Ozzie Newsome made those picks.Joe Flacco excited for return to Baltimore, says he'll be able to handle whatever emotions he feels"That was the guy who got me here, believed in me," Jackson said this week. "And then for them to call me draft night in 2018, it was incredible. He actually believed in me. I (will) always (have) a lot of love and respect for Mr. Ozzie."The Ravens chose to celebrate 30 years in the opener, and with the Browns as the opponent. The reaction inside Browns headquarters was mixed.Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is perhaps best qualified to discuss the move and the Ravens' birth. He was a scout for the Browns from 1993-95, followed to Baltimore and became a defensive assistant for three seasons."Let me defer those comments for another time, because that's not going to matter to anybody on the field," he said. "It's not going to matter to our team or their team. People celebrate different things and different timing and everything else, but we'll keep the focus on the field and the players that are actually going to be playing, not ghosts from 30 years ago."Zone Coverage PodcastGarrett and special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone view it as a source of motivation."Honestly, I feel like it gives us a little bit more juice," Ventrone said. "As a player, I would be more excited to take on that challenge.""I want to go down there and play spoiler, that's about it," Garrett said.Cornerback Denzel Ward grew up in Northeast Ohio but wasn't fazed by the Ravens' plans."It doesn't really mean much to me," he said. "Just the same goal every week to go in, focus on what we got to do to get the win and that's the main focus."Fighting for top storyline is 40-year-old quarterback Joe Flacco's return to Baltimore for the first time since he was traded following the 2018 season after 11 years with the Ravens."It is funny because that isn't the first thing that I think about not being from here, but I can understand how that looks," he said of scheduling the 30-year celebration against the Browns. "Listen, they do these things and I think you can take it however you want. If you're from Cleveland, you can take it one way, and if you're from Baltimore, you can say it's not a big deal, it's just one of those things. Honestly, for me, it kind of makes it more exciting. We get to go in there when they're having some people back and just more ex-players, more eyes on you. It'll make it more interesting."Garrett is in his ninth season and one of the older players on the Browns but wasn't born when Modell made the deal and was hung in effigy. Rookie running back Dylan Sampson turns 21 Sunday, so the Ravens have been an established franchise for his entire existence.The youth necessitates a history lesson."Our team is very aware of the rich history of the Cleveland Browns," coach Kevin Stefanski said. "I make sure to educate our guys on the people that have come before them, the giants that have come before them. So we're well aware of that."This game will be based on who plays the best on Sunday."Left guard Joel Bitonio is in his 12th season with the Browns and has heard all the history — from Stefanski and people around town."You hear a lot of stories from a lot of fans," he said. "But that's obviously part of the worst part of the history and you hear everybody say that they were watching the team in '64 and they want a championship before they move on and things like that. So the fans know it and the fans have always supported us, so we know it. It's part of the history of the team and fans were obviously devastated when that happened."And the Ravens will rub it in Sunday."They made a choice and it's part of the NFL and it's part of the rivalry, it's part of the division, and so we got to come and give 'em a good fight," Bitonio said.The Browns spent the week with an obvious chip on their shoulders.Ward, Garrett and receiver Jerry Jeudy mentioned the disrespect they felt from being an 11½-point underdog. Jeudy said the Ravens secondary presents "no challenges," and safety Grant Delpit said it's "not hard" to tackle powerful running back Derrick Henry, a five-time Pro Bowler with 11,592 career rushing yards.Both teams are 0-1 after heartbreaking losses. They have a plethora of reasons to be fired up."Oh, man, I'm expecting the crowd to be going crazy," Jackson said. "Thirtieth anniversary right now. I'm looking for people to be popping out of their skins. I know I will." The post 30 years later, Ravens celebrate as Browns fans suffer and players try to exact revenge first appeared on BrownsZone with Scott Petrak.