I know this is primarily a gaming site, but its also an entertainment site and I'm taking this opportunity to gush a bit. If you don't like football or aren't interested in my personal sports rooting habits, feel free to disregard this long and self indulgent post.
I've been a Steeler fan since roughly the age of 4, long before I liked football or had any awareness of success or failure by the teams I'd root for. I had no real awareness of just how special the 4 Superbowls the Steelers won in the 70s really were, and by the time I'd truly become a football fan, the Steelers were mostly bad. Still, they've had an amazing amount of sustained success over the 38 years I've rooted for them, success I attribute mostly to the Rooney family and their penchant for picking the right coach and sticking with him through thick and thin. Consequently, the Steelers have had only 3 coaches in my lifetime and all three understood that being a Steeler team means focusing on physicality, running the football, and bone crushing defense.
Over that same span, only the MLB Yankees have been nearly as strong a sports franchise, and frankly I'm not a fan of outspending everyone else in your league to get your wins. The Steelers have always been about controlled spending, strong scouting, and building through the draft. They don't over pay their coaches or players, and are penurious almost to a fault. Most of the time, Steeler stars are home grown, get middling compensation, and are still in Pittsburgh because they want to stay, not because the team was the highest bidder. You get on board with the Steeler culture, or you're on your way out.
In the 70s, only John Stallworth (#82, Hall of Fame WR) was really among my favorite players. I liked all the Steelers, but none inspired me to become a true football fan. Walter Payton (RB, Chicago) and John Elway (QB, Denver) were the first players to really inspire me in that direction, and it wasn't until Rod Woodson (CB) got to Pittsburgh that one of my favorite players was a Steeler. Even now, my favorite player of all time is probably Marshall Faulk (RB, St. Louis). I love the Steeler team, like the players. Basically, the Steeler team concept is bigger than the players that make up the roster and it's always been that way. Jerry Seinfeld's observation that most sports fans are "rooting for the clothes" is very accurate in most cases, but for myself and the Steelers, its a mystique that goes way beyond fashion.
This year has been a true treat for me. I told Rick at the start of the year that I knew the Steelers weren't the most talented team in the AFC, but that I thought a Superbowl was a definite possibility. Why? Because the team lays it all out on the field every single week. Every team that plays them gets beat up, even if they win and if the Steelers get out hit, its only because the other team put on a remarkable performance. The Steelers consistently played some of the best football in the NFL this year, and no team hit harder, or played with the Steelers combination of discipline and ferocity. Only the Ravens and Titans really came close, and having the Ravens as a dark reflection of the Steelers all year, along with playing one of the hardest schedules in league history, made the Steelers 12-4 mark an incredible accomplishment.
Best of all, Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward, Troy Polamalu (I own Steelers jerseys for these three players), and James Harrison have forced their way into positions among my favorite players in the league. Ben is the closest thing to John Elway the league has seen since Elway retired. Fearless and constantly improvising, Ben brings the sandlot mentality I loved so much in watching Elway and Randall Cunningham terrorize the NFL. Despite a separated shoulder suffered in training camp, Ben has been the driving force that gets the Steelers over the top game after game. Hines has always been a favorite of mine, and Polamalu is a unique player... an even more athletic Ronnie Lott who can do everything on the defensive side of the ball. Harrison is an undrafted terror at outside linebacker, wreaking havok on the opposition on nearly every play. All are embodiments of the Steeler mentality. I LOVE this team!
The Superbowl this week ought to be a good one. The Cardinals coach is an ex-Steeler coordinator who knows the Steeler players and scheme inside and out. The Cardinal offensive line is better than the Steelers, at least at pass blocking, their receivers are the best in the league, and Kurt Warner is playing nearly as well as he did when he had Faulk, Bruce, and Holt in St. Louis. His quick release is a strong deterrent to the Steeler's ferocious pass rush. The Cardinal D is also very good and well schemed, and it's matchup against the Steeler offense isn't quite so challenging as the Steeler D faces against Warner and company. I'd call it even, except for Ben. I fully expect the game to be a good one if the Cardinal's line holds up, say 27-20 Steelers. If the line doesn't hold up, it could be a blow out, but I don't expect that. With only a single TD seperating the two, Warner may even pull out a win.
The conventional wisdom is that the Cards are over matched. I suspect however, that this will be an excellent game of two well matched teams, and regardless of the outcome, should feature some of the best football this season. Have agreat Superbowl Sunday everyone!
Ariande Bard 20 • Nightfall Ranger 19
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End Game
A bit tighter than I expected, but the game generally followed the script. Essentially a stalemate but for Ben Roethlisberger's heroics at the end, this was one of the most exciting Superbowls ever, and featured two of the best plays I've seen in a Superbowl. Harrison's run back was electrifying and Holmes game winning catch was as clutch as they come.
Everything I said about the Steelers played out here. Their mediocre o-line insured that Ben was constantly under pressure and did little to help the running game. It is the primary reason they are not one of the elite teams in the league... talent wise. Despite that weakness, the Steelers just played solid, gutty team football and eventually prevailed in the face of an all world fourth quarter performance by Kurt Warner. Ben's final drive was Elway-esque, Montana-esque.
Cards fans should be proud. The defense continued to play at the level of their last four games. No reverting to the inconsistency of the regular season. Warner and all three receivers played even better than I thought possible against the Steeler D. Some will say Warner's interception at the end of the half marred his performance, but overall he played a great game with fewer mistakes than anyone had a right to expect.
Great game. Great outcome. Happy Steeler fan. And now come the long dark days until the new football season begins. If only there were sports between Febrary and September. Ah well.