VIDEO: Remembering When James Harrison Destroyed a Browns Fan That Ran Onto the Field

Updated: Sep 10, 5:00pm UTC

The Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns rivalry has really heated up over the last couple seasons, but the hatred in the AFC North has been around for much longer than that.

Back in 2005, on Christmas Eve no less, a Brown fan got a first-hand taste of the rivalry, when he ran out onto the field and got obliterated by legendary Steelers linebacker James Harrison.

Usually it's security guards that lay the big hits on unruly fans, but Harrison decided to dole out a little vigilante justice.

The fan likely had no idea what he was in for when he ran by Harrison, either. While the likely Hall-of-Fame linebacker eventually earned a reputation as an absolute beast with a bit of a mean streak, in 2005 he still wasn't a full-time starter. He was stuck behind a couple stud outside linebackers in Clark Haggans and Steelers all-time great Joey Porter on the depth chart.

The interview with the fan is maybe even funnier than the hit itself. The claim that getting suplexed by a 250-plus pound man on to a frozen field didn't hurt is obviously ridiculous, but the simple "I hate losing to the Steelers" explanation is icing on the cake. Here we are, almost 15 years later, and he's had to endure plenty more hardship in Browns-Steelers matchups.

Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.