For his support of Joe Paterno in the wake of Paterno's firing from Penn State following the Jerry Sandusky sexual assault scandal, Steeler legend Franco Harris has been fired as a spokesperson for the Meadows racetrack and casino. Harris also agreed to temporarily step down as chairman of the Pittsburgh Promise following an email from Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl asking him to resign from the volunteer position. Here's a portion of the email: "I had to re-read it several times to fully comprehend the callous disregard and indifference for the victims of sexual abuse at Penn State," Mr. Ravenstahl stated in the email."To so adamantly and vocally defend one man while maintaining silence for those powerless to defend themselves, shows me that you are the wrong man to represent the Pittsburgh Promise and the ideals it embodies."
I guess I can see both sides of this. About a month ago, I wrote a post saying that ESPN had a right to fire Hank Williams' Jr. following his inflammatory remarks about President Obama. I still feel that way. Hey, if you're a spokesperson for a company and you say something that might put that company in a bad light, that company has every right to terminate whatever agreement you may have with them. And with Franco Harris, the organizations he represented had every right to act the way they did. However, I just don't think it was necessary in this case. I mean, how much negativity could Franco Harris really have brought to the organizations he was representing just because he spoke out against the Paterno firing? Not much, in my opinion. And with regards to Ravenstahl's email, wow! He all but accused Harris of condoning child molestation. I mean, let's get real here. All Franco did was defend his old college coach, a man he's known for over 40 years, because he thought he got a raw deal. He didn't defend Jerry Sandusky. You may disagree with Harris' defense of Paterno (I do), but that's just his opinion. In-terms of this whole Penn State scandal, Franco Harris is pretty far on the periphery of events.
Oh well, that's just how it goes. I just hope Franco still realizes that he'll always be one of the biggest and most popular sports heroes Pittsburgh has ever seen.
Whoops, I just defended Franco Harris who defended Joe Paterno. Does this mean that I.......ahhhhh, nobody cares what I think.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Ben Roethlisberger Suffered Thumb Fracture in Bengals Game
Well, Sidney Crosby, you now have company in the "will he or won't he" department. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger fractured his thumb in Sunday's win in Cincinnati.
Apparently, it's a re-aggravation of an old injury from way back in the '05 season.
Roethlisberger has said he will be fine for the game in Kansas City in two weeks. Of course, the way the Steelers have been going with injuries this year, it wouldn't surprise me if he had to miss the game.
I guess we'll see what happens. We have two weeks to wonder, I know that much.
Apparently, it's a re-aggravation of an old injury from way back in the '05 season.
Roethlisberger has said he will be fine for the game in Kansas City in two weeks. Of course, the way the Steelers have been going with injuries this year, it wouldn't surprise me if he had to miss the game.
I guess we'll see what happens. We have two weeks to wonder, I know that much.
Watching the Steelers game with your girlfriend vs. watching it like a man, baby!
There is an episode from the show Friends where the gang is engaging in a Thanksgiving day game of touch football. I don't remember the particulars, but there was a suggestion that players switch teams, and Ross, of the couple Ross and Rachel, decided to trade his girlfriend to the other team. This happens all the time in pick-up sports, of course, but Rachel (played by the very beautiful Jennifer Aniston) took exception to this and said, "I can't believe you're trading me!" She obviously wasn't looking at it from a touch football point of view, and she took it as an affront on the relationship.
My girlfriend and I have varied schedules, and as it turns out, whenever the Steelers are playing, we're usually not together. The rare exception would be when the Steelers play a Sunday night football game like they did last week against the Baltimore Ravens.
I love my girlfriend, of course, and it's nice when we get to watch a game together, but there are sacrifices that a man must make when he's watching the game with his lady because (at least in my experience, anyway) it's totally different from watching it with anyone else.
For starters, when I watch a game with my friends or family, none of them ever want to cuddle. My girlfriend, on the other hand, ALWAYS wants to cuddle during a game. I don't get this. Who wants to snuggle during an intense Steelers game? I need my space during a game. You know how some people like to talk with their hands? Well, I like to watch a Steeler game with my entire body. I'm up, I'm down, I pace back and forth, I hide in the closet during really intense action, etc, etc. In other words, I can't sit still. Well, when you have to cuddle, there's no room for any of that. You're stuck. You can't be too demonstrative or you might elbow your lady in the head. Last week during the Ravens game, I eventually gave in and cuddled. After a few minutes, however, I had to break away. Naturally, she took this as an affront on the relationship.
When you're watching a game with your friends, you can insult them about their knowledge on sports. "You don't know what you're talking about. You're an idiot!" They generally understand. You can't do that with your girlfriend. During the Ravens game, my girlfriend asked me what a touchback was. I was really into the intense action, but I tried to explain it as best as I could. I guess I had a bit of an attitude about it, and she got offended and took it as an affront on the relationship.
When you're watching the game with someone like your brother, for example, and things are really getting tense and it's coming down to the wire, you can scream and pace and raise your voice, and your brother doesn't even notice because he's too busy acting the same way. Last week, during that gut-wrenching and unfortunate 92-yard drive, my girlfriend said something to me, and I responded in a really intense and loud manner. I was really into the action and wasn't in control of my emotions. My girlfriend, naturally, took this as an affront on the relationship and said, "I think you're getting a little too wrapped up in it, hunny!"
Are you serious?
Anyway, this past week, I got to watch the Steelers/Bengals contest all by myself. For the game, I wore shorts and a Steelers hooded sweatshirt. Strangely, I didn't have a t-shirt on underneath, and I don't know why. When the action got really intense, for whatever reason, I took the sweatshirt off and was just in my shorts (that's even less sexy than it sounds, ladies).
I rarely sat in the same place the entire game. I yelled, I swore, and I ran around my apartment like an idiot; I even drank a couple of beers, damn it! There was nobody around to take affront to anything I did.
It was glorious.
The Steelers next game is another Sunday night contest. You know what that means? That's right, Starbucks and cuddle time.
My girlfriend and I have varied schedules, and as it turns out, whenever the Steelers are playing, we're usually not together. The rare exception would be when the Steelers play a Sunday night football game like they did last week against the Baltimore Ravens.
I love my girlfriend, of course, and it's nice when we get to watch a game together, but there are sacrifices that a man must make when he's watching the game with his lady because (at least in my experience, anyway) it's totally different from watching it with anyone else.
For starters, when I watch a game with my friends or family, none of them ever want to cuddle. My girlfriend, on the other hand, ALWAYS wants to cuddle during a game. I don't get this. Who wants to snuggle during an intense Steelers game? I need my space during a game. You know how some people like to talk with their hands? Well, I like to watch a Steeler game with my entire body. I'm up, I'm down, I pace back and forth, I hide in the closet during really intense action, etc, etc. In other words, I can't sit still. Well, when you have to cuddle, there's no room for any of that. You're stuck. You can't be too demonstrative or you might elbow your lady in the head. Last week during the Ravens game, I eventually gave in and cuddled. After a few minutes, however, I had to break away. Naturally, she took this as an affront on the relationship.
When you're watching a game with your friends, you can insult them about their knowledge on sports. "You don't know what you're talking about. You're an idiot!" They generally understand. You can't do that with your girlfriend. During the Ravens game, my girlfriend asked me what a touchback was. I was really into the intense action, but I tried to explain it as best as I could. I guess I had a bit of an attitude about it, and she got offended and took it as an affront on the relationship.
When you're watching the game with someone like your brother, for example, and things are really getting tense and it's coming down to the wire, you can scream and pace and raise your voice, and your brother doesn't even notice because he's too busy acting the same way. Last week, during that gut-wrenching and unfortunate 92-yard drive, my girlfriend said something to me, and I responded in a really intense and loud manner. I was really into the action and wasn't in control of my emotions. My girlfriend, naturally, took this as an affront on the relationship and said, "I think you're getting a little too wrapped up in it, hunny!"
Are you serious?
Anyway, this past week, I got to watch the Steelers/Bengals contest all by myself. For the game, I wore shorts and a Steelers hooded sweatshirt. Strangely, I didn't have a t-shirt on underneath, and I don't know why. When the action got really intense, for whatever reason, I took the sweatshirt off and was just in my shorts (that's even less sexy than it sounds, ladies).
I rarely sat in the same place the entire game. I yelled, I swore, and I ran around my apartment like an idiot; I even drank a couple of beers, damn it! There was nobody around to take affront to anything I did.
It was glorious.
The Steelers next game is another Sunday night contest. You know what that means? That's right, Starbucks and cuddle time.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
To the Penn State fans that think the Jerry Sandusky scandal is being talked about too much, I say, nice try
As the title of this entry suggests, there are some Penn State people out there who think that the scandal that has rocked Penn State the past week has been getting a little too much attention. These fans are in the minority, no doubt (I think most Penn State fans realize the magnitude of the situation), but they've been vocal the past week, for sure. When it comes to 93.7 The Fan, I've never been the biggest, well, fan, but I have to give the local Pittsburgh station props for devoting just about round-the-clock coverage last week of the Jerry Sandusky child molestation tragedy.
Obviously, the Pittsburgh-metro area has a ton of Penn State alumni and fans, and a great deal have called that station and criticized them for biased and sensationalized reporting (The Fan is the flagship station for Pitt).
Nice try. I mean, I don't know what sort of production meetings took place last week at that radio station. For all I know, the station GM may have told the on-air personalities to really drive the Penn State situation home as a way to make the University look bad, but I doubt it. For one thing, The Fan Morning Show co-host Paul Alexander is a Penn State graduate and worked and lived in State College for years; you think he would go along with bashing Penn State just because his employers told him to do it?
Face it, this story deserves about as much coverage as it gets. As far as sports scandals go (or any scandal), it's about as big a story as there's ever been.
There are some people that say legendary coach Joe Paterno was made a scapegoat by being fired by the Penn State board of trustees for his part in the handling of the Sandusky situation when he was made aware of some potentially inappropriate behavior by Sandusky and a young boy in a shower back in 2002. Made a scapegoat? Are you kidding me? This kind of information was brought to the attention of one of the most iconic and powerful coaches in the history of college football, and all he did with it was pass it off to his superiors and never really followed up on it. Heck, Sandusky was still seen on the Penn State campus as recently as a couple of weeks ago. There are even rumors of a picture floating around of Paterno, Michael Mcqueary (the assistant coach who witnessed and reported the shower incident to Paterno) and Sandusky at some event months after this shower incident took place. If that's true, that's just off the page.
So, to you Penn State defenders who think this story is getting too much attention, please, take off your blue and white glasses and stop thinking about football for a minute.
Yes, this story should be covered for as long as it's necessary. Let's not forget, the reason this scandal got to the point where it is now is because people didn't talk, and they just looked the other way when they could have nipped it in the bud many years ago.
And with a case of this magnitude, we may have only touched the surface. Like I've been saying since I first became aware of this situation, Jerry Sandusky founded The Second Mile foundation way back in 1977, and people who prey on little boys don't wake up one day and just decide to engage in that kind of behavior. Who knows how many lives this man has ruined; who knows how many times Paterno and other people could have blown the whistle and had that monster taken off the streets.
So, with all due respect to interim head coach Tom Bradley, the people at Happy Valley shouldn't be worried about trying to heal just yet. The spotlight that has been on State College (for years, a town seemingly closed off from the rest of the world) will remain for a very long time. This story isn't going to go away any time soon, nor should it.
Oh, and just in-case you need to be reminded of the gravity of the situation, here's the 23 page grand jury report one more time.
Obviously, the Pittsburgh-metro area has a ton of Penn State alumni and fans, and a great deal have called that station and criticized them for biased and sensationalized reporting (The Fan is the flagship station for Pitt).
Nice try. I mean, I don't know what sort of production meetings took place last week at that radio station. For all I know, the station GM may have told the on-air personalities to really drive the Penn State situation home as a way to make the University look bad, but I doubt it. For one thing, The Fan Morning Show co-host Paul Alexander is a Penn State graduate and worked and lived in State College for years; you think he would go along with bashing Penn State just because his employers told him to do it?
Face it, this story deserves about as much coverage as it gets. As far as sports scandals go (or any scandal), it's about as big a story as there's ever been.
There are some people that say legendary coach Joe Paterno was made a scapegoat by being fired by the Penn State board of trustees for his part in the handling of the Sandusky situation when he was made aware of some potentially inappropriate behavior by Sandusky and a young boy in a shower back in 2002. Made a scapegoat? Are you kidding me? This kind of information was brought to the attention of one of the most iconic and powerful coaches in the history of college football, and all he did with it was pass it off to his superiors and never really followed up on it. Heck, Sandusky was still seen on the Penn State campus as recently as a couple of weeks ago. There are even rumors of a picture floating around of Paterno, Michael Mcqueary (the assistant coach who witnessed and reported the shower incident to Paterno) and Sandusky at some event months after this shower incident took place. If that's true, that's just off the page.
So, to you Penn State defenders who think this story is getting too much attention, please, take off your blue and white glasses and stop thinking about football for a minute.
Yes, this story should be covered for as long as it's necessary. Let's not forget, the reason this scandal got to the point where it is now is because people didn't talk, and they just looked the other way when they could have nipped it in the bud many years ago.
And with a case of this magnitude, we may have only touched the surface. Like I've been saying since I first became aware of this situation, Jerry Sandusky founded The Second Mile foundation way back in 1977, and people who prey on little boys don't wake up one day and just decide to engage in that kind of behavior. Who knows how many lives this man has ruined; who knows how many times Paterno and other people could have blown the whistle and had that monster taken off the streets.
So, with all due respect to interim head coach Tom Bradley, the people at Happy Valley shouldn't be worried about trying to heal just yet. The spotlight that has been on State College (for years, a town seemingly closed off from the rest of the world) will remain for a very long time. This story isn't going to go away any time soon, nor should it.
Oh, and just in-case you need to be reminded of the gravity of the situation, here's the 23 page grand jury report one more time.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Joe Paterno fired at Penn State, effective immediately
The board of trustees at Penn State University announced last night that long-time head football coach Joe Paterno will not finish out the season.
Paterno had announced yesterday that he would be retiring following the year, but the board decided to part-ways with Paterno immediately.
Saturday was to be Paterno's last home game for the Nittany Lions.
Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley has been named interim head coach and will be on the sidelines at Beaver Stadium on Saturday for the Penn St./Nebraska contest.
Paterno had announced yesterday that he would be retiring following the year, but the board decided to part-ways with Paterno immediately.
Saturday was to be Paterno's last home game for the Nittany Lions.
Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley has been named interim head coach and will be on the sidelines at Beaver Stadium on Saturday for the Penn St./Nebraska contest.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
the Grand Jury Report for the Jerry Sandusky case
It took me about 45 minutes to read this, and it was quite eye-opening. Either these victims all got together and decided to frame Sandusky, or he's guilty as sin and should spend the rest of his life in jail. And believe me, from what I know about the law, it's certainly not the former.
Very disturbing and very sad.
I still can't believe this went on for so many years.
Very disturbing and very sad.
I still can't believe this went on for so many years.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are still in control of their playoff destiny, if only the Wild Card portion
The Pittsburgh Steelers have started out 6-2 in all five seasons under Head Coach Mike Tomlin, but in each of the past four years, the team has opened up the second half of the season with a pretty tough loss at Heinz Field.
There was that game against Indianapolis back in '08, where Dominic Rhodes beat Troy Polamalu (of all people) on a late touchdown pass out of the backfield in a 24-20 loss to Peyton Manning and the Colts.
There was that game against Cincinnati in 2009, where an early kickoff return for a touchdown by the Bengals was ultimately the difference in an ugly 18-12 loss for the Steelers.
Then, of course, there was the infamous passing seminar that Tom Brady and the Patriots offense put on last season, where the Steelers defenders seemed to be mere spectators in a 39-26 loss to New England on Sunday Night Football.
As tough as those last three week nine losses were, none of them may even approach the heartbreaking last-second defeat at the hands of Joe Flacco and the arch-rival Baltimore Ravens this past Sunday evening at Heinz Field.
With the win, the Ravens swept the season series over Pittsburgh and captured the most important division tiebreaker.
The question, now, of course, is how do the Steelers respond?
Well, it may be pretty encouraging to know that in two of past three seasons, the Steelers responded by winning six of their last seven games to finish with a 12-4 record and went on to appear in the Super Bowl.
The lone exception, obviously, was the miserable second-half that the Steelers experienced in 2009 following the loss to Cincinnati. And just like with Baltimore's win this past Sunday, the Bengals swept the season series over Pittsburgh with that 18-12 win.
But I'm not too worried about the Steelers falling into a similar funk this season. I believe the team is still on the right track.
As bitter as that loss was to the Ravens on Sunday, it was one hell of a game between two of the best teams in football, and had one or two plays gone the other way, the Steelers probably would have won.
In '09, despite their 6-2 start, something seemed to be a little off with the Super Bowl Champion Steelers. Everytime they had a team on the ropes, they seemed to let them back in the game with a costly turnover, a penalty at an inopportune moment, or a special teams mistake. Pittsburgh sports personality Stan Savran even cautioned his listeners about the team's apparent lack of focus during the first half of the year, and he proved to be a prophet, as the mistakes continued in the second half of the year and became too numerous to overcome. The Steelers lost five-straight games down-the-stretch and missed the playoffs.
Even though the Steelers started the 2011 season with a very shaky 2-2 record, they began to hit their stride in week five against Tennessee and, with the exception of the second-half against Jacksonville, have been playing at a very high-level over the last five games.
The Steelers may be sort of on the outside looking in as it pertains to the AFC North, but at 6-3, they have the second-best record in the AFC and still have a very clear shot at the postseason.
Of course, that could all change if the Steelers don't go into Cincinnati and take care of business this Sunday. Yes, I know, the Bengals are a surprising 6-2, but the Steelers are certainly the more talented and battle-tested football team, and very good teams go on the road and win games like the one coming up against the Bengals.
If the Steelers win, at 7-3, they would not only have the inside track on at least a wildcard berth, but we could all still hold-out hope for a division title. If they lose, well, not only would Pittsburgh's chances at the AFC North be all but up in smoke--no way would a 3-3 record be good enough to win the AFC North this year, and that would be the best Pittsburgh could hope for if they start out 0-3 in the division--but at 6-4, the Steelers would find themselves in an absolute dog-fight with at least a handful of other teams for the last two playoff spots in the AFC.
No, the Steelers need to win this Sunday. It might be a little too early to call it a must-win, but it's certainly their most pivotal regular season match-up since the game in Baltimore last December.
I have faith that the Steelers will win in Cincy and set themselves up for a great finish.
Will the Steelers win the division and get that coveted first round bye in the playoffs? Who knows? Of course, that would all be nice, but as much as I make fun of the Ravens for always screwing up in the regular season and having to enter the playoffs as a wildcard--and let's face it, a division title for the Baltimore Ravens would be the exception and not the rule--a wildcard playoff berth is better than no playoffs at all. The Steelers failed to make the playoffs in each of their last two seasons following a Super Bowl appearance, and I certainly don't want to see that happen again.
Besides, if recent history is any indication, how a team is playing down the stretch may be more important for their Super Bowl aspirations than their seeding at the start of the postseason.
Four of the past six Super Bowl winners had to start the playoffs in the wildcard round. And five of the last six Super Bowls had participants that needed to win three playoff games just to get there.
Steelers fans should know this better than anyone. Pittsburgh advanced to and won Super Bowl XL despite making the playoffs as the 6th seed in the AFC in 2005. And just last season, the Steelers lost Super Bowl XLV to a Green Bay Packers team that made the playoffs as the 6th seed in the NFC.
As a fan, my first wish is for my favorite team to at least make the playoffs, and even though Pittsburgh's AFC North prospects are a bit precarious at this point, their playoff goals are still very much in-sight.
And making it to the playoffs could mean another shot at the Baltimore Ravens.
Watching the Ravens celebrate their victory Sunday night on Pittsburgh's turf reminded me so much of when the Cincinnati Bengals came into Heinz Field in December of '05 and walked away with a strangle-hold on the AFC North. And you talk about precarious? Forget the division title, the Steelers chances at even getting a wildcard berth were slim and none, and none was in the Bengals' locker room joining in on the "Who Dey!" celebration.
That night, as I watched Carson Palmer celebrate like the elite quarterback that he thought he was, as I witnessed TJ Houshmandzadeh shine his shoes with the Terrible Towel, and as I pondered the long-shot that was the Steelers' playoff chances, I knew at that moment that I wanted one more crack at the Cincinnati Bengals. In-fact, I remember saying to someone that if the Steelers could play the Bengals in the playoffs and defeat them in-front of their fans, anything they achieved after that would be gravy. The Steelers did get another crack at the Bengals, and they showed them who the true kings of the AFC North really were. Oh, and that gravy was pretty tasty, too.
I pretty much feel the same way right now about the Baltimore Ravens. I want them one more time. And if Pittsburgh has to go the wildcard route to get them, it'll be fine with me.
There would be nothing that would please me more than to see the Steelers go to Baltimore and beat the Ravens in the playoffs. It could be in theWild Card round, Divisional playoffs, or AFC Championship game; it doesn't matter.
Seeing Ray Lewis and company walk off the field in disbelief after the Steelers, once again, win the only game that really matters would be almost as sweet as seeing Pittsburgh make it to another Super Bowl.....almost.
Anyway, I believe it all starts this Sunday in Cincinnati.
Go Steelers!
There was that game against Indianapolis back in '08, where Dominic Rhodes beat Troy Polamalu (of all people) on a late touchdown pass out of the backfield in a 24-20 loss to Peyton Manning and the Colts.
There was that game against Cincinnati in 2009, where an early kickoff return for a touchdown by the Bengals was ultimately the difference in an ugly 18-12 loss for the Steelers.
Then, of course, there was the infamous passing seminar that Tom Brady and the Patriots offense put on last season, where the Steelers defenders seemed to be mere spectators in a 39-26 loss to New England on Sunday Night Football.
As tough as those last three week nine losses were, none of them may even approach the heartbreaking last-second defeat at the hands of Joe Flacco and the arch-rival Baltimore Ravens this past Sunday evening at Heinz Field.
With the win, the Ravens swept the season series over Pittsburgh and captured the most important division tiebreaker.
The question, now, of course, is how do the Steelers respond?
Well, it may be pretty encouraging to know that in two of past three seasons, the Steelers responded by winning six of their last seven games to finish with a 12-4 record and went on to appear in the Super Bowl.
The lone exception, obviously, was the miserable second-half that the Steelers experienced in 2009 following the loss to Cincinnati. And just like with Baltimore's win this past Sunday, the Bengals swept the season series over Pittsburgh with that 18-12 win.
But I'm not too worried about the Steelers falling into a similar funk this season. I believe the team is still on the right track.
As bitter as that loss was to the Ravens on Sunday, it was one hell of a game between two of the best teams in football, and had one or two plays gone the other way, the Steelers probably would have won.
In '09, despite their 6-2 start, something seemed to be a little off with the Super Bowl Champion Steelers. Everytime they had a team on the ropes, they seemed to let them back in the game with a costly turnover, a penalty at an inopportune moment, or a special teams mistake. Pittsburgh sports personality Stan Savran even cautioned his listeners about the team's apparent lack of focus during the first half of the year, and he proved to be a prophet, as the mistakes continued in the second half of the year and became too numerous to overcome. The Steelers lost five-straight games down-the-stretch and missed the playoffs.
Even though the Steelers started the 2011 season with a very shaky 2-2 record, they began to hit their stride in week five against Tennessee and, with the exception of the second-half against Jacksonville, have been playing at a very high-level over the last five games.
The Steelers may be sort of on the outside looking in as it pertains to the AFC North, but at 6-3, they have the second-best record in the AFC and still have a very clear shot at the postseason.
Of course, that could all change if the Steelers don't go into Cincinnati and take care of business this Sunday. Yes, I know, the Bengals are a surprising 6-2, but the Steelers are certainly the more talented and battle-tested football team, and very good teams go on the road and win games like the one coming up against the Bengals.
If the Steelers win, at 7-3, they would not only have the inside track on at least a wildcard berth, but we could all still hold-out hope for a division title. If they lose, well, not only would Pittsburgh's chances at the AFC North be all but up in smoke--no way would a 3-3 record be good enough to win the AFC North this year, and that would be the best Pittsburgh could hope for if they start out 0-3 in the division--but at 6-4, the Steelers would find themselves in an absolute dog-fight with at least a handful of other teams for the last two playoff spots in the AFC.
No, the Steelers need to win this Sunday. It might be a little too early to call it a must-win, but it's certainly their most pivotal regular season match-up since the game in Baltimore last December.
I have faith that the Steelers will win in Cincy and set themselves up for a great finish.
Will the Steelers win the division and get that coveted first round bye in the playoffs? Who knows? Of course, that would all be nice, but as much as I make fun of the Ravens for always screwing up in the regular season and having to enter the playoffs as a wildcard--and let's face it, a division title for the Baltimore Ravens would be the exception and not the rule--a wildcard playoff berth is better than no playoffs at all. The Steelers failed to make the playoffs in each of their last two seasons following a Super Bowl appearance, and I certainly don't want to see that happen again.
Besides, if recent history is any indication, how a team is playing down the stretch may be more important for their Super Bowl aspirations than their seeding at the start of the postseason.
Four of the past six Super Bowl winners had to start the playoffs in the wildcard round. And five of the last six Super Bowls had participants that needed to win three playoff games just to get there.
Steelers fans should know this better than anyone. Pittsburgh advanced to and won Super Bowl XL despite making the playoffs as the 6th seed in the AFC in 2005. And just last season, the Steelers lost Super Bowl XLV to a Green Bay Packers team that made the playoffs as the 6th seed in the NFC.
As a fan, my first wish is for my favorite team to at least make the playoffs, and even though Pittsburgh's AFC North prospects are a bit precarious at this point, their playoff goals are still very much in-sight.
And making it to the playoffs could mean another shot at the Baltimore Ravens.
Watching the Ravens celebrate their victory Sunday night on Pittsburgh's turf reminded me so much of when the Cincinnati Bengals came into Heinz Field in December of '05 and walked away with a strangle-hold on the AFC North. And you talk about precarious? Forget the division title, the Steelers chances at even getting a wildcard berth were slim and none, and none was in the Bengals' locker room joining in on the "Who Dey!" celebration.
That night, as I watched Carson Palmer celebrate like the elite quarterback that he thought he was, as I witnessed TJ Houshmandzadeh shine his shoes with the Terrible Towel, and as I pondered the long-shot that was the Steelers' playoff chances, I knew at that moment that I wanted one more crack at the Cincinnati Bengals. In-fact, I remember saying to someone that if the Steelers could play the Bengals in the playoffs and defeat them in-front of their fans, anything they achieved after that would be gravy. The Steelers did get another crack at the Bengals, and they showed them who the true kings of the AFC North really were. Oh, and that gravy was pretty tasty, too.
I pretty much feel the same way right now about the Baltimore Ravens. I want them one more time. And if Pittsburgh has to go the wildcard route to get them, it'll be fine with me.
There would be nothing that would please me more than to see the Steelers go to Baltimore and beat the Ravens in the playoffs. It could be in theWild Card round, Divisional playoffs, or AFC Championship game; it doesn't matter.
Seeing Ray Lewis and company walk off the field in disbelief after the Steelers, once again, win the only game that really matters would be almost as sweet as seeing Pittsburgh make it to another Super Bowl.....almost.
Anyway, I believe it all starts this Sunday in Cincinnati.
Go Steelers!
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